The announcements made on Tuesday and the president’s suggestion to move past the case have not significantly satisfied the demands from his MAGA supporters for more information concerning the disgraced financier’s case, which has been surrounded by various conspiracy theories following his suicide in 2019.
The pressure for enhanced transparency has risked widening divisions between Trump and some of his loyal supporters both in Congress and elsewhere.
GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, advocating for the release of more information on Epstein, expressed to CNN that the need for transparency is “extremely high.”
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“They are getting beaten up at home in their districts,” she said of lawmakers facing constituents’ anger over the issue.
Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and influential Trump ally, suggested Blanche’s interview plans are more about mitigation of the public fallout from the administration’s botched handling of promised Epstein disclosures.
“Seems like a massive cope,” Loomer said in a text message to CNN, adding: “Why wasn’t this done on Day 1? Why didn’t they ask to meet with her before the memo was released on 4th of July weekend when they essentially said the case would be closed? Seems like this should have already taken place.”
The decision on whether to release grand jury testimony now lies with a federal judge. It’s unclear how long it will take for anything to be made public. Before ruling on the matter, the judge must consult with victims and any uncharged person discussed in the testimony, as their identities are protected under federal law.
Some conservative lawmakers have pressed for people involved in Epstein’s case to testify before Congress, including Maxwell and Bondi, even as GOP leaders have made it clear they are eager to move on from the controversy.
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Seeking to sap the momentum behind Republican Representative Thomas Massie’s push to force a vote on an Epstein-related measure, House GOP leaders are sending lawmakers home for August recess a day earlier than initially planned.
Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team made the case to House Republicans behind closed doors Tuesday that the Trump administration needs time to deal with the Epstein issue, according to multiple sources in the room.
The message they delivered, one of the lawmakers said, was that “the administration is dealing with it,” and Johnson argued that Republicans should not play “the political games” that Democrats are employing to to force uncomfortable votes on the issue.
Many were not pleased with that call for patience. The deadlock on the issue has essentially ground House floor activity to a halt.
Lawmakers don’t see the Epstein issue going away anytime soon.
“You don’t lose your base over one single thing, but (Trump’s) eroding his base. More importantly, if we don’t take the right side of this issue, it’s going to cost us votes in the midterms,” Massie said Tuesday.
“People are becoming despondent, they’re apathetic. Why would they go vote if they gave us the House, the Senate and the White House, and the transparency and justice they were promised doesn’t happen? Why should they vote in the midterms? And I think it could be a real problem for us.”
The Kentucky Republican continued, “That’s why it would behoove the speaker to bring this to the floor. It would be in the best interest of this institution – just vote this out, give it to the Senate and let them do their thing.”
Representative Ralph Norman agreed the issue won’t fade over the five-week break. “No, it shouldn’t die down. No. I mean, it’s – look, the American people deserve it, and there’s a lot of interest in it, and let’s just put, put everything on the table and let the let the American people be the judge,” the South Carolina Republican said.
Moments after the closed-door GOP meeting, Representative Tim Burchett forced the House Oversight Committee to vote on the motion to subpoena Maxwell.
