Dozens of previously silent Republicans congratulate themselves after flipping on Epstein issue

On Tuesday, the House voted 427-1 to force the Justice Department to publicly release all of its files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. After only four GOP members showed the courage to join California Democrat Ro Khanna's effort to use a discharge petition to circumvent a stalled committee vote, Republicans came out by the dozens to pat themselves on the back, including Vern Buchanan (R-Longboat Key).

“The American people deserve the truth about Jeffrey Epstein’s horrific crimes and how he was able to evade justice for so long," said Buchanan in a press release, despite having been totally silent on the matter and having declined to sign the discharge petition. "Today’s vote was about full transparency, delivering answers, and protecting the victims who were exploited and trafficked. The Epstein Files Transparency Act ensures unclassified records are released responsibly while safeguarding victims’ privacy. I’ve long fought to crack down on human trafficking and child exploitation, and I’ll continue doing everything I can to protect the most vulnerable.”

Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and Nancy Mace (R-SC) were the only four Republicans willing to risk the ire of President Donald Trump to stand by the victims of Epstein and his still mostly unknown (to the public) coconspirators.

In a White House Situation Room meeting on Friday morning that included FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, members of the Trump administration unsuccessfully attempted to flip Boebert. Trump then went scorched earth on Massey and Greene, pledging to back Republican opponents who tried to primary them ahead of the upcoming midterms. 

Massie was married to his high school sweetheart until she died a year and a half ago. He recently remarried.

"Did Thomas Massie, sometimes referred to as Rand Paul Jr. because of the fact that he always votes against the Republican Party, get married already???" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Boy, that was quick! No wonder Polls have him at less than an 8% chance of winning the Election. Anyways, have a great life Thomas and (?). His wife will soon find out that she's stuck with a LOSER!"

Having your marriage and late wife insulted by a thrice-married, serial adulterer who was close friends with a notorious pedophile and once bribed a porn star not to go public after having sex with her while Melania was pregnant with their son Barron, and was also found guilty of sexual assault in a civil suit, might be the epitome of hypocrisy.  Trump had similar vitriol for Greene, referring to her as "Marjorie Taylor Brown" because "Green grass turns Brown when it begins to ROT!"

Several Republicans, including Greg Steube (R-Sarasota), had previously suggested they would be likely to vote for such a bill if it came to the floor, but remained unwilling to sign the discharge petition. After thousands of emails released last week demonstrated that Trump and Epstein had been much closer than previously known, public outrage soared, and it soon became clear that a pressure campaign by the Trump administration was failing.

A viral commercial featuring Epstein's grown victims holding pictures of their 14 to 17-year-old selves when they met the sex offender, asking viewers to call their representatives and urge them to vote in favor of the release of the files, further fueled the fire.

The president then did a complete flip-flop and said Republicans should vote to release the files, because his party had nothing to hide, likely so that he would not look like he had lost control of the GOP. It was immediately noted that his telling Republicans to vote for the bill flew in the face of the fact that the legislation had only come about because Trump himself refused to direct the Justice Department to release the files. 

By Tuesday, even Mike Johnson was bragging about his support for the bill, despite doing everything in his power to prevent it from going to a vote, including sending members home early ahead of the government shutdown and stubbornly refusing to swear in Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, who had won a special election in Arizona and had pledged to provide the final vote needed for the discharge petition. Johnson's rewriting of history was dizzying, to say the least.

In what seemed like a blatant attempt to become Trump's new best boy, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) was the only House member who voted against the bill.  Higgins has ties to White Nationalist groups, has been married even more times than Trump, and is in the running for having the most vile, hateful, and bigoted social media records in all of Congress. When he's the last representative in your corner, it's a bad day.

The bill forces the release of all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his highly suspicious death in federal prison, within 30 days. Information about victims or ongoing federal investigations may be redacted. However, no information can be excluded due to "embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary."

The Senate agreed to pass the bill via unanimous consent as soon as it is transmitted from the House, meaning it will be sent directly to President Donald Trump for his signature without further debate or amendments. Trump could veto the legislation, but absent a significant number of defections, the required two-thirds majority of both chambers is more than there.

However, as Massey warned this weekend, Trump directed the Justice Department to launch a series of investigations on Friday that the Congressman feared could be a poison pill, used to exclude significant amounts of the most damning information by labeling it as part of an "ongoing federal investigation."

Dennis "Mitch" Maley is an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times and the host of our weekly podcast. With over two decades of experience as a journalist, he has covered Manatee County government since 2010. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University and later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Click here for his bio. Mitch is also the author of three novels and a short story collection available here.