longer.blue

It seems increasingly clear that Trump believes he is named in the files in some unflattering way and that their release is likely or inevitable. To hedge against that, he is trying to decrease the pressure on their release — by downgrading Epstein as a figure and shaming his own supporters who continue to promote their importance while at the same time discrediting the content of the files altogether as the product of Democrats. Trump’s biggest problem? His claim that the files are the product of his political enemies is easily disproven. First, there is the timing — Epstein was prosecuted, and thus the bulk of the files were created and collected under Trump’s first administration — not Obama’s and certainly not Biden’s. Second, scores of career prosecutors and FBI agents have no doubt been involved in the collection and compilation of the files. They will know the truth and can easily dispute any claim of fabrication. Third, and perhaps most importantly, Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, can no doubt corroborate and expand on the contents of the files if she is ever called to testify publicly on the matter. There are also increasing signs that Trump’s efforts to save himself are exposing his movement and his party to claims of lying, cover-up and hypocrisy. While many on the right — like Fox News — are toning down their coverage of the issue, others are not. The biggest losers in this entire mess are Congressional Republicans. They are on record as being in on the Epstein conspiracy for years. Previously, they promised they would fight for the files to be released. Their voters — who they will face in 2026 — believe the files exist and must be made public. Yet, the GOP voted yesterday in near unison to keep the Epstein Files a secret. And their so-called leader, Speaker Mike Johnson, has been transformed from a spineless coward into someone who simply spews gibberish: “I’m for transparency. We’re intellectually consistent in this… It’s a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it.” @marcelias.bsky.social