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This story appeared in The Logoff, a every day publication that helps you keep knowledgeable concerning the Trump administration with out letting political information take over your life. Subscribe right here.
Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump’s self-inflicted Jeffrey Epstein scandal has basically paralyzed the House of Representatives, as Speaker Mike Johnson introduced at present that the chamber would recess early to keep away from voting to reveal details about the deceased financier.
What modified? The House 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 recordsdata on Epstein gained traction. An extended August recess is regular for Congress, however not the abrupt determination to go for the door early.
Why does this matter? The Logoff hasn’t coated the Epstein scandal but as a result of our mission is to focus on what issues most — not what’s talked about most. But it’s develop into clear that, at the very least for now, this isn’t going away, and the lengths that Trump’s Republican allies within the House are going to to keep away from the problem are noteworthy. Outside Congress, it has actual endurance inside Trump’s coalition. Like it or not, the conspiracy idea is taking part in an inescapable position in politics proper now.
What’s the context? Trump, and by extension the Republican Party, have struggled to answer 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 in opposition to customary DOJ process — however Trump and plenty of of his allies promised to take action through the 2024 marketing campaign, and Trump’s lawyer normal, Pam Bondi, stated in February that she was reviewing Epstein’s alleged “client list” 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 fulfill with Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted Epstein affiliate, to hunt new details about doable Epstein purchasers, and the House Oversight Committee voted Tuesday to subpoena Maxwell to testify.
And with that, it’s time to sign off…
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