By Black Star News
Photos: YouTube Screenshots\Wikimedia Commons
On Wednesday, in a rare show of bipartisanship, California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, and Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stood with survivors of serial rapist and pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein—at a press conference, while pushing for a discharge petition to force the “Epstein Files Transparency Act” onto the House floor for debate and consideration for possible passage.
Donald Trump’s reaction to the news was partially to say that the Epstein files are “irrelevant” and that its all “really a Democrat hoax.” More importantly, it has been reported that the Trump White House has threatened Republicans saying it would be considered a “very hostile act to the administration” if any Republicans signed on to the discharge petition.
Ro Khanna was the first of the three Congressional members to speak in defense of the Epstein survivors. Here is some of what he said:
“I want to begin by thanking Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards for their tireless work in the pursuit of Justice. And I want thank Sarah Drury on my team for working with them. Above all, I want to thank the survivors who are here today, whose courage and strength have brought us to this moment. I want to thank my co-lead, Congressman Thomas Massie, and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene for standing with survivors here today. Today, as you can see, we’re united in restoring trust in government. We’re here not as partisans, we’re here as patriots. We begin the work of bringing this country together, progressives, independents, moderates, and yes, MAGA supporters to demand truth and justice.
“A nation that allows rich and powerful men to traffic and abuse young girls without consequence is a nation that has lost its moral and spiritual core. Americans are asking a very simple question, how is it possible that in the richest, most powerful country in the world, there are corrupt special interest forces, both foreign or domestic, that are preventing the release, that have a stranglehold on our government and are preventing the release of the full Epstein files? There is something that is rotten in Washington. Less than 1% of these files have been released. We are demanding today on the discharge petition that all of the files be released. We know we have 212 Democrats and we have four Republicans, courageous Republicans like Thomas Massie, Nancy Mace, who was so emotional yesterday after talking to the survivors, Congresswoman Boebert and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. We need just two more signatures to force the release.
“So we gather here on the steps of the Capitol to confront these corrupt forces. Today we stand with survivors. We stand against big money. We stand to protect America’s children. That is really what this is about.”
Thomas Massie then spoke about the need to get two more Republicans to sign the discharge petition so that the survivors can get justice.
“I want to thank my colleague Ro Khanna for co-leading this effort to bring transparency and justice for these victims. I hope my colleagues are watching this press conference. I want them to think, what if this was your sister? What if this was your daughter? When these survivors speak, the Washington establishment is asking the American public to believe something that is not believable. They’re asking you to believe that two individuals created hundreds of victims and they acted alone, and that the DOJ has no idea of who else might’ve been involved, that nobody else did anything that rose to a criminal enterprise. The American people know that’s not true. Now, the speaker of the house just offered a fig leaf to my colleagues. They’re going to vote on a non-binding resolution today that does absolutely nothing.
“I appreciate the efforts of my colleague James Comer, who’s leading the Oversight Committee. They may find some information, but they’re allowing the DOJ to curate all of the information that the DOJ is giving them. If you’ve looked at the pages they’ve released so far, they’re heavily redacted. Some pages are entirely redacted, and 97% of this is already in the public domain. So I’m calling on my colleagues, be one of the next two who sponsors this discharge petition. I think it’s shameful that this has been called a hoax. Hopefully today we can clear that up. This is not a hoax. This is real. There are real survivors. There are real victims to this criminal enterprise, and the perpetrators are being protected because they’re rich and powerful and political donors to the establishment here in Washington, D.C. So today we’re standing with these survivors and we’re giving them a voice, and I want to close by thanking them. They are brave. I hope they encourage other survivors to come forward and to tell their stories, not just of Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell, but anywhere in the country.
“This is a message that we are sending. This is a litmus test. Can we drain the swamp? Are there people who are outside of the reach of the law? I don’t think there should be. So hopefully today we’ll get two more signatures on the discharge petition. That’s all we need. And with that, I want to introduce the bravest woman in Congress, Marjorie Greene. I find it interesting that the three Republican co-sponsors are women. These are women standing up for women, and Marjorie was the first to do it. And I think she deserves all of our gratitude for breaking that barrier and leading the way for the other Republicans. Hopefully they can find their spines as well.“
Marjorie Taylor Greene said that this is “an issue that Republicans and Democrats should never fight about.”
“Good morning. This is my fifth year in Congress and this is the largest press conference that I’ve seen since I’ve been here. And this is because this is an issue that matters so much to Americans. This is an issue that doesn’t have political boundaries. It’s an issue that Republicans and Democrats should never fight about. As a matter of fact, it’s such an important issue that it should bring us all together. It’s grieved me to watch the arguments and debates take place among my colleagues and even the administration. I think this is something that is worth fighting for. You see, the women behind me are going to tell you stories that you’ve never heard before. These are unimaginable horrors that they’ve lived with for their entire lives since they were very, very young. But these are also similar stories that many children, teenagers, women, and even men, are enduring nightmares right now as we speak.
“You see, these women have been fighting since the 1990s, I heard one woman tell us yesterday since 1996, and they have carried with them shame. But I want to tell you something, the shame does not fall on these brave, courageous women. The shame falls on every single person that coldly turned a blind eye to their abuse. The shame falls on every single person that enabled it. The shame falls on every single person that took money to continue it. And the shame falls on the people in power over the past several decades that protected the monster, Jeffrey Epstein and his cabal that continued a nightmare. Those people deserve the shame.
“And today we are coming forward and we are going to fight like hell for these women because we have to fight like hell for those that are enduring sexual abuse and are living in a prison of shame. Anyone that is being abused, it is not your fault. You should live with no guilt or fear or shame. All of the fault belongs to the evil people that do these things to the innocent. This is the most important fight we can wage here in Congress, is fighting for innocent people that never received justice, and the women behind me have never received justice. And do you want to know why? It’s because Jeffrey Epstein somehow was able to walk among the most rich, powerful people, not only in America but foreign countries. Yesterday I heard countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, and even Israel, and other countries.
“The truth needs to come out and the government holds the truth. The cases that are sealed hold the truth. Jeffrey Epstein’s estate holds the truth. The FBI, the DOJ, and the CIA holds the truth. And the truth we are demanding come out on behalf of these women, but also as a strong message to every innocent child, teenager, woman, and man that is being held captive in abuse. This should never happen in America and it should never be a political issue that divides us. And I want to thank Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie for doing something brave, crossing political boundaries for a very important fight. And I’m honored to join both of them. And I’m honored that Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert signed the discharge petition along with myself. And I ask my Republican colleagues not to choose just one path for justice and transparency and accountability, but I ask my Republican colleagues to choose every path for justice and accountability and transparency.”
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