I know for a fact that there are stories and incidents that I would delve into had I been an elected official. What are the reasons I'm glad that I pontificate both here and on the radio about such instances, and am not officially voting on such things?
I would get myself in trouble.
The whole mess with Jeffrey Epstein is one of those instances where I would be driving leadership nuts because of the whole gosh darn situation. I already know this, and thankfully, I am not lucky and blessed enough to be an elected official, and I'm wise enough to know that instances like this would get me in trouble with the leadership.
As I was reading this in The Detroit News, my mind left in a hundred different directions:
U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett is the only Michigan Republican lawmaker in Congress who has signed onto a procedural effort to force a vote to require the Department of Justice to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Barrett, who represents a mid-Michigan swing district anchored by Lansing, noted he was one of the first House GOP lawmakers to sign onto a bipartisan resolution led by Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Ro Khanna of California the first day it was available, July 16. Eleven Republicans have signed on.
I get what Barrett is trying to do here; he is trying to split the difference, and quite frankly, I don't blame him. I have no doubt he checked with the White House before he released this statement below:
Barrett told The Detroit News that he wanted to be on the record in support of releasing the Epstein files ― with the exception of the personal information of victims or any sexual content that should be redacted, he noted.
"The bill prescribes for that, but beyond that, I absolutely think that these things ought to be made public and released, and people can make their own conclusions as a result," Barrett said.
Michigan 2024 results in the 7th Congressional District:
Tom Barrett (R) 226,722
Curtis Hertel (D) 209,959
Tom Barrett beat a former Michigan Speaker of the House in 2024 by three and a half points. Being that he is part of a national House of Representatives that is currently Republicans at 219 seats to Democrats at 212, they have a very thin margin to walk a line. If it comes down to a total vote of the House, he is not guaranteed to vote yes on it.
The thinking is that you can't get in trouble for throwing your support behind information being released when that information doesn't contain damaging material. Which is why I'm glad he added the "people can make their own conclusions" line in that statement about being the only Republican so far out of the Michigan delegation that is giving a thumbs up on this.
This is a smart move for Barrett and giving the thumbs up and not asking for all hell to break loose as the Democrats would hope. I would consider it shocking if a couple more Republicans did not join this from the Michigan delegation in that effort.
Democrats are hoping that there is something in the files that has not been leaked already. Yet they didn't forget that Joe Biden was President for four years and beat Donald Trump, and they could have released any damaging information if the government had it at any time.
They didn't, though.
I have no doubt some of the people on the Democrat side are going to make as much of a stink as this is possible and somehow try to touch President Trump on this, but if that were the case, it would have already happened at this time last year.
You know that, and I know that, but the Democrats are trying to make a stink about it every minute of every single day.
Editor’s Note: The mainstream media isn't interested in the facts; they're only interested in attacking the president. Help us continue to get to the bottom of stories like the Jeffrey Epstein files by supporting our truth-seeking journalism today.
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