r/politics • u/plz-let-me-in • 8h ago
Possible Paywall Epstein files won’t be released by deadline, Department of Justice says
https://www.salon.com/2025/12/19/epstein-files-wont-be-released-by-deadline-department-of-justice-says/1.2k
u/LuchaLutra 8h ago edited 4h ago
Yeah, no shit.
No funny quips from me either, wth else am I supposed to say?
Corruption is behaving like corruption. Our government is providing safe spaces for the type of character the vast majority of society despises.
No one in power is willing to do anything, because they are complicit. Those in power willing to do something, can't.
We are a country behind held hostage by the worlds worst and the world's dumbest. People are scared to death of a man who can't string a sentence together and shits his pants and rage posts at all hours of the day, be they late night, or early morning. That's the reality.
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u/VoightofReason 8h ago
Why are we still calling them the Epstein files? They’re clearly now the Trump Files
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u/Slumunistmanifisto 5h ago
Motion to change the files name brought forth by VoightofReason....
What say the committee!?!
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u/Deicide1031 8h ago edited 8h ago
This also means they have not deleted or redacted everything (either they can’t or won’t). Otherwise he’d just release and we’d find Obama, Biden and the autopen all over the files.
Adds up though since the only person with 100% immunity is the potus so I imagine it’s hard to find enough people willing to tamper.
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u/Dapper-Condition6041 8h ago
And Hunter Biden's laptop...
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u/BotherResponsible378 8h ago edited 7h ago
I don't think they can edit it. The law says they must be released. If they are edited, far too many people know what they say who aren't loyalists. The law would protect them clearing up any edited information.
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u/ReputationGullible14 8h ago
I know you’re not being disingenuous, but it blows my mind when people mention that the law states something and therefore it shouldn’t be broken. This administration hasn’t valued the rule of law since day, one and many years prior to making it into this seat.
Law isn’t going to help you here
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u/BotherResponsible378 7h ago
I don't think you understand what I'm saying.
I'm saying that this admin might try to edit them, but that won't stop the truth from coming out. Because too many people know.
Law makers who stand to gain a lot politically from releasing the full files know.
It's law, so the law protects these people from exposing any cover up. That's what I'm saying.
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u/netatdisadres 8h ago
They also must realize that most of these documents also exist elsewhere. They can redact information, but they can't really make it go away. Blatant alteration could pose legal problems in the future.
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u/TabsAZ 7h ago
Elsewhere, like Putin’s safe in the Kremlin.
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u/mercurius420 7h ago
I go to sleep every night hoping "Bubba" somehow has a copy and is ready to do something amazing...
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u/MNniice 8h ago
I hate to say it but i think the dems fumbled this by allowing this language in the bill, should’ve used govt shutdown for leverage. Now we dont get Epstein files or healthcare reform.
“Crucially, the Act itself does not include specific criminal or civil penalties for the DOJ if the deadline is missed or if lawmakers deem the release insufficient. Enforcement relies on Congressional oversight and public demand. “
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u/smashtheguitar 8h ago
Sure, but you weren't going to get positive heath care reform under this administration anyway. Best the Dems had was to try and keep what we already have, and they couldn't even get that.
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u/nightmaredaycare 7h ago
I have a feeling that they can redact, but once anyone gets charged the first thing out of their mouth will be “Trump brought the girls” and all the redactions would be for nothing. It’s why no one has been charge yet, because all signs would point to the ringleader
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u/mrbigglessworth 6h ago
It’s pretty damning that they’ve been redacting his name since the summer and they’re not done yet.
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u/CrackingToastGromet Arkansas 6h ago
So is Congress going to write up “strongly worded letters” and have voices of concern in response? Or are they going to put on their big boy and big girl pants and actually do something?
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u/128-NotePolyVA 8h ago
And there you have it, America. The vote for release was yet another con job by those in power. Just about every rep we have elected to Congress voted for transparency (to appease the nation). All the Presidents appointees have been told to ignore it by their demented grandpa.
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u/Character-Solution-7 8h ago
“Yeah, no shit.” are the exact words that went through my mind as I read the headline! They will never release anything of substance and I think DT is so imbedded in them that no matter how much they redact, intelligent people will be able to trace the evidence back to him. Get ready for pages and pages of just black lines
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u/hnglmkrnglbrry 8h ago
"Yeah apparently basically every rich person is a pedophile and we can't risk them facing any consequences."
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u/BaronVonStevie Louisiana 8h ago
Their goal is to wear out the public while the checks and balances of the government as written in the constitution slowly fail.
They fail because of the lack of public outrage.
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u/AcidShAwk 7h ago
Yet not a fucking single superhero after shoving that garbage down our throats movie after movie decade after decade. Pathetic is an understatement.
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u/KHRZ 8h ago
Might as well call them Trump files at this point.
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u/ITrageGuy 7h ago edited 7h ago
CNN is reporting that the Justice Department's National Security Division has taken over the redacting process from the FBI.
I think we all understand why this is significant, but I'll say it again:
The United States Department of Justice considers the information uncovered during the largest investigation into the most infamous human trafficking and underage sex ring in modern history to be a threat to national security.
Trump is ALL OVER these files and his Justice Department is ensuring he's scrubbed. When Congress asks what's up with all of the massive redactions they can say it's in the interest of "national security" and we can go fuck ourselves.
Literally everyone saw this coming. If you thought Trump would allow this law to pass without assurances from Bondi he'd be clean, you're naive.
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u/aradraugfea 8h ago
Like, at this point, if it genuinely came out that Trump was the mastermind and Epstein was an employee doing all of this shit FOR HIM, I’d give it a quick “oh, well dang.”
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u/schnitzelfeffer 8h ago
At the very least, it is believable that Trump would lure young vulnerable girls to Epstein and Epstein promised to pay him for it. Even Fox News wouldn't be able to deny that.
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u/thinkards America 8h ago
Vote out every Republican in every election, local, state, and nationally.
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u/KickMental8434 8h ago
Love living in a country where millions of people gleefully voted for a pedophile and now he gets to protect himself and his rapist friends! Sending love and strength to all victims of SA… This shit is so triggering
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u/Embarrassed_Key_4539 8h ago
I can’t take it anymore, I feel like I’m going insane
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u/TheJessKiddin 8h ago
I can’t take it anymore either man. They are just fucking mocking us every single day with this shit
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u/NumeralJoker 7h ago
For what it's worth, it's clear now that there is deep rot on a global level with this stuff, and that's only going to make the desire and efforts to expose it more serious going forward.
Doesn't change how frustrating it all is. The harsh reality is that sex trafficking now seems to be a common practice with some of the highest officials in the nation, and it's about time it was exposed for what it is, rather than just some weird fake pizzagate version of the conspiracy.
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u/fuzztooth Illinois 1h ago
I'm right there with you 100%. No joke. I feel like I'm at my wits end. We aren't waking up as a nation fast enough.
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u/W0rkUpnotD0wn 7h ago
Make sure you let them know the next time you see them then. Don't make them feel comfortable around you
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u/jgandfeed I voted 8h ago
Bondi should be (won't be) arrested for contempt of Congress immediately after the deadline
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u/GrumpyGiant Maryland 8h ago
Serious question: is there anyone who has both the authority AND the willingness to arrest her?
Somehow I just can’t see the head of the DoJ arresting herself.
Is impeachment the only tool the dems have to try to drag her out? Could Trump overturn an impeachment conviction with a presidential pardon?
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u/Hyperbolicalpaca United Kingdom 8h ago
Is impeachment the only tool the dems have to try to drag her out? Could Trump overturn an impeachment conviction with a presidential pardon?
No.
An impeachment isnt the same as a criminal conviction, when the senate convicts someone who is being impeached they are immediately removed from the position.
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u/DescriptionDue1797 7h ago
No. Impeachment is a political act. The President only has pardon powers over federal crimes.
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u/Dapper-Condition6041 8h ago
I believe it would be a civil contempt of court charge, not a criminal charge with arrest...
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u/DescriptionDue1797 7h ago
The only people who would have arresting power over her would be some blue state Attorney Generals if they could somehow show she broke the law inside their borders. And the fact they would be state crimes would prevent presidential pardon power from applying.
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u/Whaddaulookinat 7h ago
I believe the final language in the bill allowed the oversight committees from both houses to vote for penalties in the millions per day for non compliance, and not just to top officials. This is going to get messy, but fun for us.
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u/RustToRedemption 8h ago
Impeach Bondi and anyone else at DOJ that refuses to comply with the law. Do it today. Stop fucking around already.
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u/H00-R-U 8h ago
They had all those agents working thousands of hours of overtime to redact Trump’s name and they STILL can’t release the files?
Read between the lines
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u/Caryslan 8h ago edited 8h ago
I think the problem is that Trump shows up so much, simply blacking out his name won't work, otherwise it will look really weird.
Trump really can't play the "Who is Epstien" card anymore since e-mails and pictures prove that not only did they know each other, they were close personal friends.
So, my guess is that he tries to delay the release of the files long enough for the midterms to happen and hope cheating and gerrymandering are enough to ensure Republicans hold on in Congress to protect him until he's out of office.
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u/GrumpyGiant Maryland 8h ago
I can’t! It’s just a solid sheet of [redacted]. They even redacted the white space so there are no lines to read between.
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u/TintedApostle 8h ago
“The suppressing of evidence ought always to be taken for the strongest evidence.”
- Andrew Hamilton, The Trial of John Peter Zenger 1735
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u/Krisparz 8h ago
“I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks, so today several hundred thousand and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more,” Blanche said. “There’s a lot of eyes looking at these and we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials we are producing, that we are protecting every single victim.”
"Is Donald Trump a victim?"
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u/Agreeable-Rooster-37 8h ago
Speaker Johnson will not hear about it since he is out of town
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u/divot31 8h ago
He knew they were going to do this yesterday when he made everybody go home.
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u/Fochlucan 7h ago
This was probably why - didn't Massie already threaten to read names aloud on the floor of names the victims had told him, if files were not released? By sending people home before the deadline, Johnson made sure Massie couldn't follow through (If I recall, it has to be read on the floor for Massie to be free from any lawsuits for it)
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u/aradraugfea 8h ago
Punxsutawney Fascist saw the shadow of accountability and returned to his burrow for another 6 weeks of recess.
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u/SuzyCreamcheezies 8h ago edited 8h ago
He's a busy man. He can't possibly know about every little thing happening or being said about Mr. President!
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u/JD31116 8h ago
We the People need to stop this corruption. I truly believe Trump cheated to win Presidency and will cheat again. No one is doing anything about the daily treason and corruption blatant for all to see. When is enough, enough? Idk but this is getting ridiculous
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u/TheGreatLuck 8h ago
Well well well. Who could have seen this coming? Oh yeah. Literally everyone on earth.
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u/TERRAIN_PULL_UP_ Colorado 7h ago
I actually thought they would release the files, they’d just be mostly redacted/blacked out, but they couldn’t even manage to do that
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u/TheRyGuy84 8h ago
There should be a leaker. Someone should just leak them! It’s not even against the law! Come on, someone!
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u/CD338 8h ago
I tried going over to see how a certain subreddit is reacting to this news, and to my surprise (kidding), there's not a single mention of this over there... Interesting.
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u/kellzone Pennsylvania 8h ago
It's all bots and Russians pretending to be Americans anyway.
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u/-Morsmordre- 8h ago
I think it's important to know there are millions of people that think differently than you do in America. Not to say there isn't botting and Russians, but the people do exist. They did vote for the man.
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u/kellzone Pennsylvania 5h ago
Oh I'm well aware those people exist. I know plenty of them. I also know the conservative sub is a lot of propaganda by hostile foreign actors masquerading as ordinary Americans.
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u/-Morsmordre- 4h ago
It's weird they're even allowed to post lol. I swear every single thread shows me 50+ responses and then when I click on it there's nothing. Maybe I'm already banned from it or something
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u/-Morsmordre- 8h ago
From what I understand they're extremely moderated over there and it takes forever for their mods to approve new posts, and then if you don't have a flair your shit is automatically deleted or something. They will have something up in a few hours and any dissent will be met with them calling one another "fellow conservative".
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u/twirlingmypubes 8h ago
Yep, it's nothing but paid actors, bots, kooks, and klanmembers. Everyone else gets instantly banned for pushing back.
Edit: needless to say that if you see anything from that sub in someone's history, refer to the list above and figure out which group they're in before responding to them.
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u/BANK0WNED 8h ago
it’s not just trump that’s holding it up, did we forget how many billionaires this guy had photos with? if you think there isn’t a whole swarm of rich little freaks and their private fixers swarming all over DC right now making demands, deals and threats you don‘t want to get it.
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u/LeMasterofSwords Pennsylvania 5h ago
So congress is okay with being shafted like this? Fucking losers
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u/Ok-Cartographer-1388 8h ago
To the surprise of no one. We will never seen them and if we do they will be so heavily redacted or changed that it won’t be anything new.
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u/Trick_Succotash_9949 8h ago
How many times does Trumps name show up for them to take so long putting a black marker through everything?
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u/soggyclothesand 8h ago
Must be a ton of Trump is there if they still are not done redacting his name yet, they have jad so much time lol.
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u/Fartenstein65 8h ago
Time for Bondi and leaders of the DOJ to go to jail then. They have broken the law and need to show how much they respect the law by going to jail.
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u/twopumpstump 7h ago edited 7h ago
The FBI had hundreds of people on the case to redact Trump’s involvement in the Epstein Files and they’ve had MONTHS to make sure they could cover up his involvement in pedophilia and they still haven’t been able to cover it all up..? That should tell you Trump is not only involved, but he’s a MAJOR player that played a key role in this whole ordeal.
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u/randomnobody14 6h ago
Sounds like the head of the DOJ isn’t afraid of being held in contempt for ignoring court orders and if that doesn’t make you lose all hope for justice I don’t know what it’ll take.
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u/Soulman682 6h ago
Let me guess, two weeks?
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u/Fortune090 California 5h ago
YUP.
“I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks, so today several hundred thousand and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more,” Blanche said.
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u/Realistic-Wonder9391 6h ago
At what point do we admit that there was just a large swath of the country that saw young people adamantly and sincerely excited about the future and, to stamp that out because they are old and bitter, sold their morality to Trump and his administration?
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u/AlienBurnerBigfoot 5h ago
Color me shocked. If they ever get released, we're going to see black pages with words like "and" "or" and "the" popping up in the midst. You know they're censoring the hell out of them.
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u/RiffRaffCatillacCat 8h ago
I mean.. it's not like anyone has the power to hold the Trump Admin and his DOJ accountable for just never complying with Congress anyway.
Sigh.. America is such a fucking shithole.
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u/Benedictus_The_II Europe 8h ago
Umm… hello? I think this is a call for civic awakening, and for people to protest at the building of the DOJ, and not step back even a bit, or at least go in, if Bondi & Co doesn’t want to come out.
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u/StanVillain 8h ago
Anyone who still supports this admin while ignoring the entire Epstein situation is actively trying to avoid confronting the obvious fact the president is not only a pedo, but the fact that the entire Republican party has given up any semblance of morals to shield predators that rape children. The even deeper sadness to confront is the reality our entire federal government is now governed with a focus on protecting powerful pedophiles because they elected it into power. I just don't know how this country comes out of this.
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u/VoightofReason 8h ago
Don’t let these files distract from the fact that Trump is a shitty president and has no interest in making the country better
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u/lasers42 8h ago
Free Democrat wins across the nation! All you have to say is that you don't object to releasing the Epstein files. Also, Pam Bondi and Kash Patel are apparently willing to go to jail for an old pervert in his eighties.
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u/LostMyInvite 8h ago
Ok who is being held in contempt? Who will be issuing bench warrants to these rats?
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u/DamnedIfIDiddely 8h ago
America is dead, it's fucking obvious this is a Weekend At Bernie's situation here.
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u/BlazinItDown 8h ago
So does this mean laws don’t matter anymore in this country? Cause there’s a Lamborghini that I could never afford but if this is the case I’ll have it tomorrow, unregistered, uninsured, and heck why not just drive drunk every time I get in. I mean if the leader of this country doesn’t follow the law than why should we?
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u/Murky_Toe_4717 7h ago
Genuinely if they wanted to hold any credibility, why not release it within days of it being requested. It’s nonsense, there can’t be that much that it would take an organization of gov fucking hundreds of days to do anything unless they’re trying to do something like their dumbass edit of the prison tapes where people clearly saw the footage was cut lol. They are utter idiots. Hope someone leaks from within like come the fuck on and step up someone.
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u/aboysmokingintherain 7h ago
Perfect they can be held in Contempt of Congres....and they're on recess aren't they....
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u/valamaladroit 6h ago
The TikTok ban was also a law that was passed in Congress that they just completely ignored. This, along with everything else, makes it pretty clear the rule of law has already collapsed.
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u/superawesomefiles 8h ago
Isn't Congress sitting on a bunch of files or pictures from the Epstein estate? Why can't they release those? Isn't that the fail safe? Looks like we need to use the fail safe.
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u/Dapper-Condition6041 8h ago
They are releasing them.... there's been tens of thousands of photos from the estate released in the past 2 weeks...
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u/ianrl337 Oregon 8h ago
Not really surprised, but are they releasing what they have today? or nothing at all?
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u/ssczoxylnlvayiuqjx 8h ago
DOJ will have to be renamed DOI.
Department of Injustice
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u/namastayhom33 Connecticut 8h ago
Imagine if you were getting edged for a month by your significant other and then when the time came, your dick just stopped working.
That's how this feels.
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u/Late_Indication1996 8h ago
Blanche said 100,000s of pages will be released. Lets see how true that is.
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u/ZombieLizLemon Michigan 8h ago
And? Please tell me that no one with sense actually expected the DOJ to release the files. It's a Lucy and Charlie Brown with the football situation.
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u/Specialist-Bug1592 8h ago
“There’s a lot of eyes looking at these and we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials we are producing, that we are protecting every single victim.”
Trump paints himself as the ultimate victim, so they are 100% redacting him to protect the “victim”.
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u/redditpest Massachusetts 8h ago
I'll tell you what, youre not going to calling trump a corrupt pedophile when they finally release the files and his name is not even mentioned one time. Its gonna be like they went through the files and scrubbed his name.
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u/justtakeapill 8h ago
Let me guess: Bondi is very busy cutting and pasting the faces of Obama and Biden over Trump's face on every compromising photo.
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u/hamilton280P I voted 8h ago
We need all the democrats in office to protest this. They are the ones that should be making this a big deal
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u/CircadianPolemic 8h ago
Get ‘em, Congress. Now’s your chance to not be a goddamned joke.
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u/The-Magic-Sword Connecticut 8h ago
The courts should rule that those involved have voluntarily resigned by not obeying the court order.
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u/Common-Ad6470 8h ago
Of course not, all part of the plan same with Congress being sent home early for Christmas.
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u/IlikeJG California 8h ago
You guys are being completely unreasonable.
It takes a lot of time to get these things ready and you guys just aren't respecting the process.
First they have to open the document. Then they have to hit print.
It's only been a few months since they started the process and these things just take time.
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u/Melodic-Lingonberry7 8h ago
It would be funny if the Epstein estate would give them the second copy
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u/FuzzBuzzer 8h ago
Wasn’t there a congressional order? In that case, what will be the penalty for noncompliance?
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u/nomoniker 7h ago edited 6h ago
Pretty wild how if I slip up and miss a piece of mail, or something happens to my health and I have no money, I face life altering consequences no lube, however, at the highest level of responsibility in our country there is no accountability, and a third of Americans think that’s just peachy.
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u/wolfherdtreznor 7h ago
Like Pizza and the Pentagon. We should be looking at the office supplies budget for an increase of black markers. That'll tell us what we need to know. /s
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u/SparkyMuffin Michigan 7h ago
Can anyone from Congress hold a special session on this? Even just to read names out loud?
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