Reposting this I made comment on Jay Kuo’s piece today:
If we just believed women in this country, we would not be where we are. For starters, we wouldn’t have Clarence Thomas or Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. Nor would Trump be sitting in the White House, regardless of how much Russia interfered in the 2016 (2020 although they didn’t succeed) and 2024 elections. Yes, I’m aware Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, which is an entire issue by itself—the racist Electoral College. Also, we need to start calling them the Trump/Epstein files.
Excellent piece Qasim. I'm thoroughly disgusted with the whole Washington Elite protecting Pedophiles, and that includes way too many Democrats. Tim Kaine stated today that he doesn't think this is the time for impeachment for Bondi and others involved in the cover up. If not now, fucking when? I don't give a shit who is exposed. I want to see all of them die in prison. Sharing your post with my subscribers tomorrow.
Maybe I am too paranoid, but I wonder whether the Republicans suddenly endorsed the release of the files because they were privately assured that the DOJ would cover up information hurtful to the party.
Impeachment will be hard at this point and slow. Shouldn't someone with standing--a brave victim who has already spoken out an put her self in the public eye--be filing for a writ of mandamus? Though if it gets to the Extremes, they might well hold that Congress is powerless to pass laws that tell the President what to do, even if the President has signed the law. That's basically what repealing Humphrey's Executor would be doing.
And I would say that disregarding a writ would pretty much seal the idea of coverup in most American minds. It seems possible that from a purely political point of view, the DOJ is damaging this regime more than anything likely to be in the files.
It was inevitable that only some (the most innocuous, or the ones most likely to smear the reputations of "enemies") would be released. The entire fiasco is a charade and one can only imagine Epstein chortling with glee in his grave.
This release of little to nothing is only more of the spiteful behavior of the Trump administration, another haughty slap in the face of the American public. All it does is further guarantee that the midterms will be a Republican wipeout as the clock counts down toward 2028 when we the people will have the opportunity to show Trump what we think about his second term. It will be a historic humiliation of a president.
Please let's get this done. A child sexual abuser in the White House does help our countries reputation across the entire world. I for one am totally embarrassed by Trump.
Embarrassment? The man's ego is immune to embarrassment either through ignorance or a shell hardened by lifelong ridicule and abuse. We as individuals can be embarrassed by our own mistakes - no one else, no matter how egregiously awful they may be can burden us with their errors. That is one of the interesting side effects of American belief in individualism. Individuals are not bound by some collective code - We bear the responsibility for our own actions - good or bad. Ayn Rand ignored responsibility, focused entirely on self-ish determination. Libertarian-ism also seems to ignore responsibility. Responsibility is not part of the "sovereign citizen" creed.
Qasim, respectfully, if each one of the hundreds of women who were damaged by this tragedy, were to, one by one, give permission for their names to be included, not redacted, in these files, maybe we would see justice. Women are not children. We can think for ourselves. We need not take on the shame of our abusers for their benefit.
I appreciate your idea as we all want justice for these women. However, many of the women who do not want their names released are shielding their children and families. They should be able to have both, justice and protect their children from the scrutiny. Justice should have started being served way back in the 1990’s and 2000’s. These women are well aware that sharing their names, as they’ve already done with the FBI, won’t bring about justice until power, money and the ability for attorney generals to protect their friends ceases.
Some of them have bravely come forward; perhaps they would be the ones to permit their names to be unredacted. The rest of the women, while they can certainly think for themselves, likely realize that Trump's most rabid supporters let him do their thinking for them--not to mention Trump's own famously retaliatory nature. Many of them may also still be too traumatized to take that step. Some might also have personal situations that would make it unwise.
The DOJ is complaining that they've only had a month to comply. That's ridiculous. They've had the files all along. Bondi issued binders to "influencers" (one of her more inexplicable moves) in February. The calls for releasing the files have been relentless since the beginning of the term--after Trump promised he would release them while he was campaigning. They've been redacting Trump's name for months. They've had plenty of time.
Your introductory paragraph is mostly infuriating.
As for "What the DoJ Did Wrong," I suspect the answer is "nothing." As best I know, unless you correct me, the DoJ is under the auspices of the Executive branch. Therefore, protecting the Executive branch is the right thing. It's what they should do in the interest of their "boss." Neither they nor their boss is considering what this is going to cost them, and is costing them already, but that's their problem.
And as for the theory that the redactions and removals are alleged to be in the interest of protecting the victims, that's not true. It has been the victims who were the moving influence to get this material released. They are named. They have offered their names. The continuing victimization is in "disappearing" them.
Yeah, Brooks and the NYT. Really something to be proud of.
Perhaps the fact of greatest interest in this pathetic tale is that the only minority of those polled is Republicans who believe that the clown knew about Epstein's crimes. 39% are still hanging onto the fantasy that he had no idea.
No, the public is most certainly not losing focus. It gets sharper every day.
I wonder if you're right that we'll have to wait for Dems to get back in control before we find out the end of this story. Every day, or at least every week, the drum beats for impeachments are getting louder. And Republicans in Congress are either less afraid of the clown, or more afraid of the public.
Impeach and disbar Bondi. Fire and disbar everyone at DOJ who took a black magic marker to the files. Either these people think it’s OK for grown men to stick their penises into young girls or they are looking the other way to keep their jobs. How disgusting. Prosecute the men. Believe the girls.
As Qasim mentioned, the files were sealed during Biden’s term so that Guislaine Maxwell could have a fair trial and not have a reason to dismiss the case.
These are my feelings not facts. Based on the evidence of this regime’s history, they will continue as planned. Everything this regime does has escaped legal consequences and it continues to escalate down to the seizing of Venezuelan oil tankers. Outrage and lawsuits aren’t having any impact.
Your final paragraph is what has me furious now. As much as many of us want justice for those girls/women, KNOW that this entire scenario is relatable for so many other women in this country. And, dammit, nothing about that ever seems to change!!!! In any case, we are all grateful to extraordinary people like you, Qasim.
Reposting this I made comment on Jay Kuo’s piece today:
If we just believed women in this country, we would not be where we are. For starters, we wouldn’t have Clarence Thomas or Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. Nor would Trump be sitting in the White House, regardless of how much Russia interfered in the 2016 (2020 although they didn’t succeed) and 2024 elections. Yes, I’m aware Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, which is an entire issue by itself—the racist Electoral College. Also, we need to start calling them the Trump/Epstein files.
*Thank you, Qasim, for naming them correctly.*
Excellent piece Qasim. I'm thoroughly disgusted with the whole Washington Elite protecting Pedophiles, and that includes way too many Democrats. Tim Kaine stated today that he doesn't think this is the time for impeachment for Bondi and others involved in the cover up. If not now, fucking when? I don't give a shit who is exposed. I want to see all of them die in prison. Sharing your post with my subscribers tomorrow.
Maybe I am too paranoid, but I wonder whether the Republicans suddenly endorsed the release of the files because they were privately assured that the DOJ would cover up information hurtful to the party.
Impeachment will be hard at this point and slow. Shouldn't someone with standing--a brave victim who has already spoken out an put her self in the public eye--be filing for a writ of mandamus? Though if it gets to the Extremes, they might well hold that Congress is powerless to pass laws that tell the President what to do, even if the President has signed the law. That's basically what repealing Humphrey's Executor would be doing.
And I would say that disregarding a writ would pretty much seal the idea of coverup in most American minds. It seems possible that from a purely political point of view, the DOJ is damaging this regime more than anything likely to be in the files.
It was inevitable that only some (the most innocuous, or the ones most likely to smear the reputations of "enemies") would be released. The entire fiasco is a charade and one can only imagine Epstein chortling with glee in his grave.
This release of little to nothing is only more of the spiteful behavior of the Trump administration, another haughty slap in the face of the American public. All it does is further guarantee that the midterms will be a Republican wipeout as the clock counts down toward 2028 when we the people will have the opportunity to show Trump what we think about his second term. It will be a historic humiliation of a president.
Please let's get this done. A child sexual abuser in the White House does help our countries reputation across the entire world. I for one am totally embarrassed by Trump.
Embarrassment? The man's ego is immune to embarrassment either through ignorance or a shell hardened by lifelong ridicule and abuse. We as individuals can be embarrassed by our own mistakes - no one else, no matter how egregiously awful they may be can burden us with their errors. That is one of the interesting side effects of American belief in individualism. Individuals are not bound by some collective code - We bear the responsibility for our own actions - good or bad. Ayn Rand ignored responsibility, focused entirely on self-ish determination. Libertarian-ism also seems to ignore responsibility. Responsibility is not part of the "sovereign citizen" creed.
Being only human we always try to blame others.
Qasim, respectfully, if each one of the hundreds of women who were damaged by this tragedy, were to, one by one, give permission for their names to be included, not redacted, in these files, maybe we would see justice. Women are not children. We can think for ourselves. We need not take on the shame of our abusers for their benefit.
I appreciate your idea as we all want justice for these women. However, many of the women who do not want their names released are shielding their children and families. They should be able to have both, justice and protect their children from the scrutiny. Justice should have started being served way back in the 1990’s and 2000’s. These women are well aware that sharing their names, as they’ve already done with the FBI, won’t bring about justice until power, money and the ability for attorney generals to protect their friends ceases.
Some of them have bravely come forward; perhaps they would be the ones to permit their names to be unredacted. The rest of the women, while they can certainly think for themselves, likely realize that Trump's most rabid supporters let him do their thinking for them--not to mention Trump's own famously retaliatory nature. Many of them may also still be too traumatized to take that step. Some might also have personal situations that would make it unwise.
The DOJ is complaining that they've only had a month to comply. That's ridiculous. They've had the files all along. Bondi issued binders to "influencers" (one of her more inexplicable moves) in February. The calls for releasing the files have been relentless since the beginning of the term--after Trump promised he would release them while he was campaigning. They've been redacting Trump's name for months. They've had plenty of time.
MOST INTERESTING!!
Your introductory paragraph is mostly infuriating.
As for "What the DoJ Did Wrong," I suspect the answer is "nothing." As best I know, unless you correct me, the DoJ is under the auspices of the Executive branch. Therefore, protecting the Executive branch is the right thing. It's what they should do in the interest of their "boss." Neither they nor their boss is considering what this is going to cost them, and is costing them already, but that's their problem.
And as for the theory that the redactions and removals are alleged to be in the interest of protecting the victims, that's not true. It has been the victims who were the moving influence to get this material released. They are named. They have offered their names. The continuing victimization is in "disappearing" them.
Yeah, Brooks and the NYT. Really something to be proud of.
Perhaps the fact of greatest interest in this pathetic tale is that the only minority of those polled is Republicans who believe that the clown knew about Epstein's crimes. 39% are still hanging onto the fantasy that he had no idea.
No, the public is most certainly not losing focus. It gets sharper every day.
I wonder if you're right that we'll have to wait for Dems to get back in control before we find out the end of this story. Every day, or at least every week, the drum beats for impeachments are getting louder. And Republicans in Congress are either less afraid of the clown, or more afraid of the public.
How likely is it that Bondi will be subject to impeachment in the near future?
Not impossible right now but much more likely if Dems retake the House & Senate.
Impeach and disbar Bondi. Fire and disbar everyone at DOJ who took a black magic marker to the files. Either these people think it’s OK for grown men to stick their penises into young girls or they are looking the other way to keep their jobs. How disgusting. Prosecute the men. Believe the girls.
To be fair, it's not like the Biden Administration were all for transparency, either.
Let's not pretend that this is "Team D - Good Team R - bad" (or vice versa).
As Qasim mentioned, the files were sealed during Biden’s term so that Guislaine Maxwell could have a fair trial and not have a reason to dismiss the case.
It's beyond atrocious that she's continued to allow to practice law despite her grotesque violations of every norm and legal standard.
In the future, how can we ensure that the DOJ remains independent?
We can't. When WE do it, it's self-defense, at worst a measured and entirely justified preemptive.
When they do it, it's fascism.
I’m not convinced that a creative solution is impossible.
Creative has nothing to do with it. This is simply a question of power.
So, the issue is settled.
Impeach presidents who violate that oath.
These are my feelings not facts. Based on the evidence of this regime’s history, they will continue as planned. Everything this regime does has escaped legal consequences and it continues to escalate down to the seizing of Venezuelan oil tankers. Outrage and lawsuits aren’t having any impact.
Law is meaningless. Enforcement is the only thing that matters.
As usual, you are right on the mark and may your prodding spur positive actions. Keep it up!
We'll keep fighting!
Your final paragraph is what has me furious now. As much as many of us want justice for those girls/women, KNOW that this entire scenario is relatable for so many other women in this country. And, dammit, nothing about that ever seems to change!!!! In any case, we are all grateful to extraordinary people like you, Qasim.
Bless you always. (That bird knew.)
Thank you, Celeste ❤️✊🏽
Damn, but Trump sure does not act like a man who has nothing to hide.
Innocent people don't ban documents revealing their innocence ¯\_(ツ)_/¯