This article was originally published by Tyler Durden at ZeroHedge.
Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump called Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene a traitor and mocked Thomas Massie’s dead wife – because they were among four Republicans pushing for a House floor vote to force the DOJ to release the Epstein files, Trump – likely sensing he dun goofed big time, reversed course Sunday night and now supports their release.
Donald Trump has said he backs US lawmakers’ efforts to release more files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Photograph: Annabelle Gordon/Reuters
“As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics,” Trump posted to Truth Social. “The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on Epstein, and they are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!”
Except he cared enough to excommunicate Massie and MTG for wanting the public to know which elites were likely ensnared in a honeypot operation, while both Reps. have also been highly critical of Israeli influence in US politics. And based on widespread condemnation among the base, Trump clearly miscalculated.
Trump did the whole ‘release them, I don’t care’ thing earlier this year after failing to follow through on a core campaign promise, and instead giving a handful of influencers binders full of old information.
“Let’s start talking about the Republican Party’s Record Setting Achievements, and not fall into the Epstein “TRAP,” which is actually a curse on the Democrats, not us,” Trump’s ‘truth’ continues.
Following his attacks on Greene, Trump denied her claim that his criticism endangered her – and that he didn’t believe her when she said people are targeting her.
“I don’t think her life is in danger…I don’t think anybody cares about her,” Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One on Sunday night for a return to Washington, DC from Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
Greene, a U.S. House of Representatives member from Georgia who was long known as a Trump loyalist, has recently taken positions at odds with the president. She said on Saturday she has been contacted by private security firms warning about her safety and that harsh attacks against her have previously resulted in death threats.
She attributed her split with the president to her support for releasing records related to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. -Reuters
Massie, meanwhile, cast doubt on the DOJ’s new investigation into Epstein’s ties to notable Democrats – calling it “a last-ditch effort to prevent the release of the Epstein files.”
Win McNamee/Getty Images
“We’re forcing this vote, and it’s going to happen,” Rep. Thomas Massie said.
“So, this might be a big smokescreen, these investigations, to open a bunch of them to, as a last-ditch effort to prevent the release of the Epstein files,” Massie said, after Trump directed AG Pam Bondi and the FBI to look into Epstein’s relationship with former President Bill Clinton and various other Democrats – writing on Truth Social “This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats.”
Meanwhile, Massie’s position has caused a rift between Trump supporters who seemingly don’t want the Epstein files released, and those who do want them released, with Pro vs. Anti Zionism seemingly the common denominator.
As we noted on Saturday, Massie isn’t just a signatory of the petition to release the files, but its principal champion, having introduced it this summer along with Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna. When Speaker Mike Johnson finally brought the House back into session this week after nearly two months of idleness, Massie secured the required 218th signature on the Epstein-file discharge petition, a parliamentary avenue that overrides Johnson’s ability to determine which bills are voted upon. When the vote on Massie’s bill takes place on Tuesday, a far larger number of Republicans are expected to vote for it, rather than face subsequent attacks for voting to keep the Epstein files under wraps.
Trump’s announcement came days after the House Oversight Committee released tens of thousands of emails handed over by the Epstein estate – which made clear that Trump and Epstein were pals, had a falling out, and then Epstein started helping Democrats ‘get Trump’ – including texting in real time with lawmaker Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) during a 2019 congressional hearing with Michael Cohen…
Plaskett, for those who didn’t know, previously served in the Virgin Islands government, helping to give Epstein tax benefits, and worked for Epstein’s fixer on the island before she was elected to Congress.
Also interesting – Trump weighed in on the controversy surrounding Tucker Carlson’s interview of “America First” host Nick Fuentes, saying “you can’t tell him who to interview… if he wants to interview Nick Fuentes, I don’t know much about him, but if he wants to do it, get the word out, let him… ultimately, people have to decide.”
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