https://x.com/i/status/1948211079001051267
The GOP chair was caught off guard and scrambled—first delaying the vote, then trying to sabotage it by adding amendments to include Biden administration communications. Democrats called their bluff and agreed.
Then the GOP chair, Rep. Higgins, lied, claiming the motion FAILED until Rep. Robert Garcia forced a full roll call vote.
Ultimately, the vote passed 8-2 after 3 Republicans DEFIED their leadership and joined all 5 Democrats to pass the motion.
Can someone explain to this non-american why the Democrats are treating this as a successful upset when they could have released the Epstein files during Biden?
I don’t see anyone saying this yet, but the Epstein files were sealed by a court order for Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial. They weren’t unsealed until January of 2025. Biden couldn’t have released them without violating the court order that sealed them - and possibly giving Ghislaine’s lawyers a slam dunk to get her off with a mistrial.
Here is seems to be at the discretion of the Attorney General. Why didn’t Merrick Garland unseal them in September 2024 after her appeal failed?
Merrick Garland is a hard core libertarian centrist and Biden appreciated him for being status quo which means not rocking the boat or doing any effort to to hold anyone rich accountable as his previous bosses were BP and Amazon.
He also refused to prosecute Matt Gaetz.
Not a good enough excuse IMHO.
Its not meant to be an excuse. He just is a shitty person. Picked because they thought it would reach across the shitty aisle to shitty republicans.
That just is what it is.It’s not a good excuse. Until Americans guillotine these fuckers, they will just continue to do what they want, law be damned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZhZs69RvFM
You expected a shitty person to expose his shitty friends? Lmao
Because Merrick Garland is incredibly lazy. He spent his entire tenure sitting around doing nothing.
This doesn’t get the Biden administration off the hook for not releasing the list sooner.
Because Garland is a heritage foundation boot licker
Garland is a republikkkan and a member of the Federalist Society. He was Biden’s greatest failure.
It’s all bread and circuses until the 1% have extracted the last iota of capital from the rest of us and the country finally collapses.
The Dems have molesters/rapists on the list themselves. The difference is that we are not cultists and will gladly watch those perverts go to jail. Apparently MAGA just barely started caring about justice as it pertains to the files.
Why were the files not released under Biden? Hell … Bill Clinton is on the list (shocking).
Politik-brained Canadian here:
IIRC they didn’t raid Epstein till 2019. In 2020 Democrats had a narrow majority in the house which they would lose in 2022.
Than January 6, 2021 happened, and I think everyone thought that would be the legal case that brought Trump down.
It kind of seemed inevitable that the Epstein files would get leaked or released eventually. That is until Trump officially ran again in 2023; creating the possibility that the evidence would be destroyed permanently if he won.
just to tie on to this, theres a none zero chance some prominent democrat “old guard” are also on the list, and their positions are too valuable to be lost (to the status quo). january 6th, if it was enough, would have been a great way to protect the old guard and get rid of trump. but thats evidently not what happened.
i dont care whos on the list, from what side, i want them all punished. anybody whos complicit in the current shit show, or is on that list, needs to be shot in the street like a rabid dog.
While I was still on Reddit, there was a list going around of politicians charged with child sex offences. Sure, there were a few Dems, curse them to hell, but by FAR the majority were Republikkklans. The list was up to page 57 last time I sighted it.
none zero chance
I wager the actual chances are in the double digits.
Triple digits?
Last I checked the chances had been reduced by 1000%
We just need the files. I’m sure there’s gonna be plenty of “I was just on it because he was blackmailing me” or whatever, from everyone involved, innocent or not. Unless there’s something that literally has itemized “X person, 2 kids, diddled both, camera footage timestamp x:xx:xx” I really doubt much legally will come from it.
Court of public opinion however, that’s gonna cause some real shakedowns, if people actually listen.
Than January 6, 2021 happened, and I think everyone thought that would be the legal case that brought Trump down.
And it might have been if they didn’t drag their feet so much.
drag their feet
They full on chickened out!
I have met chickens and they are braver than any politician I’ve seen.
Probably the spine.
Shhh! Don’t ruin it for the rest of us! On tomorrow’s episode of “As The Empire Crumbles”, will the files lead to anything actionable?
It makes their opponents look bad when they refuse
The Attorney general under Biden, Merrick Garland, is a by the book liberal conservative. He assumed the treasonous actions of January 6 2021 would sink trump’s political career. He also believed - correctly- that the attorney general is appointed by a president to lead the judicial branch independent of the executive branch. Merrick focused the AG office on the January 6th investigation and didn’t publish the Epstein documents as they weren’t part of any specific case.
There is also the theory that high ranking establishment Democrats are on the Epstein list. We also know that there are many pictures of epstein’s clients with underage girls that haven’t been published. Likely because American legal culture always seeks to punish the women involved in sex work and views the “johns” as victims who need to be protected
Its a PR stunt. The democratic establishment doesn’t want them released. The democrats that do, are the minority faction of progressives, and they don’t have enough political power to actually get them released. Biden is not a progressive, he wants the uphold the status quo, including, protecting the Democrats on that list.
Because your feelings, right?
3 Republicans: “I might be a racist, zionist(somehow), corrupt piece of shit that sits down when my fellow Americans are put into concentration camps, who is all for authoritarianism and white nationalism,… but I ain’t no pederass protector!”
a what, Walter?
Just bottom rung people looking down on the only people left categorically worse than them.
That’s why “chomos” need to be protected in jail.
That’s why wanna be Chris Hansen’s are usually as creepy as the creeps they catch.
That’s why violence posted online gets a free pass when its framed as a pedo getting btfu.
Just browsed r/conservative for a bit to see the response there. Pleasantly surprised to see multiple posts where the top comment was something along the lines of “release everything, don’t care who is affected on either side”
sooooo GOP chair who blatantly tried to defraud the American people in a cushy government position by abusing his position, he’s tossed outta the swamp now, right?
or rather, into the new swamp down in Florida
Hey, where’s all those losers that kept saying the Dems didn’t actually want it released? Come on out of the woodwork, ya fucking losers.
I mean, Pelosi IS out there going out of her way trying to downplay the whole thing. Having a couple members of either party agreeing to subpoena the files doesn’t mean either party, as a whole, is supporting it.
Keep on trying. One of these days, those Democrats will turn around and say not to reveal this info, and then that’ll vindicate the child-loving Republicans.
Hey, that’s my representative’s motion!
Nice!
Good. Finally. Balls and spines and strategies were grown and used.
This is terrible for decorum. Now the Republicans will start doing it!
Lmao
I suspect a lot of the GOP also want rid of Trump now he’s won for the second time.
They’ve put in their time. They’re political lifers. They know they don’t really need him any more, and frankly his health will take care of that sooner rather than later.
If he follows the rules, he can’t run again anyway. If he doesn’t then they don’t need him to win elections for them, because there won’t be any more. They’re just stuffing their pockets while waiting for any opportunity to try and get in a bigger chair. Their only worry is that someday, lobbyists might not want to bribe them any more to do their jobs.
I suspect the list is being withheld for reasons other than Donald, who we all know is on it anyway. Plenty of more important shadowy figures who still have something to lose.
They’re still terrified of his rabid base and none of them have spines.
They’ll still obey the whip (because people that don’t get deselected come election time), but they’ll all be planning their next move once Trump is done.
The only loyalty among the rank and file is the fear of losing their jobs.
There isn’t a list of abusers. The only person the files have evidence of abuse is Epstein himself. Per multiple sources interviewed by the NY Times, the only lists in the files are victims and witnesses, and releasing the files would just victimize them again to doxxing. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/us/politics/epstein-files-trump-bondi-justice-department-fbi.html
Dems are jumping on the bandwagon because it distracts the Republicans from their rampage of destroying the foundations of our country, but the files themselves are a nothingburger as far any actual evidence of crimes.
I think you’re right. They wanted the $3T tax cut, and that’s exactly what they got. Trump is now unnecessary risk for the oligarchs, I wouldn’t be surprised if they pin all of Epstein on him to dumpster his ass now. Then we’ll have 2.5 terms of President Vance to look forward to, as he works with Silicon Valley elites to replace the treasury with shitcoins.
They’re republicans, no need to elaborate how awful they are.
They want him to make it to Jan 21, 2027, then he can keel over. That way Vance can still qualify for two full terms afterward.
Except Vance is a charisma vacuum.
I mean yeah. That said, if the GOP seems to start shining that turd a bit later than this time next year, know that the plan is for Trump to learn the meaning of planned obsolescence.
Vance doesn’t even seem popular in his own family, let alone with the public at large.
Musk isn’t allowed to run so they’re all out of demagogues at this point, and their entire political strategy hinges on that. At some point they know they’ve got to shift back to pretending to be normal again. Their next candidate is going to be someone like Romney. They’re going to lose all the crazies when they do, but chances are they’ll just go back to not voting while hoarding bump stocks.
“You won’t need to vote”
I broadly agree, but not sure I see a short term way back to winning as “normal again”, the “crazies” induced the vast majority of the party to be sycophants to the crazy, and this hopefully alienated some moderates. Not sure who they might break out for 2028 if they do have an actual free election, but I could see them in a tough strategic spot trying to claim being moderate with the behavior of the party since 2016 and particularly since Trump’s loss in 2020.
So they have a lack of a good fit for the Trump crazy but also the liability of having tried to be close with the crazy…
I think the GOP media machine will continue to push more extreme candidates who are more akin to ramaswamy or some other techno-crat.
I, among other people I know who voted for DT have absolutely zero interest in voting for JD. He’s a Petey T puppet with the charisma of wet bread.
I suspect a lot of the GOP also want rid of Trump
I suspect they don’t actually care at all except the companies lobbying these particular representatives are being hurt by the tariffs.
some people here dont know not to punch a gift horse in the mouth
Russian bots have their orders
Can you point to the comment you suspect of being a russian bot?
👍
Oh no, I was the russian bot all along?
Maybe the real journey was the Russian bots we made along the way
My Russian bot passes butter
боже мой
the single person who voted no: “In the opinion of the chair the nos have it”
the multiple people who voted “yes” laugh at the absurdity and call him out on it
how fucking brazen a liar
I read the first one in Mayor Quimby’s voice.
“the, er um, nos, uh, have it”
Shouldn’t that be like contempt of congress or something?
maybe if laws/rules applied to Republicans in positions of power
Should be grounds to have his ass beat
Ah, the old Sen. Sumner treatment!
I feel like this would be a great addition to congress. Make C-SPAN interactive and viewers can vote on whether or not to have someone involved in a proceeding flogged with something like a 90% majority.
It would be like the scene in The Simpsons (a really old episode) where the family goes in for group therapy and the counselor hooks them up with shock collars and buttons they can zap each other with, and they just go crazy shocking the shit out of each other.
Do you want to get Caligula? Because, that’s how we get Caligula. 🤌🏼
Compared to Trump? Caligula might actually be an upgrade.
Imagine the vote manipulation. Now you have to worry about getting a virus on your phone that will silenty vote to beat up a member of congress
deleted by creator
They even fucking lied?
Then the GOP chair, Rep. Higgins, lied, claiming the motion FAILED
This is unsurprising.
But forcing a recorded count does get those Republican Nays on record so they can be punished later.
MAGAs can’t resist cheating at every opportunity. Here we are again with standard election fraud on a micro basis, but we’re supposed to believe that they won the 2024 Election “Fair & Square?”
I’m not holding my breath but I’m really hoping that will help maga chuds clue in that the GOP are wholly dishonest.
I get what you’re saying, but there are now two very distinct news spheres, and the one that they’re watching will simply not cover this story.
It’s in the hands of r/conspiracy now…
10% of them saying it was wrong is the best we’ll get. Him being charged with treason is what it should be
Here’s hoping that 10% are our fucking dipshit relatives eh?
It has to at least fall under this:
"§1001. Statements or entries generally Whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or makes any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representations, or makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 749 ; Sept. 13, 1994, Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330016(1)(L), 108 Stat. 2147 .)"
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=49&f=treesort&num=1262
If it has to be decided or enforced by the majority party or SCROTUS, then it’s not happening any time soon.
This won’t even make the nightly news.
They don’t care they just want to “win”.
Actually they just want to “own the libs”. They’ll all scream to have the Epstein files released if you hint that AOC might be in there.
Of course they want to “own the libs”. They believe people get more conservative as they age, so kids have to be libs. And they definitely want to be able to own & trade children!
I hear she is. Release the files, and let’s prove it.
I’m guessing Roberts Rules stuff.
As a quick and dirty thing, you can call a voice vote of ayes and nays. If it’s not particularly close, it’ll be obvious what the outcome is, the Chair will call the result, and everyone moves on. However, any member can call bullshit on the Chair, and then it goes to a more formal process.
So without watching the whole damn video, it’s probably that the voice vote went one way, the Chair said it was the other, got called on it, and the roll call vote went against him.
Why does this have so many upvotes? I mean the information is mostly accurate, but for this particular 8-2 vote it sounds like it’s just trying to make an excuse for the treasonous Higgins saying the vote failed.
It’s not making an excuse. It’s explaining to people how he was able to lie. If it was an roll call vote it’s next to impossible to lie about it, so it’d be confusing to some people who don’t know how the process works. It’s still blatant lying. It’s just helping to educate people.
any member can call bullshit on the Chair
Yes, definitely making excuses.
2 people said ‘nay’ and 8 people said ‘aye’… It was an honest mistake anyone could have made.
But wasn’t it one person + himself? :)
Obvs his nay own would sound louder to himself
lol
Nah
I did watch the video and it was blatant and ridiculous.
Decorum for thee but not for me.
I am puzzled by your incredulousness.
I am perplexed by your puzzlement.
It is rather quixotic,
Is that the right word?
“The no has it” are you fucking kidding me.
Bruh this isn’t the first time Higgens has tried this shit either. I find him specifically so infuriating.
So this subpoena means they get to review the documents, and presumably in their original state as well?
So if they get redacted ones, that would be obstruction of justice, but the question becomes did the obstruction of justice happen as a result of his duties of office, or one of personal reasons.
This still could get worse, even if the information that needs to come out does.
LOL. As if they’ll get any original unaltered documents.
Obstruction of justice? In this part of the session? Located entirely within this government?
Yes.
Can I see it?
No.
The worse I’m referring to is that the supreme court takes up this case and says “yeah this is clearly an official act and the president isn’t able to be prosecuted.”
