Epstein Avoidance
Plus: Etan Patz case conviction overturned, Catholic bikers visit Alligator Alcatraz, and more...
Seriously? "House Republicans have virtually stopped work on all major legislation leading up to their six-week summer recess to avoid taking votes on forcing the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files," reports Axios. I suppose if you want Congress to stop spending money, this is a good thing. But it's rather pathetic that, instead of erring toward transparency, they've decided to stonewall.
"The House Rules Committee is not planning to hold votes this week to prepare major legislation for the House floor, meaning any remaining votes will likely be on small, noncontroversial bills," notes Axios. Formerly on the docket: environmental and immigration-related legislation. "But Democrats planned to force yet more votes on amendments aimed at pressuring the Justice Department to release all its documents on Epstein." So now Republicans simply won't hold the votes.
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Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.) is one of the lone Republicans who is actually interested in releasing the files. Together with Rep. Ro Khanna (D–Calif.)—two former Just Asking Questions guests, for those paying attention—they introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) about a week ago, which was meant to force a House vote on the release of the government's files on Jeffrey Epstein. The House refused to consider the legislation within seven legislative days, so a discharge petition has been circulated. "We all deserve to know what's in the Epstein files, who's implicated, and how deep this corruption goes," said Massie. "If your Representative won't sign the discharge petition, ask why." (Massie has the support, amusingly, of none other than Theo Von, which isn't exactly that politically useful but does show some interesting winds shifting.)
"Republican leaders are considering sending the House home as early as Wednesday, after a bipartisan clash over the so-called Epstein files broke the Rules Committee Monday night," per Politico. It's all kind of insane, though I suppose them dipping out early means they can do less damage. Still, in a better world, they'd be oriented toward transparency, like Massie and Khanna.
Scenes from New York: In May 1979, 6-year-old Etan Patz disappeared as he walked less than two blocks through Soho to get on the bus for school. It was his mother's first time allowing him to walk alone, and his was one of the first missing child cases to attract the national spotlight; Patz appeared on milk cartons and billboards, his parents seeking information about what had happened to him. On Monday, a federal appeals court overturned the conviction of Pedro Hernandez, a former bodega clerk, who had allegedly lured Patz into a basement before strangling him. Hernandez's lawyers "argued that the trial court's response to a note from the jury was improper and had prejudiced the verdict," so Hernandez will be released from prison and receive a new trial.
QUICK HITS
- "Yale Art Gallery abandons plans for federal grants over anti-DEI rules, funds African exhibit itself," reports the New Haven Register. Seems like a perfectly good outcome to me!
- Tyler Cowen on the Europoors
- "Malaysia's government is seeking to lower US tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump to about 20%, but is reluctant to meet certain demands around electric vehicles and foreign ownership, according to people familiar with the matter," reports Bloomberg. "Malaysia has made progress addressing US concerns over the smuggling of high-performance semiconductors, but has resisted Washington's demands for an extension of tax breaks on American electric vehicles, a reduction of foreign shareholding limits in the politically-sensitive power and financial sectors, and a cut in subsidies for local fisherman."
- "Miami's top Catholic leader stopped by the state's controversial Everglades detention center for migrants during a Sunday motorcycle ride with dozens of other Catholic bikers," reports the Miami Herald. "Archbishop Thomas Wenski visited 'Alligator Alcatraz,' Florida's new migrant detention center located in an isolated airstrip near the Big Cypress National Preserve, to pray for for [sic] detainees—a trip that he said 'emerged organically' when his group of Catholic bikers wanted to visit Florida City for lunch."
- "There's a lot of great things about California, but raising a family is not easy here. Doing business is not easy here," In-N-Out Chief Executive Lynsi Snyder said to right-wing pundit Allie Beth Stuckey. Snyder plans to personally move to Tennessee and establish a corporate office there.
- "Like raves and backwards baseball caps, Trumpian politics has finally made it to Japan's shores," writes Noah Smith at Noahpinion. "A new political party called Sanseito has won a surprising number of seats in Japan's recent Upper House election, running on a platform that mostly looks like it was copied directly from MAGA."
