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Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump’s self-inflicted Jeffrey Epstein scandal has primarily paralyzed the Home of Representatives, as Speaker Mike Johnson introduced right this moment that the chamber would recess early to keep away from voting to reveal details about the deceased financier.
What modified? The Home had been scheduled to stay in session till Thursday, however will now recess tomorrow and stay out till September 2 after a brand new bipartisan invoice to launch information on Epstein gained traction. A protracted August recess is regular for Congress, however not the abrupt determination to move for the door early.
Why does this matter? The Logoff hasn’t lined the Epstein scandal but as a result of our mission is to spotlight what issues most — not what’s talked about most. However it’s develop into clear that, not less than for now, this isn’t going away, and the lengths that Trump’s Republican allies within the Home are going to to keep away from the difficulty are noteworthy. Outdoors Congress, it has actual endurance inside Trump’s coalition. Prefer it or not, the conspiracy concept is enjoying an inescapable function in politics proper now.
What’s the context? Trump, and by extension the Republican Get together, have struggled to reply to a ballooning scandal round their refusal to reveal new details about purchasers of Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted intercourse offender who died by suicide in federal custody in 2019.
Releasing further info would go towards customary DOJ process — however Trump and lots of of his allies promised to take action in the course of the 2024 marketing campaign, and Trump’s legal professional normal, Pam Bondi, mentioned in February that she was reviewing Epstein’s alleged “consumer checklist” for potential launch.
What’s subsequent? Johnson stays caught between a Republican convention able to vote in favor of releasing extra info and Trump, who has aggressively resisted calls to take action. It’s unclear if the August recess will give him any respiratory room, however within the meantime, the DOJ is hoping to satisfy with Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted Epstein affiliate, to hunt new details about potential Epstein purchasers, and the Home Oversight Committee voted Tuesday to subpoena Maxwell to testify.
And with that, it’s time to sign off…
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