When Rep. Thomas Massie leaned right into a tv digital camera over the weekend, he turned up the warmth on President Donald Trump by casting the White Home as little greater than a damage-control operation for Jeffrey Epstein — a shot fired by a lawmaker who understood the chance of attacking the commander in chief however let it fly regardless.
Massie accused Trump of breaking guarantees about transparency and persevering with to socialize with billionaires linked to the disgraced financier.
In remarks, Massie boldly known as the White Home the “Epstein administration” throughout an look on ABC’s “This Week,” the place he mentioned final week’s combative Home Judiciary Committee listening to with Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi over her mishandling of the Epstein information launch.
The second set the stage for a widening rupture contained in the Republican Occasion. In blunt phrases, Massie, a libertarian-leaning Kentucky Republican, accused Trump and his inside circle of protecting highly effective figures tied to Jeffrey Epstein whereas punishing anybody who calls for transparency.
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His newest assault earned reward from Trump’s critics, fury from MAGA loyalists — and rising considerations, even amongst supporters, that he might now be placing a goal on his personal again.
“Donald Trump informed us that regardless that he had dinner with these folks in NYC and West Palm Seaside, that he could be clear,” Massie mentioned. “However he’s not. He’s nonetheless in with the Epstein class. That is the Epstein administration.”
Massie has grow to be one of many loudest Republican critics of Trump’s dealing with of the Epstein fallout, noting that whereas the president has not been instantly accused of wrongdoing, his identify seems hundreds of occasions within the information, which embody a minimum of one reference to inappropriate conduct involving younger ladies.
Final yr, Massie co-authored the Epstein Recordsdata Transparency Act with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, laws that compelled the Trump administration to launch hundreds of thousands of paperwork tied to the Epstein investigation.
The delayed launch solely intensified scrutiny. The Justice Division disclosed roughly half of the estimated six million paperwork and didn’t correctly redact figuring out data for Epstein’s survivors, drawing outrage from advocates and lawmakers throughout the spectrum.
Massie has argued that the partial disclosure was deliberate. A day earlier than his ABC look, he wrote on X: “What I mentioned in November nonetheless holds true, ‘till males are being walked to the jail, that is nonetheless a cover-up.’ Transparency is an important a part of unraveling this international intercourse trafficking scheme, however it’s not the Division of Transparency, it’s the Division of Justice.”
On-line response to Massie’s assaults rapidly cut up alongside partisan traces. Some accused him of opportunism.
“I used to help you however that is getting out of hand. I do not know what you might be doing anymore. You appear to only be making stuff up. It’s despicable and unhappy to see,” one commenter wrote on X.
Others praised him as a truth-teller. “You might be doing God’s work. Please by no means cease and by no means change. Additionally, do you have to determine to run in 2028, I’d crawl out of a hospital mattress to vote for you. And that is coming from somebody who has by no means voted earlier than.”
“It’s not over but. They will’t make this go away,” wrote one other on Threads.
Criticism poured in from Trump defenders as properly. “@RepThomasMassie disgrace on you! Cease with all of the political theatrics! The place have been you when 300,000 kids went lacking from the border below Biden!?”
Nonetheless, Massie’s supporters seized on Bondi’s antagonistic testimony. “If Pam Bondi had details clearing Trump, she’d current them. The very fact she doesn’t — and pivots to insults — says every little thing,” one publish learn.
Trump has responded by escalating his personal fury. In January, he unleashed a 300-word tirade on Fact Social, branding Massie a “Weak and Pathetic RINO” and urging supporters to rally behind a main challenger. “I’m asking all MAGA Warriors to rally behind Captain Ed Gallrein,” Trump wrote, promising to defeat “Third Charge Congressman Thomas Massie.”
Earlier this month, Trump known as Massie a “moron” on the Nationwide Prayer Breakfast.
Massie fired again on the time, dismissing the endorsement and mocking Gallrein’s electoral file. Regardless of the stress, he reported a few of his strongest fundraising numbers, notably after centering his marketing campaign on the Epstein information.
However the rhetoric has steadily grown darker. One commenter reacting to a Every day Beast report warned: “I hope Massie has across the clock safety element, MAGA is offended with him.”
Massie himself has publicly acknowledged fears about his security and his dropping breadcrumbs as a precaution. In a latest interview on “The Cause Interview,” he mentioned his insistence on justice for Epstein’s victims has put greater than his profession in danger.
“It’s true that my political profession is on the road, my political life, however my very own well being and well-being might very be too,” he mentioned. “I’ve upset plenty of billionaires who clearly aren’t of excessive ethical character and have finished some actually shady stuff.”
That concern prompted an uncommon transfer final week, when Massie posted a press release emphasizing his bodily well-being. “I’m not suicidal. I eat wholesome meals. The brakes on my automobile and truck are in fine condition. I follow good set off self-discipline and by no means level a gun at anybody, together with myself. There are not any deep swimming pools of water on my farm and I’m a fairly good swimmer.”
The stress has spilled into Kentucky politics. At a Lincoln Day Dinner final week, Massie’s microphone was taken away mid-speech as he defended his spouse after Trump attacked her on-line. The episodes have underscored how aggressively the president is working to unseat him — and the way remoted Massie has grow to be inside his personal get together.
For now, Massie reveals no signal of backing down, insisting the reality will ultimately come out.
“That is greater than Watergate,” he mentioned. “If Watergate modified your notion of presidency, this could positively do the identical.”
