The notion that the current government shutdown is driven by fiscal wrangling or partisanship is erroneous on its face. The real reason for this government shutdown is that our congressional representative, Jay Obernolte, and his fellow Republicans is so that the Epstein files stay buried. Furloughing government workers, stalling services, and sowing chaos is all cover to keep the Epstein files from seeing the light of day. Democracy be damned, so they can protect powerful pedophiles.
The official narrative is that the shutdown is dragging on because Republican can't work on a bi-partisan deal with the Democrats. But the unofficial narrative is because House leaders continue blocking a discharge petition that would force a vote to release the Epstein files.
So, are we, the voters of the 23rd District naïve for noticing that a conveniently timed congressional absence happens to stall that vote? The timing is too perfect to be coincidence.
Let’s call it what it is: the Epstein files represent explosive political landmines for Republicans. Powerful people may be named, connections scrutinized, documents that ought to be public might finally see daylight. In a rational system, these files would already be unsealed and subject to scrutiny.
Instead, Republicans across the board voted against the Massie-Khanna discharge petition, which would force a vote on releasing most of the files. Every single Republican on the House Rules Committee opposed it. That is not oversight. That is cover. And by allowing a shutdown, these same Republicans gain plausible deniability. They can claim: “Well, we’re just stuck in a budget fight. We can’t do anything else.”
House leadership doesn't even want to swear in a new member, Adelita Grijalva because this would force a vote release the Epstein files. So, the “recess” doubles as a roadblock. Well played.
Obernolte is complicit in the system. He hasn’t sounded the alarm in force about reopening. He hasn’t challenged leadership’s sabotage of the Epstein vote. Obernolte is playing the role of a loyal foot soldier in a morass of obstruction while wearing the mask of pragmatic conservative. The endgame? Delay the release of the Epstein files until the public forgets or is too weary to demand truth.
Rep. Obernolte may fancy himself a guardian of fiscal discipline or a principled Republican, but his silence in this moment is cowardice. The public deserves to know: who is in the Epstein files, and why are we sacrificing livelihoods and government function to keep it quiet?
If he had the courage of his claimed convictions, Obernolte would push to reopen the government and then demand the Epstein files be unsealed. Doing both at once is the only morally defensible path. Anything less is complicity in darkness.
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