Please be open to feedback and constructive criticism from others, and consider their suggestions and advice when making decisions or forming opinions.
- Manlobbi
Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy❤
No. of Recommendations: 16
What is considered a “very hostile act to the administration”?
Not the Chinese conspiring against the U.S. Nor the Russians. Nor the North Koreans.
The egregious “act” is voting in the House to release the Epstein files.
Why is it a hostile act to do something that Trump promised to do during his campaign?
I understand that everyone knows that Trump is a pathological liar, but why the 180? What is Trump so afraid of? Trump is stinking of fear.
Release the Epstein files. Let the chips fall where they may.
The White House, for its part, has made its opposition to Mr. Massie’s bill clear. Mr. Trump is known to target Republican lawmakers he sees as obstacles to his political agenda. An official who described the Trump administration’s thinking on the condition of anonymity said that signing the discharge petition would be viewed as a “very hostile act to the administration.”https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/us/politics/eps...
No. of Recommendations: 1
And Democrats ----started to flock to the aid of Republicans who challenge Trump. They put aside ALL ISSUES and were singularly focused on thearting Trump. First this guy, then Rand Paul---- and then when othher GOP'ers saw that the order of hte hour is to oppose trump - AND they wouldn't be tossed out on their ass....they join.
But. no.
hite Liberal 401K'ers posted online instead.
No. of Recommendations: 2
appreciate the enthusiasm, but
- what if trump is a pedo but there is no smoking gun?
- is there a smoking gun of any size that the gop could not overwhelm with disinformation and distraction, given the intellectual capacity of the base?
these are huge obstacles for any outcome.
No. of Recommendations: 14
appreciate the enthusiasm, but ……
I understand that there is a lot of politics involved, but this is not about politics. It’s about getting a modicum of justice for children who were raped.
Justice delayed is justice denied, and this has been delayed long enough.
As I’ve stated previously, get the facts out and let the chips fall where they may. D, R, I, or unaffiliated, I don’t care. These victims deserve justice and the perpetrators deserve accountability for their actions.
Some victims want to talk. Others wish to remain anonymous. There is no one size fits all. We need to respect their choices.
As an aside, I am curious why Trump gave a sweetheart deal to an individual convicted of sex tracking AND why releasing the Epstein files are a “very hostile act to the administration.” I don’t perceive these to be the actions of an innocent person.
No. of Recommendations: 3
As I’ve stated previously, get the facts out and let the chips fall where they may.
As far as I'm concerned, the number and identities of people implicated are immaterial. If Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are convicted, perhaps they can share a cell. I'm sure Bill and Donald will afford the good Prince the royal luxury of going to the commode first
No. of Recommendations: 3
I don't think the problem is with D, R, or I. I think it is with Megamillionaires and Billionaires that are in the Epstein client list. Bill Gates was outed by his ex-wife for partying with Epstein during their divorce. Recently Gates pulled funding from groups that Trump doesn't like after the two of them met. I assume that there was a quid pro quo agreed upon in that meeting.
Could it have been over something other than the Pedo-files?
Yes.
Do I think it was over something else?
No I don't.
Whether Trump is mentioned in them in any way other than the ways we already know about, I think the big reason he doesn't want them released is for the kompromat it gives him over others.
No. of Recommendations: 3
As an aside, I am curious why Trump gave a sweetheart deal to an individual convicted of sex tracking AND why releasing the Epstein files are a “very hostile act to the administration.” I don’t perceive these to be the actions of an innocent person.
I agree, but the possibility that AL has it right is not zero. I'm just pondering a discussion with Bondi that there is no there there, and Trump's name comes up a few more times. In that scenario, an episode or two that we don't know about and more references to Trump's name, with little about anyone else - just how would people react to that?
No. of Recommendations: 2
I'm just pondering a discussion with Bondi that there is no there there, and Trump's name comes up a few more times. In that scenario, an episode or two that we don't know about and more references to Trump's name, with little about anyone else - just how would people react to that?
I would expect they wouldn't react at all. Trump's already got well-known and well-publicized connections to Epstein. There's several photos of them together. Trump's been quoted talking about Epstein, and his youthful taste in women. It's already been established that they were at least moderately acquainted, enough for Trump to make an observation about his dating preferences.
As for the "hostile act," Trump doesn't want the Epstein files to be clogging up the news cycle. He wants the news to talk about all the things he wants to talk about. One of his great political skills is driving the media agenda, and making sure that he's being talked about for the things he wants talked about. He does not want Epstein files headlines. Anyone from the GOP who votes for the discharge petition makes that problem worse for him. Of course he regards that as a "hostile act." He wants the story to disappear. And not necessarily because he's worried about anything new coming out, but because the mere existence of the story is bad for him. It splits his base and undermines his argument that he's a Fighter against the Elite for the Forgotten - because if he's that Fighter, why aren't people in the Epstein Files getting indicted?
No. of Recommendations: 2
He does not want Epstein files headlines. Anyone from the GOP who votes for the discharge petition makes that problem worse for him.
OTOH, if he just fulfills his campaign promise, it will be in the headlines for a week (max), and done. Then he can go on about how he solved the India/Pakistan problem to his heart's content.
Seems to me, by not releasing the data, he's just prolonging this hanging over his head. Like a Sword of Damocles.
No. of Recommendations: 2
OTOH, if he just fulfills his campaign promise, it will be in the headlines for a week (max), and done.
No, it won't.
He'll release the files, but there won't be a client list. There won't be any smoking guns. There won't be any documents showing all the Elites that were taking part in Epstein's crimes.
His base will come to the obvious conclusion - Donald Trump is in on it. He's hiding the truth. He's become One of Them. "They" got to him.
What - you thought they'd come to the conclusion that they were wrong about Epstein, or that their favorite conspiracy YouTuber or Dan Bognino was lying to them? That's not how conspiracists think. If there's evidence that contradicts the conspiracy, it just means the conspiracy runs even deeper than they thought.
Trump doesn't want to release the files because it won't silence the issue - it will just make him part of the conspiracy. What he wants is for people to stop talking about this until the midterms.
No. of Recommendations: 0
His base will come to the obvious conclusion - Donald Trump is in on it. He's hiding the truth. He's become One of Them. "They" got to him.
How is that different from withholding them? Those who would come to that conclusion are coming to that conclusion anyway. No difference. Those supporters that are a bit more open to reason (I'm sure there are a few) would look at it and go "huh...nothin' there", and move on. Many of his supporters (like Dope) already assume there is nothing there (as near as I can tell, anyway). The release would just confirm it for them.
No. of Recommendations: 5
How is that different from withholding them?
Because right now his base is mad at his underlings - Bondi, especially. They can blame the deep state, the AG, the system or the process, or even the courts. His base still gets to believe in the conspiracy, and they get to believe that the conspiracy doesn't involve Trump, for a while. And they're still looking forward - they still believe the files are important, and that they might get to see them, so they're focusing on that.
But once all the files are out....there's nowhere to hide any more. That's it. It's done. We've seen everything. Either the base was heinously lied to by all their favorite influencers about a big part of their worldview, or Trump has to be in on it. The conspiracy metastasizes. Trump is no longer their savior, no longer the one who was going to fix this. Either he's helpless to fix it, or he's in on it. Neither is good.
No. of Recommendations: 1
Either he's helpless to fix it, or he's in on it. Neither is good.
It may take a bit longer if they aren't released, but aren't they likely to come to that conclusion anyway (i.e. he's in on it)? I don't see how a delay helps. Victims are going public already. This is pushing some of his preferred headlines to "under the fold", and it will continue to do so as long as he's "hiding something".
Even if there is no smoking gun, the innuendo is causing almost as much difficulty now. If the data are released, some of those on the fence will say "oh well". The conspiracy people will never be satisfied with anything less than confirmation (whether it is true or not). I think you'll have a smaller group of people clamoring about Epstein if the data were released. Not none (by a long-shot), but less.
No. of Recommendations: 18
Epstein victim, Maria Farmer, has already named Trump, as did Virginia Giuffre.
Have no illusions, Trump is a violent pedophile.
No. of Recommendations: 3
Epstein victim, Maria Farmer, has already named TrumpDid she? When she told her story to the
Times, she made no claim that Trump did anything to her - or that any other Epstein associates ever directly abused her:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/20/us/politics/eps...Again, everyone already has access to enough information about Trump's relationship with Epstein to know that Trump was sufficiently well-acquainted with Epstein to know he had a predilection for young women. There's photos of them together and a quote from Trump
observing that Epstein liked his women young. Whatever political damage Trump could suffer from that connection (which I submit isn't much) has already happened.
