Trump, Epstein files thwart swearing-in of Arizona lawmaker
In a special election last month, voters in southern Arizona elected Adelita Grijalva to replace her late father in Congress.
The outcome in the solidly Democratic district was never in doubt. The final number wasn’t even close.
Grijalva, a Tucson native and former Pima County supervisor, defeated his Republican opponent 69% to 29%.
People were speaking loudly and emphatically, and that’s how it normally would be. Grijalva would have taken over by now, after representing parts of Arizona for more than 20 years, allowing him to serve his orphaned constituents by filling the House seat that has been vacant since his father died in March.
But these are not normal times. These are times when everything becomes politically charged, including the time of day and the weather.
And so Grijalva lives in limbo. More precisely, since he was locked in his campaign headquarters in Tucson, in the congressional office on Capitol Hill — the office his father used and whose name is now on a plaque outside. He was denied entry by Speaker Mike Johnson.
Grijalva said in an interview: “It’s pretty scary, because voters elected me whether I have an official office or not, and people are reaching out to me through every social media channel.
“‘I have a question,'” they say to Grijalva, “or, ‘I’m afraid I’m going to be fired,’ or ‘We need some kind of help.'”
All he can do is direct them Arizona’s two U.S. senators.
With House members scattered across the country during the partial government shutdown, and with normal business (legislative debates, roll call votes) not being conducted, Johnson told Grijalva he would likely not be able to fulfill his oath of office during a formal session. “Everybody needs to be here and we’re going to have him sworn in,” Johnson said.
But dear reader, are you sitting down?
As in Florida, it turns out there are two Republican lawmakers who were each elected in special elections this year. Both took oath the very next day… pro forma sessions!
Are you shocked? Being. In the Trump era, rules and standards are being applied in very different ways depending on which political party is involved.
But partisanship aside, what reason might Johnson have to delay Grijalva’s swearing-in? Here’s a clue: The stench of this story about a convicted sex trafficker and former friend of President Trump haunts her like the fetid carcass of a beached whale.
Yes, the late Jeffrey Epstein!
“On my first day in Congress, I will sign the bipartisan petition to compel a vote on the release of the Epstein files,” Grijalva said on the eve of the landslide election. “This is as much about fulfilling Congress’s duty as a constitutional check on this administration as it is about demanding justice for survivors.”
Jeffrey Epstein. It’s gone but very unforgettable.
His perversions have been an obsession for years, especially among those on the right who believe the “deep state” is covering up the rich and powerful who partnered with women provided by Epstein. The Justice Department abruptly reversed course after Trump’s puppet attorney general, Pam Bondi, suggested a client list was sitting on her desk waiting to be released.
It was announced that no such list existed, and Epstein definitely committed suicide and was not murdered by those who wanted to silence him, as the conspirators claimed.
Arguing with Epstein, Trump urged everyone to agree. Naturally, Johnson immediately went into lockstep. (Bondi, on the other hand, tap-danced during a contentious Senate hearing last week, repeatedly dodging questions about the Epstein-Trump relationship, including whether there were photos of the president with “semi-naked young women.”)
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a GOP lawmaker and persistent Trump irritant, and California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna led a bipartisan effort to force the Justice Department to disclose the government’s declassified records related to his ex-girlfriend and fellow sex trafficker, Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell.
The discharge petition, which overrides Trump and Johnson’s objections and forces the House to vote to release the files, requires at least 218 signatures, a majority of 435 members. The petition has been delayed for weeks, leaving only one signature to be approved.
Enter Grijalva.
Or not.
Johnson, who delayed the inevitable House vote to curry favor with Trump, insists the Epstein affair “had nothing to do” with his refusal to seat Grivalja.
TRUE.
And planets don’t orbit the sun, hot air doesn’t rise, and gravity doesn’t bring fallen leaves to Earth.
More than 200 House Democrats signed the petition, along with four Republicans (Massie and Reps. Lauren Boebert, Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene). The last three are all MAGA stalwarts who bravely broke ranks with Trump to defend the truth and are victims of Epstein’s depredations.
“Aren’t we all against convicted pedophiles and anyone who enables them?” Greene asked in an interview with Axios.
It can be assumed that most of them are. But apparently not everyone.
