Try as they might, Republicans can’t silence Epstein’s victims

Donald Trump hoped that the storytelling of known liar and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell would be the final word on the still-unknown details of the crimes of his old deceased friend Jeffrey Epstein Federal prosecutors noted Maxwell lied repeatedly about her crimes and proved an utter lack of remorse But in her current interviews with functionaries from Trump s Justice Department she called the president who owned a club from which she recruited at least one alleged victim a perfect gentleman That was good enough for Republicans But what most of of them seemed to have forgotten is that while Trump s old leering buddy is dead Maxwell isn t the only surviving witness to his alleged sex trafficking ring There are also the survivors themselves over women numerous of whom who were underage girls at the time according to the FBI Mike Johnson called an early congressional recess this summer in obvious hope that people would give up asking questions about Trump s revealed appearances in the Epstein files But now with Congress back in session Johnson is back in cover-up mode To make it harder for him the survivors got organized and are shoving this argument right back in the community eye You d think Republicans wouldn t forget that sex crimes leave casualties After all it was only two years ago that E Jean Carroll persuaded a civil jury that Trump had sexually assaulted her in the s And yet countless Republicans seem rattled that Epstein s casualties absolutely spoke out in a showy press conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday decrying Trump for blocking the release of the full files collected by the FBI and Justice Department on Epstein Speaker of the House Mike Johnson R-La called an early congressional recess this summer in obvious hope that people would give up asking questions about Trump s shared appearances in the Epstein files But now with Congress back in session Johnson is back in cover-up mode To make it harder for him the survivors got organized and are shoving this disagreement right back in the masses eye Trump hopes he can make these women go away with lies and distractions But on Wednesday they made it clear they will not The large group of women and their supporters spoke in assistance of a bill reportedly backed by all House Democrats and four Republicans that would force Trump s White House to release all the Justice Department documents on Epstein and Maxwell s cases The only motive for opposing this bill would be to conceal wrongdoing Epstein accuser Anouska de Georgiou described the crowd gathered for their press conference Related Republican says Trump may be covering for powerful allies as he fights Epstein resolution She and other Epstein survivors who spoke had trouble being heard because Trump ordered military planes to fly overhead during the event temporarily drowning out their words and causing plenty of to cry The White House insisted the timing was merely a coincidence and the display was to honor Karol Nawrocki the far-right Polish president who was visiting Wednesday But the survivors and their supporters were skeptical and it s no wonder Trump couldn t be signaling harder that he wants nothing more than to silence their voices On Tuesday the White House called the efforts to release the Epstein files a very hostile act to the administration And even as the survivors were still speaking on Capitol Hill Trump was snarling to reporters in the Oval Office that the outrage is a Democrat hoax that never ends and that the files are irrelevant The challenge facing the president and his Republican allies hasn t changed though During the campaign Trump and his staffers repeatedly suggested they would release the Epstein files allowing his MAGA base to believe the documents would implicate a bunch of hated Democrats and create the pretext to lock them all up But as the Wall Street Journal published it s Trump whose name apparently appears repeatedly in the files which is not surprising to anyone who has been paying attention The two men were close friends for years During Wednesday s press conference Chauntae Davies a communicated victim of Epstein s commented the financier s biggest brag forever was that he was very good friends with Donald Trump He had an -by- framed picture of him on his desk with the two of them I voted for Trump Jena-Lisa Jones an Epstein survivor advised MSNBC on Wednesday night And for him to say what he s saying is beyond me because I put my hope in him and he s supposed to protect us Her comments followed a powerful segment that aired on NBC News Tuesday night when Jones and other survivors called on Trump and congressional Republicans to stop playing games and release the files already Not everybody is getting justice and that s not right declared Wendy Avis an Epstein accuser who had not previously gone residents with her assertions Want more Amanda Marcotte on politics Sign up for her free newsletter Standing Room Only now also on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts When Marina Lacerda who testified against Epstein in was questioned during Wednesday s press conference if she demanded to send a message to Trump she replied I don t want to send a direct message to him I m already scared enough But she reiterated that her story was true and was not a hoax Their mere presence served as powerful reminder that these women ordinary people who didn t want any of this are taking on the president of the United States As Carroll testified in her defamation trial against Trump his similar proposes that she was lying about him led to serious trauma as she endured a steady stream of death and rape threats from his supporters It s easy to forget how terrified these women must be and how they are only doing this because they believe it truly matters The bulk Republicans appear to believe that Trump has good reason to be worried about what people will learn about him if these files are circulated After all he s been accused by over two dozen women of sexual assault or abuse and selected were underage at the time of the alleged incidents At least one accuser has stated she was passed off to him by Epstein Another claimed that Epstein introduced her to Trump but when Trump eyeballed her Epstein snapped She s not for you Republicans have supported Trump throughout the numerous abuse assertions against him including two adverse civil judgments for his broadcasted assault on Carroll So it follows that they are continuing the pattern of covering up for their leader even though greater part of them must understand that his eagerness to hide the files suggests the contents could be very damning Epstein s communicated casualties however are making this very hard for Republicans The contrast between Trump s petulance and the shaky dignity of the women speaking out about Epstein isn t the only illustration of how laborious this cover-up will be Rep Nancy Mace R-S C has been embodying the dilemma in a highly dramatic fashion as is her habit On Tuesday she met with the Epstein survivors and was so overcome that she had a panic attack according to reporter Don Lemon who ran into her forthwith after the meeting Mace suggests to be a survivor of sexual assault herself But she swiftly betrayed the women by insisting that Trump is innocent in the outrage posting on X President Trump is the one who is COMMITTED to protecting women and kids We need your help to stay independent Subscribe in the present day to promotion Amanda Marcotte s journalism Mace surely knows this is a lie ask E Jean Carroll Or Jessica Leeds who explained Trump molested her on a plane in the s Or Jill Harth who accused him of attempted rape in Or the Miss Teen USA contestants who revealed he came into their dressing room in as they were changing even as a large number of of them were underage Trump bragged about similar behavior to Howard Stern in multiple interviews in the early s Or several of the other women who accused Trump of similar behavior Or hell the vast majority of Americans who heard that infamous Access Hollywood tape where Trump could be heard boasting that he likes to grab women by the genitals because when you re a star they let you do it Mace is one of the four Republicans who have dared to back the bill forcing the release of the Epstein files But she s not the only one who is either deluded or lying about the implications Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene R-Ga is backing their release but on Eric Bolling s show she insisted that Trump s cover-up is being run by White House aides against his will even though the president himself keeps insisting it s a hoax and that s why the files can t be distributed Bolling saying something sensible for the first and perhaps last time in his life observed He can prove it s a hoax by releasing it Yes that is true If the files show Trump is innocent of any Epstein-related crimes it would be easy to exonerate him by releasing them What s funny though is that neither Greene nor Bolling were willing to draw the obvious conclusion from Trump s refusal to release the documents He knows he s in the files and he doesn t want the society to know the details Greene and Bolling really provide a remarkable example of doublethink But majority of Republicans aren t capable of ignoring the likeliest explanation for why Trump whose history of alleged sexual abuse and friendship with Epstein are both well-documented is concerned about the files going citizens They re just assuming there s a lot of bad stuff about him the FBI turned up They are reacting like they perpetually do Covering up for Trump s crimes and malfeasance Their clean-up efforts have worked for a decade now so it s reasonable for them to believe they could work again But this time they re facing formidable foils Epstein s informed casualties These women survived a sex trafficking ring after all A bunch of quisling Republicans kowtowing to their aging fascist leader may seem less scary in comparison Read more about this topic Trump s long weekend of humiliation With American democracy crumbling we must look for the helpers As America implodes Trump can do anything he wants The post Try as they might Republicans can t silence Epstein s casualties appeared first on Salon com