Remember who they protected
The selective outrage of the Epstein vote ... Neither verbal nor literal shots fired ... And an OnlyFans custody battle.
Every member of Arizona’s congressional delegation voted to release the Epstein files.
Most of them spent the past year trying not to.
Despite months of delay tactics, lawmakers sent a bill to President Donald Trump on Tuesday that demands the U.S. Department of Justice release its investigative files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Considering the Trump administration has thrown up every possible roadblock to avoid releasing the files, it’s still an open question whether the DOJ will actually turn them over in 30 days — and whether what they release will be complete or meaningful.
That uncertainty isn’t just about bureaucracy. The expectation that Trump’s name appears in the Epstein files has made accountability for those who participated in a global sex-trafficking ring part of a partisan litmus test.
That’s exactly why it’s worth remembering who treated this as a moral question — and who treated it as just another political one.
Because even though every member of Arizona’s delegation voted to release the files on Tuesday, some of them had to be dragged there first.
All of Arizona’s congressional Republicans — six representatives — previously voted against releasing the files. Beyond that, they’ve either walked back earlier commitments to support the release or avoided saying anything at all.
All of Arizona’s congressional Democrats — two senators and three representatives — have consistently supported forcing a release of the DOJ’s Epstein files. Meanwhile, one of Rep. Adelita Grijalva’s first official acts was delivering the decisive signature on the discharge petition that forced a vote.
After finally voting this week to release the files, Arizona Republican Reps. Eli Crane and Juan Ciscomani parroted Speaker Mike Johnson’s talking points that the bill “fails to fully protect victim privacy1” in an apparent attempt to explain their previous opposition.
Why, then, did they vote for it?
Because it’s not about the victims.
Republicans like Arizona’s Rep. Andy Biggs have called out PBS and public schools for grooming children. Rep. Paul Gosar said he’s had enough of “drag queens sexually grooming kids,” and defended a British anti-Muslim activist because he was exposing “crimes by Muslim gangs who are raping British girls.”
But in 2021, 172 Republicans voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, including Biggs, Gosar, Rep. David Schweikert and then-Rep. Debbie Lesko. Biggs and Gosar voted against another 2022 bill requiring the FBI to more thoroughly investigate child sexual abuse cases.
And seven years after the #MeToo movement forced a global reckoning over sexual abuse, Americans re-elected a man who boasted he could “grab (women) by the pussy.”
Sexual abuse isn’t partisan. Who gets protected — and who gets believed — is.
The DOJ says Epstein harmed over 1,000 victims. So before the full extent of that harm comes out, it’s worth remembering what our representatives did about it.
The wafflers
Some of Arizona’s Republican congressmen started publicly speaking about the Epstein situation after he died in federal prison in 2019.
The phrase “Epstein didn’t kill himself” became an internet meme. For the far-right crowd, that meant Hillary Clinton killed him to protect her own involvement from becoming public, a conspiracy Trump endorsed on social media.
A week after Epstein’s death, Biggs told Fox News that it’s a “situation rife for conspiracy theory,” so the House Judiciary committee should carefully review the facts. But he also said, “There’s no one who believes it was a suicide.”
Gosar leaned into the internet memes. He fired off a series of tweets that spelled out the message “EPSTEIN DIDNT KILL HIMSELF” in an acrostic poem.
As members of the House Oversight Committee, Biggs and Gosar had a unique opportunity in late July to vote to subpoena the DOJ’s Epstein files, which could offer insights not only into the network that protected Epstein while he was alive, but on how much truth is behind the conspiracy that the Clinton cabal was responsible for his death.
Biggs voted no. Gosar skipped the vote.
None of Arizona’s Republican congressmen made comments on the floor before voting to release the files on Tuesday. Biggs, however, found the courage to chime in during a vote to censure Democratic delegate Stacey Plaskett. The Epstein estate files that the House Oversight Committee released last week revealed she traded messages with Epstein during a 2019 committee hearing.
“When you’re sitting there in a sitting committee and you’re having communications with a convicted sex offender, and you’re taking their advice on how to ask questions, maybe you got a problem,” Biggs said. “Maybe your problem is that you’ve brought disrepute on the House.”
Biggs did not clarify if that trove of emails, in which Epstein writes that Trump “knew about the girls,” also brings disrepute on the president. Considering Biggs is relying on a Trump endorsement in his bid to become Arizona’s governor, it’s a tough point to make.
Crane was one of 11 Republicans, and the only Arizona Republican, to sign onto a measure to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files in July.
That same measure came back up in September, after news broke that Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump he’s in the Epstein files, and the DOJ said there were no more Epstein files to release. Crane wouldn’t sign it.
After voting along with nearly everyone else to release the files, Crane issued a statement Tuesday expressing a newfound concern that disclosure could “unintentionally harm the reputations of individuals who were cleared of all wrongdoing.”
“By voting to release records related to Jeffrey Epstein, we are taking an important step toward justice for the victims and consequences for those responsible for these egregious crimes,” Crane said. “At the same time, I believe we must protect the privacy of victims and avoid unfairly damaging the reputations of those who did nothing wrong. I urge the Senate to address these concerns and continue momentum toward transparency and fairness.”
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The conspicuously silent
The remaining portion of Arizona’s Republican congressmen have taken another approach to handling the fight over the Epstein files.
They haven’t fought at all.
Reps. Ciscomani, Schweikert and Abe Hamadeh have collectively avoided commenting on how they feel about releasing the DOJ records.
To be fair, the only reason Hamadeh doesn’t land in the “waffling” category — like the rest of Arizona’s representatives in reliably Republican districts — is because he never took a clear position on releasing the files in the first place.
However, in 2019, Hamedeh tweeted: “Although Jeff Epstein is dead, I’m certain the investigation will continue and justice will be served. It may be convenient for some to have him dead - but the Pandora’s box is open... and it won’t be shut.”
The MAGA-aligned election denier isn’t the only one now treating Pandora’s box like it’s someone else’s problem.
Ciscomani and Schweikert, who represent competitive congressional districts, have decided that saying nothing is safer than taking a stand. That is, until they had the safety of a nearly unanimous vote.
Shortly before the vote, Schweikert announced, “I led the fight to release the JFK assassination files to the public and I will vote to release the Epstein files to the public.”
Ciscomani said he voted to release the files because he “support(s) full transparency from the federal government” and his “number one concern is making sure that victims are protected.”
In September, the brother of Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre reminded lawmakers they can protect Epstein’s victims by exposing his co-conspirators.
”The same freedom that these monsters took from these survivors, they should never be afforded. They should never be allowed to continue their lives with impunity,” Sky Roberts said. “This is not a political issue … this is about humanity.”
New faces: There’s a new contender for attorney general: Greg Roeberg, a Scottsdale lawyer, announced his candidacy with a video claiming he “fought for election integrity as President Trump’s attorney.” He hasn’t filed a statement of interest, and few Republicans seem to know who he is, but joins former Tucson City Council member Rodney Glassman and Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen in the GOP primary. Meanwhile, the Mesa City Council welcomed a new face: Dorean Taylor, who unseated Councilmember Julie Spilsbury with the help of Turning Point USA in this month’s recall election.2 Taylor’s victory signals a shift in city politics, per the Republic’s Maritza Dominguez. And rounding out the newcomers: David Rose, a Republican candidate for Lake Havasu’s Legislative District 30, was once a newspaper publisher — and a multi-time felon. He’s now a pastor, and his upcoming autobiography, which he spoke about with the State 48 News’ Christy Kelly, details his journey from prison to politics.
“I knew there was a good chance I could potentially be getting ready to go to prison. So I went on the run. ‘Hey, if I’m going to prison i’m going to party it up until they catch me.’ Just completely lost my mind until I got caught,” Rose said.
They invite anyone these days: The Western Governors’ Association will host Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in Paradise Valley this week, Kevin Reagan writes for 12News. Gov. Katie Hobbs is expected to attend the multi-day event, which will discuss policies on data centers, agriculture and broadband expansion.
You’re cordially invited to stick with us.
Diné drama: Navajo Nation Council is chewing on an 84-page internal report about “turmoil and contested authority” between Nation President Buu Nygren and his VP Richelle Montoya after Nygren attempted to oust the Nation’s comptroller, per the Navajo Times’ Krista Allen. The deep dive report, which says the comptroller staff felt “threatened, anxious, or unsafe,” is just the latest bit of the drama that has consumed the president’s office since Nygren took over in 2023. But it’s not the only ongoing drama up there. Last week, Nygren’s pick for attorney general, Kris Beecher, was stymied and his confirmation tabled. Beecher is the former chief of staff to Nygren, the fourth AG in less than a year and he has the role in an acting capacity.
No verbal shots: The Fountain Hills Town Council removed the public comment section of its meetings, Lauren De Young and Taylor Seely write for the Republic. During the hours-long debate over removing public comment, Vice Mayor Allen Skillicorn suggested public comment be moved from the beginning of the meetings to the end. Ultimately, the council voted 5-2 to remove the general public comment section, but the public will still be able to speak on things from the official agenda.
Nor literal shots: The Sedona Police Department revoked a policy that allowed officers to fire warning shots at suspects to get their attention, per Joseph K Giddens at Red Rock News. The policy change comes after an information request from Judicial Watch, a conservative nonprofit that files records and Freedom of Information Act lawsuits, to look into claims of misconduct.
“In police work we call this ‘Barney Fife firearms tactics.’ This policy [was] foolish because it is dangerous and costly for all involved,” Mark Spencer, the Judicial Watch Southwest projects coordinator, said.
A Gilbert couple is locked in a nasty custody battle — not over the kid they had together, but over their OnlyFans account.
The New Times’ Morgan Fischer breaks down the tale of former lovers Parker Skidmore and Sydney Jennings (known online as Allison Parker) and the court case brewing in the fallout of their fallout.
Before they broke up, the duo’s OnlyFans account had generated more than $5 million for the 30-something couple over the past few years. They even bought a million-dollar home in Gilbert through their company.
But after the split, Jennings locked Skidmore — who she performed with and who claims he ran the business side of things — out of the accounts and kept performing.
So he sued, seeking damages of at least $300,000.
But our favorite part of the story is the expert attorney that Fischer called on to explain internet sex business breakups.
New York attorney Alex Lonstein specializes in OnlyFans breakups.
In case you’re looking, his firm is called OnlyFirm.
We spotted former lawmaker and fake elector Anthony Kern in the crowd taking selfies.
Love the fire in this piece. Hopefully, this passion will extend to coverage of our state legislators and city officials who seem to evade scrutiny from a press that prefers staying chummy rather than exposing our straying flock of electeds.
I'm sure everybody is as tired of everything-Epstein as I am. BUT...it is well worth recapping the historical involvement and perspective of our elected GOP officials just as the Agenda has done. It underscores the importance of ridding our wonderful State of these swine. If there are embarrassing elements in these files...how many MAGA will reconsider their misplaced loyalty? Probably zero. Well done.