Vocal GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) continued to break with President Donald Trump as many congressional leaders continue to demand government transparency with the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
This time, Greene indicated that she is prepared to “name names” connected to the Epstein case on the House floor in an effort to legally protect the Epstein victims who have been — or felt — unable to do so for a number of years.
During a Wednesday press conference in which Green stood with a number of Epstein victims on Capitol Hill, Greene said she’s willing to take advantage of a constitutional immunity rule to reveal sex offenders from Epstein’s trafficking ring.
Greene confidently said that if asked, she would make accusations on behalf of accusers of Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
“If they want to give me a list, I will walk in that Capitol on the House floor and I’ll say every damn name that abused these women,” she said. “I can do that for them and I’d be proud to do it.”
“It’s a scary thing to name names. But I will tell you, I’m not afraid to name names.”
Take a listen —
Greene’s statement is important because by law, she would be protected against retaliation from named “names.”
Members of Congress are protected by the Constitution’s “speech or debate clause,” which shields them from criminal and civil penalties for comments made in speeches on the Senate and House floors.
That means Greene could make allegations without legal consequences, such as a defamation lawsuit.
Josh Chafetz, a professor at Georgetown University specializing in constitutional law, told Axios that it’s “completely viable [for Greene] to use her Speech or Debate Clause protection in this way.”
“She cannot be civilly sued or criminally prosecuted for anything she says on the floor,” Chafetz said.
“She could be punished by the House itself, but that would require a majority to vote to punish her (or, if they were seeking to expel her, a 2/3 vote).”
“The Speech or Debate Clause has been used a number of times in the past to make information public. Several of those uses have involved disclosure of classified information that the member thought the public should know about.”
The proposed move would escalate congressional efforts to increase transparency around Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, his co-conspirators, and the government’s investigation into them, which has turned some Republicans and President Trump’s base against his administration — including Greene, who has been vocal that government leaders continue to withhold information about the case.
“This is the most important fight we can wage here in Congress: fighting for innocent people that never receive justice. And the women behind me have never received justice. And do you want to know why? It’s because Jeffrey Epstein somehow was able to walk among the most rich, powerful people not only in America, but in foreign countries,” said Greene during yesterday’s press conference.
“Yesterday, I heard countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, and even Israel, and other countries. The truth needs to come out. And the government holds the truth. The cases that are sealed hold the truth. Jeffrey Epstein’s estate holds the truth.”
“The FBI, the DOJ, and the CIA hold the truth. And the truth we’re demanding come out on behalf of these women, but also as a strong message to every innocent child, teenager, woman, and man that is being held captive in abuse. This should never happen in America, and it should never be a political issue that divides us.”
President Trump has continued to maintain that the Epstein story is nothing more than a Democratic “hoax.”
“So, this is a Democrat hoax that never ends! You know, it reminds me a little of the Kennedy situation. We gave him everything, over and over again, more and more, and nobody’s ever satisfied,” Trump said in response to yesterday’s press conference with Greene.
“And from what I understand—I could check, but from what I understand—thousands of pages of documents have been given. But it’s really a Democrat hoax because they’re trying to get people to talk about something that’s totally irrelevant to the success that we’ve had as a nation since I’ve been president.”
This is an ongoing story. Check back for further developments.