Burcum: Day of reckoning over Epstein files may finally be here ― bring it on

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Let us take a moment to appreciate the extraordinary courage displayed Tuesday morning as the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s malignant web of perversity and power demanded justice, aided by an unlikely bipartisan trio of political allies.

In a news conference broadcast in real time, the women showed their faces and said their names despite the considerable risks of doing so. The men who moved in deceased convicted sex offender Epstein’s circle included a prince and other members of the international elite with the resources to rain down lawsuits and other retribution. The man who sits in the White House is also mentioned in the Epstein communications released so far.

Yet one by one, the women made their way to the microphone, often bringing with them a portrait of what they looked like when they were allegedly raped and trafficked.

They were just girls then, heartbreakingly beautiful when they became prey and, as one put it, “part of a sorority” none of them should have had to join. Despite the years that have passed since then with an indefensible absence of accountability, incredibly, these women still believed in their country’s ability to do the right thing.

With Congress weighing a measure that would compel the U.S. Department of Justice to release its Epstein investigation documents, one survivor summed up the situation selflessly and eloquently:

The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed the Epstein files transparency bill on Tuesday afternoon, with all members of the Minnesota delegation voting yes. The vote came after President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that House Republicans should vote for it.

“It’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown,’” he posted on Truth Social.

The measure swiftly cleared the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. Now the president must sign the bill for it to become law. While there certainly seems to be momentum to release the information, the decades in which Epstein operated unscathed are reason for pessimism even at this moment.

The president referring to the matter as a “Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics” doesn’t inspire confidence either. Skeptics should monitor events closely and watch for new strategies that might throw sand in the gears to protect Epstein’s collaborators from disclosure of their debauchery.

But the three lawmakers who stood side-by-side with the survivors Tuesday provide a dose of optimism: House Reps. Ro Khanna, Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The trio are risking their political careers, possibly their safety, by calling for the files’ release. For that, they deserve our gratitude.

While Taylor Greene’s past statements and stunts still give me pause, she deserves credit for her advocacy here. If she had to choose a moment to find her moral center again, it’s hard to beat this one — and it’s come with a price.

Perhaps because she’s been such a close Trump ally, she’s endured the most intense blowback for taking a stand. She’s been ridiculed by Trump on social media as a traitor to her party. He also mocked her name, saying it should be changed to Brown to represent her intellectual rot.

Despite that, Taylor Greene hasn’t faltered, telling those gathered on Tuesday that the American people won’t tolerate “any other bullshit” that stops the files’ release.

She also issued an astute warning: Watch politicians’ actions, not their words, as Congress takes up the files’ release.

Years, often decades, have passed since they fell into Epstein’s clutches. These girls are now mature women and some of them mothers.

Why has justice failed them for so long? How many presidential administrations have come and gone without accountability and disclosure?

From the documents that have been released so far, it’s clear that Epstein’s circle didn’t hew to political party lines. It was rich Wall Street types, economic experts, powerful attorneys and a British prince who is no longer a prince.

The files’ release will almost certainly sully the reputations of prominent people. So be it. Protecting the powerful isn’t how a healthy justice system works.