Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene mentioned she resisted strain from Trump’s White Home after supporting a push to drive the discharge of the Epstein recordsdata — a transfer that has drawn new scrutiny now that Home oversight investigators have turned over 1000’s of pages of supplies that counsel ties between Epstein and a number of other highly effective figures.
Greene’s blunt recounting of the White Home rebuke and her defiant response — and the fierce response it provoked on-line — sit on the heart of a widening political drama that mixes inside MAGA friction, recent committee disclosures and uncooked public outrage.
Greene says she was warned that backing the discharge “could be considered as a ‘very hostile act,’” and that she known as a prime West Wing aide to push again. “I informed them, ‘You didn’t get me elected. I don’t be just right for you; I work for my district,’” she recounted lately throughout a wide-ranging interview in her Capitol Hill workplace, based on The New York Occasions. “We aren’t supposed to simply be whipped on our votes as a result of they’re telling us what to do with this scary risk, or saying ‘We’ll main you,’ or that we received’t get invited to the White Home occasions.”
“Me personally? I don’t care,” Greene continued, lashing out on the administration’s ways. “I’m like, ‘F— you,’” she added.
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However Greene’s put up on social media over the weekend struck a unique word. She sparked a brand new spherical of conspiracy theories that left many involved for her security.
Greene led the put up with explicitly stating she’s “not suicidal” whereas including, “If one thing occurs to me, I ask you all to seek out out which overseas authorities or highly effective individuals would take heinous actions to cease info from popping out.”
The disclosures have infected public response with a mixture of ridicule, outrage and an odd streak of empathy.
One Threads person warned in opposition to calls to “Defend Marjorie Taylor Greene”: “If y’all begin that ‘Defend Marjorie Taylor Greene’ bullsh-t, so assist me…I’ll mild this complete app ablaze,” the person wrote, prompting heated replies.
One other commenter pushed again: “Calm the fvck down. We’re not defending her, ffs,” including, “We want her to signal that petition, and she or he’s really nervous for her life about signing it, as a result of tbh, which may be what acquired Kirk killed. So, we nonetheless critically dislike the girl, she has a proper to be scared!!”
The person later clarified: “I’m not calling for violence. To me, simply roasting her is sufficient. However in all seriousness, you don’t get to play the sufferer after getting in mattress with a few of the most atrocious and harmful individuals on the earth simply since you thought you’d profit from it.”
One other blunt put up on the identical thread summed up a typical sentiment: “She went into this MAGA mess along with her eyes huge open. I’m not saying she ought to get harm, I’m saying I don’t care.” One other piled on, “MTG can lay within the mattress she made. She’s a part of the MAGA machine.”
The Oversight Committee supplies launched by Democrats embody flight logs, ledgers, schedules and different recordsdata — roughly 8,544 paperwork the panel says have been produced by the Epstein property.
Among the many entries are itinerary notes that present a tentative journey to Epstein’s island on Dec. 6, 2014, for Elon Musk; a deliberate lunch with Peter Thiel on Nov. 27, 2017; and a breakfast with Steve Bannon on Feb. 16, 2019.
Trump has labored laborious to distance himself from the recordsdata, however his finest efforts proceed to backfire as extra particulars emerge. Theories that Trump is both defending himself and or his allies are starting to realize extra steam.
Democrats argue the recordsdata underscore how Epstein remained linked to rich and influential individuals after his controversial 2007 plea settlement.
In the meantime, Musk moved to clarify why his title seems within the recordsdata. Sharing a narrative from U.Ok. outlet Sky Information with the headline “Elon Musk and Prince Andrew Named within the Newest Epstein Information Launch,” Musk lashed out on-line. “Disgrace on Sky Information for this totally deceptive headline,” he wrote, based on studies. “Anybody pushing this false narrative deserves full contempt.”
Six years in the past, Musk denied any potential hyperlink to the scandal — he acknowledged assembly Epstein at his New York residence however denied ever visiting the island.
“Epstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED,” Musk continued, “but they title me even earlier than Prince Andrew, who did go to.”
Musk’s involvement with Epstein has additionally flared in his political battles. In June, amid a really public break up with Donald Trump, Musk tweeted — then deleted — that Trump “is within the Epstein recordsdata.” He later apologized, admitting he “went too far.”
The names of Thiel and Bannon, each influential figures in Trump’s orbit, are additionally listed within the committee’s newest disclosures. Further materials is anticipated within the coming weeks as lawmakers debate a bipartisan proposal requiring the total public launch of Epstein data.
Greene’s position in pushing for the paperwork — she is one among simply three Home Republicans to signal a petition to drive a ground vote on their launch — has put her at odds with allies and opponents alike. It has additionally uncovered fault strains within the MAGA orbit: Greene stays a vocal Trump backer in rhetoric but has damaged publicly with the president on a number of high-profile situation and has criticized the individuals surrounding him.
The Epstein supplies themselves additionally prompted extra newsworthy revelations: a ledger itemizing massages for Prince Andrew, flight data that seem to indicate a 2000 journey from Teterboro, New Jersey, to West Palm Seaside with Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and others, and a schedule exhibiting a 2014 tentative “breakfast social gathering” with Invoice Gates.
The filings embody telephone message logs, flight manifests from 1990–2019, and ledgers of money transactions. Democrats framed the disclosure as a part of a broader effort to carry highly effective figures accountable; Republicans on the committee criticized the discharge as selective.
Some observers supplied surprising reward to Greene.
Progressive author Zaid Jilani wrote in an opinion piece that “Marjorie Taylor Greene is successful my respect.” And Consultant Ro Khanna, a Democrat serving to to steer the trouble to launch the recordsdata, mentioned that “regardless of sturdy variations, she is keen to work on areas the place there could also be frequent floor.”
Greene’s boyfriend, Brian Glenn, a Actual America’s Voice correspondent with White Home contacts, mirrored the couple’s confidence: “there isn’t a transferring her” on the problems she cares about. “It doesn’t matter what I say. She’s very sturdy in her beliefs,” Mr. Glenn mentioned, describing Ms. Greene as a “modern-day feminist.”
The general public disclosures have additionally positioned new strain on different figures referenced within the recordsdata. Musk, who has publicly pushed for the discharge of Epstein supplies in latest months, requested in a put up on X earlier this 12 months: “How can individuals be anticipated to place confidence in Trump if he received’t launch the Epstein recordsdata?” In keeping with the paperwork launched by Democrats, Musk’s title seems on an itinerary entry, and the recordsdata add to a set of connections that embody Thiel, Bannon and Gates.
For now, the story leaves competing narratives in play: Greene portrays herself as a defiant, unbiased lawmaker standing as much as each the White Home and the GOP institution; her critics level to her previous alliances and provocations and say she has solely herself in charge for the political dangers she faces. The Oversight Committee’s trove — 1000’s of pages that the panel says can be examined for ties between Epstein and highly effective individuals — ensures the episode will feed each investigations and political disputes for weeks to come back.
