Bulwark Takes - BREAKING: White House Using Threats to Bury Epstein Files

Episode Date: September 3, 2025

Tim Miller and Joe Perticone break down new twists in the Epstein files cover-up. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) are leading a bipartisan push to force a vote to release the Epstein files, but the White House is allegedly pressuring Republicans to block it, calling support for transparency a “hostile act.” With accusers set to appear at a press conference, this episode exposes the political chess match behind one of America’s darkest scandals.

Hey, everybody, Tim Miller from the Bullwark here. We have some developments in the Epstein cover-up. Republican Thomas Massey of Kentucky is doing the rounds tonight ahead of their Wednesday morning press conference that he's doing with... Who's he doing it with Joe? Rokana. Rokana, my man, Rokana. How could I forget you, Rokana? A podcast legend.

And they got a press conference far with Epstein's accusers. Thomas Mastey is making the rounds tonight. and the accusation that he made that really jumped out to me and I want to talk to you about Joe was the fact that the White House is actively whipping Republican members to vote against their petition to basically force the government

to release the Epstein file. So that is, I think, a pretty big development in the cover-up and I wanted to get more from our man on the hill Joe Perticokeone. So Joe, let's expand on that for people. Did I basically cover the state of play there? Yeah. So everyone knew this was coming. Massey and Kana announced this like weeks ago.

They were like day one when we're back, technically day two because it'll be tomorrow. We're going to have this big press conference. We're going to have the accusers. We're going to unveil our discharge petition, which is a process by which as long as there's 218 people, Democrats or Republicans, they can force a vote. even if Mike Johnson doesn't want it.

Mike Johnson's tried to misdirect on that. First, he canceled votes and said, get out of here. Don't come back for six weeks. First day back today, he says, we're going to vote on a resolution that expresses support for the oversight committee's continued investigation of this matter.

And that gives Republicans like a little out so they can say, we're voting to release the files, but not like actually, just like we're voting to let James Comer continue to pretend he's trying to release the file. And then when Massey made this accusation that, well, oh, the White House is whipping against my bipartisan discharge petition, I reached out to the White House and I was told from an official that helping Thomas Massey and liberal Democrats with their attention seeking,

while the DOJ is fully supporting a more comprehensive file or release effort from the Oversight Committee, again James Comer, would be viewed as a very hostile act to the administration. That's just not just calling members and saying don't vote against us. That is going on the record saying this would be a hostile act to the administration voting for a discharge position that would essentially require the DOJ to release the Epstein files probably defined what would be an affront to what Trump wants. And that's like they don't let don't lay down the gauntlet that much on things. Do they? Saying like hostile act, that's a very specific word that they've used before and they use it when they say do what we tell you or we're going to get politically involved

and they're already pushing a primary against Massey today Mike Johnson declined to say he would endorse one of his incumbents Thomas Massey for reelection because he's pissed about this so when they say the word hostile that usually is like a wink that like oh you don't play ball Trump's not going to back you up or Trump might you know give a helping hand to whoever's challenging you in your primary for not being Trumpy enough, for not doing what Trump says. It's a fun development where there's this infighting. I still think, though, that they'll be able to get the discharge petition because you only need, like, a handful of, I think, five Republicans right now to get on board

with this. And if all Democrats support it, which I don't know why they wouldn't, then, you know, there it is. What exactly is, like, the enforcement mechanism of this discharge petition? Like, what a Roe and Massey saying makes this different from, you know, whatever, any of the other efforts. So when a bill is introduced or a resolution is introduced, like this was several weeks ago, there's really nothing that can happen unless Mike Johnson says, yes, let's bring it to the floor.

He obviously said no. And then there's a period. It has to sit in committee for X amount of days. I think it's 40. Maybe it's 30. I could be incorrect on that. But it has to sit there. And then once it ripens, which is what they call it.

they can file a discharge petition which says if we get a majority of the chamber to say this has to be voted on then no matter what it has to be voted on in a fixed amount of time so if they can get a handful of Republicans which there are currently I believe 11 co-sponsors on the initial resolution that are Republicans and every Democrat then that's ballgame and it has to go to the floor and then people are on record voting. I know you wouldn't like follow you know they've been talking about this and and even going to their various press efforts. Like what?

So the pressure on the DOJ, like, let's say they get this passed, like what would then the DOJ have to do? You know what I mean? Like, I guess I don't understand. Like the Epstein files is this sort of convoluted thing, right? So like, where would they have pressure do you think? So the actual resolution is a bit more specific in terms of what it demands. My thing, though, is that like, yes, Congress has subpoena power.

Yes, Congress can demand the disclosure of these things, but this is a different administration that is totally comfortable with saying, like, fuck off. And to say that, like, and ignoring the law, if you look at the TikTok ban, which was upheld by the Supreme Court, like, Trump is breaking the law on that every day by not enforcing it. Whether you like it or not, like, he's breaking the law right now. And so there isn't the pressure, like, if there's enough for this discharge, petition if they don't play if the administration doesn't play ball there's not really an enforcement

mechanism to make them play ball because it also makes the politics interesting because like also it had to pass the senate which republicans control and you know you have the trump administration could just you know delay tactics that they always have or say pound sand and so the fact that they are being so publicly aggressive in trying to bully house members against voting for transparency on Epstein. It just is eyebrow raising. They could go a more chill route about this. It almost feels like they're like that they are telling on themselves a little bit. We saw some polling early in August, I believe, maybe it was late July that like it was like Harry Enten on CNN saying Epstein files is not an issue. But that polling really just looked at like broadly speaking the whole

country. Yes, the whole country thinks that like grocery prices is a far more important issue in the Epstein files, where I think this administration is being so paranoid about it is because their base cares about it. And they've never, Trump's never had to deal with, like, cracks in the base. All of his concerns about Trump or MAGA, they've always come from like, uh-oh, is the center scared? Like, even back to the Access Hollywood tape, it was like, oh, no, is this going to make normal people upset? Here, they're upset and afraid of losing the crazy people who are their, like, you know, red-blooded supporters. So I think that's why they've been so panicked about this because they hate it

and they hate it continuing to come back into the news cycle because it's a very online story and it just completely like the people most animated about it are far right people whereas like the Democrats who are like, you know, making a big deal out of this. They're doing it because it's just like a smart politics and messes with them. All right. Lastly, you've mentioned a couple times James Comer on the Oversight Committee who is, you know, engaged in some kind of Potemkin. I'm a huge James Comer fan.

Okay, there it is. Oh, wow, you've got his own book on my desk. Well, only 18 of those sold, actually. You were one of them. So James is putting out materials that are, that oftentimes have already been released. He's putting out absolutely materials that are highly redacted, like anything

to just kind of be able to wave his hands and say, oh, we're releasing stuff, we're releasing stuff. He was questioned today about whether his committee would look into why Gillen Maxwell was transferred to the kind of minimum security club fed type prison. Because we don't really know the answer to that. We have some really strong suspicions, but we don't exactly know how that happened. And his response to that was kind of interesting. Let's watch. The question was whether you would hold a hearing as to.

We'll have a hearing. Transfer. Why she was transferred. We'll have a hearing, and if someone wants to ask that question, they can ask it. You can ask any question. We'll have a hearing. But it wasn't a hearing on what the question was. You want to have a whole hearing, a whole entire hearing, not about the victims, not about a government cover-up, not about human trafficking, but about Maxwell, who you all were like begging to be deposed, and I did the spina.

Now you want to, now you don't, now you're mad because she exonerated Trump. We brought in Bill Barr, who is no, you know, I don't think it's any secret that he and Trump aren't best of friends. And he, I'm going to reclaim my time. Well, that's fine. The question wasn't about, shouldn't we do all these things, but this is something very specific that indeed, as I understand, the victims raised today, their outwage that, this has happened. And it is indeed a retramatization when somebody who has done such horrible things is then treated favorably. You guys are just mad because of her exoneration of Trump, per decode. I think that is pretty revealing that Comer is taking Maxwell at her at

face value as to how seriously he's taking this oversight. She's such a trustworthy figure. Why wouldn't me? But so the oversight committee did today, they talked to some of the survivors in a closed setting, so not public. Nancy Mayes stormed out of it, saying that it gave her a panic attack because she herself as a victim as well. And that was kind of all that we saw or heard from it. You all said some of the Democrats saying what we heard today was a massive cover-up. When these closed sessions happened, we don't really know anything. We're not going to learn anything. Like the way to learn things is through very public action, which is what this nasty counter-resolution is. Yeah. All right.

Well, we'll keep monitoring. We might have more on this tomorrow. You're going to be at the press conference with the victims tomorrow? Yep. So we'll like we have a report for you guys tomorrow. Subscribe to the feed. Joe Perticone is your thick, bearded man on Capitol Hill, keeping an eye on things. And I'll be sitting here in my hole.

So we'll see you all soon.