Whether or not Rep. Don Bacon shuts up and slinks back on the MAGA train, taking these shots on CNN at President TV Watcher has got to endanger ketchup bottles in the White House. More importantly, it sends a public message that Trump’s MAGA lackeys in Congress are beginning to feel not so keen on continuing to roll over and play dead at his command.
Bacon told cohost Pamela Brown that there are enough House Republicans to vote to release Epstein files in the House despite Trump’s attack on them as weak and foolish. “We don’t want to be aligned on that side of this,” Bacon said. “We want transparency, and the White House needs to realize the train has left the station. They need to accept the fact it's going to happen.”
Bacon accused Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, of having “poorly handled” the case. But, he said, “the process is working” in Congress, and praised the work of the House Oversight Committee. He noted that the bill to release the files will also have to pass in the Senate and then go to Trump. But even if the bill stalls in the Senate, the Epstein scandal is not going to go away.
Asked if there will be a veto-proof majority in the House, Bacon said, “I think it will be. I mean, most Republicans, we're not going to vote to help shield Epstein and all the information on there. In the end, we know transparency is best.” Translation: they want the Epstein files made public, even if that harms President P***y Grabber.
He also advised Trump to “be honest about what happened” with Epstein and their relationship. Yeah, like that’s about to happen. But the point here is that Bacon was implying that the way the Trump administration has handled the matter has only served to make people more suspicious. “Most people are now very cynical, and the only way to beat this is to open up the books, put sunlight on it and let the chips fall where they fall,” Bacon said.
“The train has left the station. There's no turning back,” Bacon said. As for Trump asking the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s involvement with Democrats Bill Clinton, Larry Summers and Reid Hoffman, Bacon said that Trump issuing orders to the DOJ “undercuts” its credibility. “I don't think it's appropriate for him to do it, I would ask him not to do that.”
Bacon also complained about Trump not justifying to Congress either his killing spree in the Caribbean or his threats of war against Venezuela. “If he wants to continue the operations on these boats, he should get authorization,” Bacon said. “And if he does invade or do something with Venezuela, he needs to make his case. Because right now there's zero case being made for why we would do this with Venezuela.”
It was nowhere near close to a threat of impeachment, but it’s a glimmer of Congressional oversight where there has so far been almost none.
As I was writing this, news broke that Attorney General Pam Bondi is carrying out Trump’s wishes to investigate Democrats in the Epstein files. I worry that an "ongoing investigation" will provide cover for Puppet Bondi to withhold Epstein files from Congress and maybe distract from Trump's ever more suspicious behavior. I hope nobody falls for the ploy.
