It Was the Epstein Shutdown All Along

There was always something inexplicably strange about the recent government shutdown. From the beginning, it was crystal clear what Democrats wanted: lower health care costs, affordability and for a lawless president to start obeying the law.

But what about the Republicans?

— Marc Elias (@marcelias.bsky.social) 2025-11-12T21:39:51.093Z

It Was the Epstein Shutdown All Along

https://www.democracydocket.com/opinion/it-was-the-epstein-shutdown-all-along/




By Marc Elias November 12, 2025





There was always something inexplicably strange about the recent government shutdown. From the beginning, it was crystal clear what Democrats wanted: lower health care costs, affordability and for a lawless president to start obeying the law.

But what about the Republicans? ........................



For House Speaker Mike Johnson, the shutdown was the perfect scapegoat, and keeping it alive was the only way for Trump and the House GOP to avoid a vote on releasing the Epstein Files — a vote Trump was nearly certain to lose. As Rep. Eric Swalwell told me, “We have shut down the government to protect Donald Trump and how close he is to the Epstein Files.”

Like many Democrats, I considered this theory as just that: a theory competing with other plausible explanations. Perhaps the GOP wanted to use the shutdown to fire government workers. Maybe Trump wanted to use the shutdown to weaken the Affordable Care Act. Maybe it was all just an effort to distract from high prices.

With the stunning release of new emails, we learned it probably was the Epstein Files all along. At a minimum, Epstein emails indicate that Trump was aware of some of what the convicted pedophile was up to, writing that Trump “knew about the girls.” There are other emails, but you get the gist.......................