During Rep. Jay Obernolte’s August Spectrum News interview, Obernolte delivered tidy talking points about House GOP messaging on President Trump’s Big Ugly Bill. But one response stood out like a flare in the dark regarding the question of the Epstein files: “We need to go open kimono.” He used it to emphasize transparency and to argue that government should be honest about its actions. And yet that very principle should mean that Obernolte should be a "Yes" on the upcoming vote to release the Epstein files. If he really believes what he said, then a “Yes” vote shouldn’t that hard.
This moment calls for something far more significant than partisan gloss: it demands courage. And courage is exactly what Obernolte will need on the upcoming vote to release the Epstein files a vote he has no excuse to oppose.
Transparency should never be controversial, yet Washington’s talent for avoiding accountability turns even the simplest moral choices into political calculus. The Epstein files are not a matter of left versus right. They are a matter of the public’s right to know, of justice long delayed for the victims of sexual predators, and of ensuring powerful men can no longer hide behind sealed documents and broken institutions. The American people have waited years to see the truth laid bare, the truth about a trafficking empire built on exploitation, deception, and the unforgivable protection of elites.
Rep. Obernolte loves to talk about restoring trust in government. He emphasizes communication, messaging, and responsible stewardship. But messaging without action is just theater. Voting yes on releasing the Epstein files is the clearest, simplest demonstration of integrity he will ever be offered.
Opposing the release would signal that protecting President Trump matters more to him than delivering justice for victims. It would imply that secrecy is more valuable than sunlight, and that the American public is not mature or deserving enough to know the full extent of what happened. It would show that all those speeches about accountability were just empty, cable-news filler.
A yes vote means standing with the people, not the protectors of sexual predators. A “no” vote would signal allegiance not to justice but to the same culture of protection and political shielding that enabled Epstein’s operation in the first place.
Photo Source: Politico
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