The Republican congresswoman warned that Trump and other conservatives calling her a traitor "could ultimately lead to a harmful or even deadly outcome." read more
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@#96 ... Then why was Trump so adamant about not releasing them? ...
Ya know...
That's an excellent question.
The Curious History of 'What Did the President Know, and When Did He Know It?' (2018)
www.brennancenter.org
... A half-century ago an ally helped bring down a president with one simple question.
The Washington Post wants to know. So does the New York Times. So too do The New Yorker, USA Today, The Nation and Salon.
What all these outlets want to know is the same question last asked in another presidential corruption scandal, Watergate, 45 years ago: "What did the president know, and when did he know it?"
The simple inquiry became world famous. But what is less well-known is the story behind the question, and perhaps most surprising of all, that it was asked in order to defend President Richard Nixon.
The person who asked the question was Tennessee GOP Sen. Howard Baker Jr. His party credentials were unassailable. His father was a GOP Congressman and his father-in-law was Senate minority leader for a decade. Baker was the ranking Republican on the special Senate committee that investigated Watergate. ...
@#2 ... here's a sucker born every minute. - PT Barnum ...
Funny you should mention him.
I drive by the house he was born in from time to time.
He also was elected Mayor of Bridgeport, CT.
P. T. Barnum
en.wikipedia.org
... Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 " April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.[1] He was also an author, publisher, and philanthropist, although he said of himself: "I am a showman by profession ... and all the gilding shall make nothing else of me."[2]
According to Barnum's critics, his personal aim was "to put money in his own coffers".[2] The adage "there's a sucker born every minute" has frequently been attributed to him, although no evidence exists that he had coined the phrase.[3] ...
Barnum served two terms in the Connecticut legislature in 1865 as a Republican for Fairfield, Connecticut.
He spoke before the legislature concerning the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude: "A human soul, 'that God has created and Christ died for,' is not to be trifled with. It may tenant the body of a Chinaman, a Turk, an Arab, or a Hottentot"it is still an immortal spirit."[5]
He was elected in 1875 as mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he worked to improve the water supply, bring gas lighting to streets and enforce liquor and prostitution laws.
He was instrumental in the inception of Bridgeport Hospital in 1878 and was its first president.[6]
The circus business, begun when he was 60 years old, was the source of much of his enduring fame. He established P. T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome in 1870, a traveling circus, menagerie and museum of "freaks" that adopted many names over the years. ...
fwiw ...
@#96 ... Then why was Trump so adamant about not releasing them? ...
Good question.
There's this ...
JD Vance's 2021 tweet about the Epstein files comes back to haunt him: Aged like milk'
www.independent.co.uk
... An old tweet from J.D. Vance about the Epstein scandal has gone viral after new emails, which claimed that Donald Trump "knew about the girls," were released by the House Oversight Committee.
Now, social media users have said that the vice president's comment from December 30, 2021, has "aged like milk," as it comes back to haunt him.
"What possible interest would the US government have in keeping Epstein's clients secret? Oh ... " Vance tweeted.
The now-vice president did not give a reason for the U.S. Government, the Biden administration, at the time of tweeting, allegedly "keeping the Epstein clients secret."
However, he doubled down on his position with another tweet, which urged journalists to investigate the Epstein case.
"If you're a journalist and you're not asking questions about this case you should be ashamed of yourself," he raged. "What purpose do you even serve? I'm sure there's a middle-class teenager somewhere who could use some harassing right now, but maybe try to do your job once in a while." ...
However, social media users have noted the irony in Vance's tweet. Since becoming vice president, Vance has stated that Trump wants "full transparency" on the issue, despite Trump repeatedly dismissing questions about the Epstein scandal.
[links to his tweets in the article]
@#89 ... "The files .. are ... scrubbed because Trump wants" ...
The FBI Redacted Trump's Name in the Epstein Files (August 1, 2025)
www.bloomberg.com
... The most transparent administration in history'
Before explaining the government's rationale for blacking out Trump's name, let's recap. Along with aliens and JFK's assassination, conspiracy theories surrounding the life and death of convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein have long consumed MAGA.
Epstein avoided federal sex-trafficking charges in 2008 when he agreed to plead guilty to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution. In July 2019, following an investigation by the Miami Herald that also scrutinized the integrity of the government's probe, Epstein was indicted on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. A month later, he died by suicide in his jail cell, federal law enforcement authorities said, while awaiting trial.
Epstein's death led to a swirl of renewed interest among Trump supporters, which in recent months has verged into an obsession. Last year, while still on the campaign trail, Trump vowed to "declassify" material in the government's possession pertaining to Epstein. Before Pam Bondi was nominated as attorney general by Trump, she insisted that the public had a right to know more details about the case. "If people in that report are still fighting to keep their names private," she said on Fox News last year, "they have no legal basis to do so, unless they're a child, a victim, or a cooperating defendant." In January, Kash Patel, the FBI director, told a Senate Committee during his confirmation hearing that he'd ensure "the American public knows the full weight of what happened."
Then on Feb. 27, during a highly publicized event at the White House, Bondi rolled out what the Justice Department referred to as the "first phase" of the release of the Epstein files. It was attended by former Pizzagate provocateur Jack Posobiec and other far-right influencers. They were given binders labeled "The Epstein Files" and "The Most Transparent Administration in History" that contained about 200 pages of documents that Bondi characterized as "declassified." She also suggested that the records would contain previously undisclosed details about Epstein.
Instead, Bondi's big Epstein files party was a bust. It turned out the documents she called declassified, which included pages from Epstein's infamous "black book," had been previously released, most recently during the criminal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell four years earlier. (The black book revealed Trump's name and the names of his wife, Melania, and other family members.)
Trump's followers were irate. Bondi was angry, too. She fired off a letter to FBI Director Patel demanding to know why the bureau failed to provide her with the thousands of pages of documents related to the Epstein investigation and indictment she requested. She wanted answers from Patel, and accountability. ...
[more in the article ...]
@#61 ... A 2020 Justice Department report into the case found "poor judgment" was made in giving Epstein a sweetheart deal at the time."...
Ya think.
Yet Pres Trump appointed Mr Acosta to his Cabinet.
As a reward?
Alexander Acosta
en.wikipedia.org