https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/09/chuck-baldwin/gop-circling-the-wagons-around-epstein-files/

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Republicans in Congress are working in determined fashion to circle the wagons around the Epstein files. As with the rest of Trump’s promises, the promise of transparency is also in the trash can. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson are working like madmen to keep congressional Republicans in line to block any efforts to release the files.

The venerable Thomas Massie (R-KY) is mounting a charge to obtain enough Republican votes in the House to pass the amendment releasing the files, the threats and intimidation of Johnson and Trump notwithstanding.

Massie has been the greatest congressman since Ron Paul left office. And not surprisingly, he is Trump’s number one target for defeat in his reelection next year. Trump is using his influence among Kentucky Republicans to help oust the courageous congressman. In addition, Trump has called in reinforcements from his Jewish billionaire buddies to toss in millions of dollars to defeat Massie, one of whom is named in Epstein’s files. What a coincidence!

What everyone now knows is that Charlie Kirk was in the process of shifting his position on Israel and was suggesting that Israel is blackmailing members of Congress and possibly President Trump and was demanding that the Epstein files be released—in their entirety. He was also suggesting that Israeli forces stood down on October 7 and facilitated the Hamas attack, which gave Netanyahu the excuse he needed to ethnically cleanse and commit open genocide of the Gazan people.

On the heels of his assassination, and with the revelation that Kirk was publicly calling for the release of the Epstein files (Kirk also expressed fears that Israel would assassinate him), Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) surprisingly introduced an amendment to release the files.

In recent weeks and months, congressional efforts to force disclosure of the Jeffrey Epstein files have largely concentrated in the House, where there is a bipartisan discharge petition seeking signatures. But as it turns out, the upper chamber can tackle the controversy, too, despite the Republican majority. NBC News reported:

The Republican-led Senate narrowly voted Wednesday to defeat an amendment introduced by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to compel the Justice Department to release all of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The vote was 51-49 in favor of tabling the amendment. Two Republicans — Rand Paul of Kentucky and Josh Hawley of Missouri — joined all 47 Democrats in voting against tabling the amendment.

The report goes on:

For much of the year, GOP senators have been content to avoid the Epstein scandal, which made it all the more notable when Schumer surprised his colleagues. Taking advantage of senators’ work on a sweeping defense policy package, known as the National Defense Authorization Act (or NDAA), the New York Democrat teed up a procedural vote on an amendment to direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to make public any available documents that the Justice Department possesses related to Epstein and his associates.

Not surprisingly, the effort fell short, but the fact that two Senate Republicans voted with Democrats on this was a timely reminder about the divisions within the GOP over an issue that Donald Trump can’t make go away.

What’s more, the minority leader is hardly the only Democrat working on the Epstein controversy. The New York Times reported:

Senator Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat who has led an investigation into some of Jeffrey Epstein’s financial dealings, introduced a bill to compel the Treasury Department to turn over copies of all suspicious activity reports filed by banks for thousands of transactions by Epstein and dozens of his associates or business partners. Wyden, the Senate Finance Committee’s ranking member, previously sent letters to Treasury officials demanding copies of the reports but was rebuffed.

Among the banks whose reports Wyden is trying to obtain is JPMorgan Chase, which served as Epstein’s primary banker for many years and has been accused of helping to enable Epstein’s activities. (The bank has denied any wrongdoing.)

As Politico reported, the bipartisan duo spearheading the effort — Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California — now need only one more House member’s signature to clinch 218 signatures, which would trigger a process House GOP leaders would be powerless to stop.

Note: If you have a Republican U.S. senator who is not named Rand Paul or Josh Hawley, your senator voted to keep the Epstein files secret. I would hope you would feel feverishly motivated to contact your senators.

And right on cue, Donald Trump is using Kirk’s murder as an excuse to continue his totalitarian tactics against people he doesn’t like.