The recent saga surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein files and President Trump's shifting stance has captivated Washington, revealing a profound tension between executive power and public demand for transparency.
Details:
- Four months after taking office, President Trump reversed a key 2024 campaign promise, unilaterally blocking the release of the comprehensive Jeffrey Epstein investigative files.
- This executive action, preventing public scrutiny of sensitive records, echoes the Crown's historic prerogative to withhold vital documents from colonial assemblies, asserting absolute control over information.
- The House's subsequent efforts to compel a full disclosure, meeting internal executive resistance, bears a striking resemblance to colonial legislatures' oft-denied petitions for transparency from an unresponsive monarchy.
Why it Matters:
President Trump's abrupt reversal on releasing Epstein files, after promising transparency, resurrects a foundational grievance: the executive's arbitrary control over information. This mirrors the Crown's historic refusal to disclose, eroding the governed's right to know. Framing inconvenient truths as 'hoaxes' normalizes optional accountability. This undermines public trust, chipping at the compact between governed and power – a dangerous echo of historical ruptures. As Common Sense warned of unresolved grievances: 'what would be the event? I answer, the ruin of the continent.'