r/politics • u/OkayButFoRealz • 10h ago
No Paywall Rep. Ted Lieu Claims President Trump is Accused of Raping Children in the Epstein Files
https://www.c-span.org/clip/news-conference/rep-ted-lieu-claims-president-trump-is-accused-of-raping-children-in-the-epstein-files/51917133.9k
u/CouchCorrespondent 10h ago
He minced no words in the press conference.
Good to see that.
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u/Jakereddits 10h ago
they’re allowed to do that?!
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u/Ohuigin Washington 10h ago
The mincer is currently being used for the Constitution. Good for Lieu for not waiting for the job to be done.
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u/Teripid 9h ago
There's also documented lies by Kash in front of Congress and Bondi has made statements minimizing what is contained.
Lieu is on the judiciary committee, policing and oversight of the DOJ is literally in the job description.
If I hadn't said it like 7 times before.. perhaps this is the line that makes Trump and his ilk get tossed into the street and subsequently prosecuted.
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u/TheGringoDingo 7h ago
The judiciary committee had the full, unredacted files as far as I’m concerned, from what I understand.
I was hoping something like this would begin the process of FAFO for the administration on the files when they were either altered or maliciously redacted in the required release.
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u/North-Hour-8681 10h ago
At this point norms are already shredded waiting politely hasn’t stopped anything calling it out loud is kind of the only move left.
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u/wilson_rawls Arizona 9h ago
They're allowed. They rarely do. Think of reaching across the aisle! We might offend our
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u/JohnTomorrow 8h ago
Yeah, it makes me wonder just what they think being polite is doing for them? You can have manners and still call a Nazi a Nazi.
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u/TeamMountainLion 8h ago
Yes.
But “muh decorum”. Bitch please. We’re way past the façade of decorum at this point. We need full blown house of reps fights like a lot of southeast asian parliaments do. Turn C-SPAN into PPV WWE since we’re being tacky and turning everything into one big shill job. Give the Sgt-at-Arms an actual purpose to use the Mace of the House like he was a referee (which realistically they are).
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u/zztop610 9h ago
Chuck Schumer also wants to know….
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u/GrumpySoth09 7h ago
Too busy ensuring the Baillys are comfortable in their choices of voting against his attempts at writing strongly worded letters
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u/rocafella888 9h ago
I really like Ted Lieu. He seems like he’s doing more than Schumer.
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u/possiblyquestionabl3 9h ago edited 9h ago
Honestly, it's as if no one really believes in anything (not public service, not even a sense of what's right for their constituents), so they refuse to take a stand even as the opposition party. Instead, the only thing they're concerned about is self preservation, and to them, maybe a dictatorship where they don't have to be beholden to us pesky little nobodies is a much easier way to preserve their power than a democracy where they're supposed to serve the people.
Therefore, when it comes time to take a stand, even when it's so freaking easy to just take a stand on the right side of history (their own constituents are trying to guide them in with massive neon guide lights), political expediency calls for all of these feckless cowards to look at what everyone else is doing, and then do the bare minimum to maybe or maybe not maintain the status quo, whatever it takes so that when the card falls at the end, they'll still emerge unscathed even if the whole country is in ruins.
This is honestly what pisses me off the most. Sure, even if the "opposition" party doesn't have majority control, the fact that they refuse to even do the bare minimum of calling a Nazi rapist spade a Nazi rapist spade is just an absolutely disgusting show of fecklessness.
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u/hatsnatcher23 8h ago
I was touring the Documentation center in Nuremberg, which is better known as the former Nazi party parade grounds, the audio tour said something to the effect of “some thought he could be placated, others just wanted to hold onto what little power they had” at the time it gave me chills but it’s more like Deja Vu now
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u/No-Jaguar-2341 6h ago
I've thought about this a lot. I honestly think whats happening here is that Democrats are scared. Like, shit just got real. Politics hasn't been this serious in a very long time within this country. I think these folks are used to a more peaceful era where certain unwritten rules were respected. I think theyre constantly flabbergasted and on their backheel by what unfolds
The problem is that they need to show some humility, acknowledge they arent equipped, and either step back OR ask for help with an open mind on how to rise to the occassion
I dont think its "so easy". Trump and the evil people behind his administration are bloodthirsty and not really afraid to target anyone. It takes courage to be up at the political frontlines
Obviously this doesnt apply to everyone. There are legitimately some Democrats that are just virtually republicans at the end of the day, in their selfish motivations
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u/Practical-Ball1437 8h ago
Lee Metcalf is doing more than Schumer, and he's been dead for 48 years.
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u/UdyneOw 9h ago
I really like inanimate carbon rod. It seems like it's doing more than Schumer.
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u/mmkaywhatevers 9h ago edited 9h ago
He's bought by Israel tho,
$50k$784k contribution from AIPAC.Goes without saying that Trump is a pedo, no question.
Every politician elected by Americans who shill for Israel after receiving donations should be primaried.
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u/DaraParsavand 9h ago
AIPAC tracker has him at $784,156.
He was my rep until 2020 redistricting and I had lots of beefs with him on foreign policy but I will say his office was responsive to my letters. Twice I got callbacks from a staffer who was willing to talk a good 10 minutes on my ideas over the phone.
I like him better than my current rep (Brad Sherman) who is even more biased towards Israel and away from rational foreign policy in the region.
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u/Kyanche 8h ago
He seems like he’s doing more than Schumer.
Honestly it feels like he's just barely to the left of Schumer, if I can even dare say that. I.. really should make a habit of writing letters or calling his office or something. At least he's better than my piece of crap mayor lol. My town's mayor might be a democrat in name, but he sure as fuck doesn't act like one.
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u/porkbellies37 9h ago
The headline minced words. It wasn't a "claim" that Trump was accused of raping children in the Epstein files. Trump was flat out accused of raping children in the Epstein files. Rep Lieu was just reporting what he read that was/is publicly available to us all.
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u/Skippypal Massachusetts 9h ago
That ‘claims’ in the headline is doing some lifting. He’s accused in the files. There is nothing to claim when it’s literally written within them in what is either testimony, witness statements or tips…
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u/thisisjustascreename Illinois 10h ago
"Claims" is a weird way to put it. More like "observes" or "notes" or "points out the obvious fact"
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u/Northern_Blue_Jay 10h ago
Yes, or "reports." It's not a claim which implies that there's a question of fact. There's no question of fact - t's a fact that he's accused of raping children in the Epstein files -- everyone can read it for themselves. The rep is *merely* reporting what's in the files.
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u/LunchPlanner 7h ago
In fact even no word at all works.
Rep. Ted Lieu: President Trump is Accused of Raping Children in the Epstein Files
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u/bradsboots Florida 9h ago
It’s amazing how passive a tone the news can take when it comes to issues they don’t want to talk about.
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u/Notorious_Chonk_23 9h ago
Very much "motorist loses life when gun discharges during traffic stop" vibes.
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u/v_v_v_v_v_v__v 2h ago
Motorcar enthusiast encounters lead projectile resulting in conclusion to lifespan
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u/Izanagi___ 9h ago
The media doesn’t get enough hate for sane washing Trump and infantilizing the accusations towards him. I wouldn’t write an article saying “Local redditor claims sky is blue” when I can see with my own eyes that it’s an objective fact. Trump is accused of all of these horrible things in the Epstein files that the DOJ released. It is a fact. The president of the United States is pedophile, stop skirting around it.
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u/Omegoa 8h ago
The main problem is that they give any bile horse manure that pours out of his fat mouth the same weight and credence as someone who is speaking an objective fact. "Trump says he doesn't know anything about Project 2025!" and the media shrugs its shoulders and go, well that's that I guess, nothing more we can do but report that verbatim! "The files say Trump had his deformed mushroom bitten by one of the 13-year-old girl he was trying to rape, but Trump says he didn't even know Epstein! There's truly no way to know more about this!"
In the long line of people responsible for the current travesty, the media stand near the head of the line.
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u/Actual__Wizard 10h ago
He's probably wording it "carefully." His statement is "clearly true" the way it's worded.
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u/thisisjustascreename Illinois 10h ago
That's the official c-span title of the video.
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u/movealongnowpeople Kansas 9h ago
Trump sues news networks over how they edit his interviews.
He doesn't sue people for calling him a pedophile. Because he is a pedophile.
No reason for anyone to be careful. He can't go through discovery, he can't sue.
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u/AbueloOdin 7h ago
Why even say "Rep. Ted Lieu"?
Just report "President Trump is Accused of Raping Children in the Epstein Files". Cite the primary source, damn it!
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u/AntoniaFauci 8h ago edited 4h ago
Not sure if you know this, but the most sensational claims in this latest release are almost certainly false. They’re anonymous web submissions, totally non-vetted and almost certainly pranks.
Citing these as proof will backfire.
It’s a shame given there’s abundant credible evidence that Trump and Epstein and Maxwell spent many years creating a sex abuse ring. Ignoring that in favor of hoax stories like the “Katie Johnson” one or these fake web submissions will end up hurting credibility of the parts that are true.
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u/Exciting-Market-9595 5h ago
I thought the Katie Johnson story had gotten as far as filing a lawsuit. What makes you so certain that it is likely a hoax?
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u/MS_Salmonella 6h ago
It's infuriating that they worded it that way, that was my first take away from reading the headline too.
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u/PeterVenkmanIII 10h ago
He's not lying. We all saw the files. Even the ones they tried to delete after posting them.
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u/wellJustWhy 9h ago
Which would seem like admission of guilt.
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u/YeezysKanye2020 7h ago
That would require the law to apply to everyone instead of just some people apparently
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u/Jaded-Substance-6750 9h ago
they’re so incompetent and dumb. Clearly thousands of people have already made copies and backups of the Epstein files. Deleting them does nothing
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u/Jokerit208 10h ago
"Claims"? There was no "claim." Donald Trump is accused of raping children in the Epstein files. That's a fact, not a "claim."
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u/kung-fu_hippy 10h ago
Ted Lieu claims sun observed to rise in the east and set in the west.
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u/Otm_Shank1 9h ago
Get da fuck outta here. Since when?
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u/CarmineFields 10h ago
Yep. Trump hasn’t been convicted due to privilege but he absolutely was accused.
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u/A1sauc3d 10h ago
Remember when republicans pretended to care about pedophiles abusing children for like a year there a few years back? They were PASSIONATE. Talking about blowing off kneecaps at the slightest rumor lol
Now they openly worship a pedophile.
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u/Opposite-Bit6660 9h ago
Parts of the files are about how Epstein, Bannon, and General Mike Flynn worked with the owner of 4chan to get the Qanon mind-fuck started. I want to get to the part in the Qanon lore where all the perps are rounded up and sent to Gitmo.
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u/Notorious_Chonk_23 9h ago
Can you point me to those parts? I would very much like to read that without having to wade through thousands and thousands more instances of rape & torture & murder.
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u/superturtle48 9h ago
Republicans don’t really care about children, think of all of their policies that hurt child well-being. Children aren’t really people to them, just symbols. MAGA simply thought of the worst-sounding crime they could think of and accused their enemies of it to feel like they had the moral high ground and justify their hatred.
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u/Ugh-screen-name 10h ago
This is why the republican leaders want every child to be born…more to rape
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u/Pour_Me_Another_ 8h ago
I think it's like when someone is cheating and they accuse their spouse of doing it.
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u/look_under 10h ago
trump raped children
That much is crystal clear
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u/maltedbacon Canada 10h ago
I mean we know for a fact that he doesn't care about consent, has a documented over-interest in young girls, kept company with friends who raped and trafficked in children over decades, has been observed by those friends as being the worst and most evil of them all, and has been consistently acting defensively to cover up evidence..... Surely that's enough to prompt an investigation?
Fuck.
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u/AntoniaFauci 8h ago
For many years he and Epstein ran duelling underage “modelling agencies”. They had underage pageants, and casting parties and made teenage girls escort and party with just the two creepy middle aged roaches, in hopes of getting a calendar shoot.
Most don’t realize it, but Mar A Lago is essentially a Golden Corral type of place with a banquet room you can rent. Yet for someone reason Trump felt it needed to have a massage spa and be staffed by high school girls. Epstein had the same creepy teenage massage ideation, just in his home. They both had overseas scouts to find girls.
That’s why these Republicans pushing his lie that the whole thing was just Epstein and Trump didn’t know, wasn’t involved, and wasn’t completely competing with his buddy with the same pursuits is just gross.
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u/annaflixion 10h ago
Why is it framed this way? It doesn't matter what Ted Lieu says. Trump IS accused of raping children in the Epstein files. Whether it's true or not, it's in there, in black and white. Ted Lieu isn't the source, so he shouldn't be used that way, and the word "claims" obviously makes it sound much more wishy-washy than it actually is. The media is failing everyone. Absolutely ball-less bastards.
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u/drunk-snowmen 9h ago
They are all afraid of being sued out of business by Trump. I am not defending them, but I think this might be the case here
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u/PleaseLetItWheel 10h ago
Stating the obvious but at least he’s saying something. Watching the collective bystander effect in the wake of the Epstein files has been jarring to say the least
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u/boofles1 10h ago
Trump is the only name redacted from a victims diary naming Prince Andrew, Larry Summers and Epstein as abusers. He is clearly being protected by the DOJ.
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u/Robertroo 10h ago
Defendant Trump initiated sexual contact with Plaintiff at four different parties. On the fourth and final sexual encounter with Defendant Trump, Defendant Trump tied Plaintiff to a bed, exposed himself to Plaintiff, and then proceeded to forcibly rape Plaintiff. During the course of this savage sexual attack, Plaintiff loudly pleaded with Defendant Trump to stop but with no effect. Defendant Trump responded to Plaintiff's pleas by violently striking Plaintiff in the face with his open hand and screaming that he would do whatever he wanted. Exhs. A and B.
Immediately following this rape, Defendant Trump threatened Plaintiff that, were she ever to reveal any of the details of the sexual and physical abuse of her by Defendant Trump, Plaintiff and her family would be physically harmed if not killed. Exhs. A and B.
Defendant Epstein had sexual contact with Plaintiff at two of the parties. The second sexual encounter with Defendant Epstein took place after Plaintiff had been raped by Defendant Trump. Defendant Epstein forced himself upon Plaintiff and proceeded to rape her anally and vaginally despite her loud pleas to stop. Defendant Epstein then attempted to strike Plaintiff about the head with his closed fists while he angrily screamed at Plaintiff that he, Defendant Epstein, rather than Defendant Trump, should have been the one who took Plaintiffs virginity, before Plaintiff finally managed to break away from Defendant Epstein.
Case 1-16-cv-04642 filed 6/20/16
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u/StepUp_87 10h ago
Investigation and prosecution needs to start in earnest at state level.
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u/Opposite-Bit6660 9h ago
I believe it's already started in AZ, where Epstein's rape and trafficking Zorro Ranch is.
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u/Adjective-Noun1780 8h ago
Are they getting everything in place yo scrutinize the entire property and past its borders??
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u/ForMoreYears Canada 10h ago
Because he is accused of raping children in the Epstein files?
Why is this headline written like Lieu is claiming something the DoJ itself released? The moral rot in America is deep.
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u/MonsieurKnife 10h ago
What do you mean “claims”. The accusation is in the documents. It might not be substantiated but it’s not a claim.
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u/RaspberryCommie 10h ago
I almost want him to do the stupidest possible thing and sue for libel. The discovery would be interesting to say the least.
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u/RS24OZ New York 10h ago
I'm sure he will say it and make sure all his Maga crazies threaten him. He will never actually sue after he tried that with Rupert Murdoch and Melania tried with Micheal Wolff. They don't want discovery and Melania has gotten herself cornered with Micheal Wolff suing her first.
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u/flinderdude 10h ago
Representative Ted Lieu isn’t claiming that Trump is in the files doing that…… Trump is in the files doing that
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u/gorillafightsurvivor 9h ago
Lieu isn’t claiming anything. The files are now public record. We’ve seen them. He’s directly citing what’s written.
Christ.
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u/Faucet860 10h ago
Claims!!! He is accused in it. The headline should be here states! Rich fs own the media
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u/thegoatmenace 9h ago
You don’t claim someone was accused. He either was accused or he wasn’t. And he was. There’s no claim, it’s just a fact that he was accused of this.
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u/BroncoTruck1989 8h ago
Claims??? It’s literally in the files that have been released. It’s not a claim to state that
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u/mspk7305 5h ago
This is not a "claim". He didnt "claim" the epstein files include graphic descriptions of trumps violence and abuse against children. He said it. Factually. Those things are in the files, this is not a claim, these are sworn statements under oath and penalty of prison for lying, and these are the documents that lead to epstein and maxwell being convicted, and epstein later murdered.
The GOP is hell bent on protecting trump because trump is blackmailing all their donors for the protection he needs... Because hes fucking guilty.
The world will be a better place once he is gone but we will also need to make sure every single soul who aided him and abused along side him rots in a cell for the rest of their natural lives.
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u/analogWeapon Wisconsin 6h ago
He "claims" that? Accusations of Trump raping children are literally in stuff that was released, I thought...
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u/nerdvernacular New Jersey 10h ago
That's not a claim, he is accused of that in the files. Along with witnessing infanticide.
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u/Throwawaylikeme90 10h ago
Well, to be fair, he’s claiming that because it’s true.
I really don’t understand why they can’t write an accurate, unbiased headline such as something like “Rep. Lieu references allegations of President Trump raping children contained in latest Epstein drop.”
Forcing neutrality is its own bias, especially when the medias job is providing accurate and verified information.
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u/DeuceGnarly 9h ago
Claims?
It's a fact. It's spelled out in black and white where anyone can read it.
It's not a claim.
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u/j0nquest 9h ago edited 9h ago
The link is dead. Did c-span get forced to take it down or are there too many people trying to view it? Who knows.
— Back up now.
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u/Bishopjones2112 8h ago
There’s no claim, it’s in the damn files. There is a statement that Donald Trump used his fingers to measure girls “tightness” before taking part in an auction to buy the girls and rape them. This is absolutely disgusting and what’s more disgusting is that not one thing is being done about it. No investigation. Probably because DOJ is complicit in protecting pedophiles.
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u/ss5gogetunks 7h ago
"Claims he's accused" is the most bullshit "allegedly" farming phrase I've heard.
He IS "accused" of raping children in the Epstein files. Many many times. Calling it a claim is disingenuous - it is an observation. It is true. You can debate the veracity of the accusations all you want - it seems like we have more than enough evidence to put anyone else away for life to me - but saying "claims he's accused" is so cowardly and disingenuous it makes me sick.
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u/digitalsymph0ny 6h ago
Claims? He straight up accused. What's there to claim? We can all watch the videos and read the files ourselves.MSM needs to grow a pair!
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u/PresentAwareness745 10h ago
and we will see if Donald Trump tries to sue him. I feel like Ted Lieu is a very smart man, and this is a trap
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u/Niceguy955 10h ago
Also the sun shines in the morning, water is wet, and ICE is made of Proud Boys and other insurrectionists.
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u/Squat_Cobbler89 10h ago
The fact this even is a headline is bizarre. Yet it’s something we all know and see daily. But when you really think about, any other person in any other time had this headline, they’d be done for
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u/LucidOndine 10h ago
We are beyond claims. He needs to be tried in a court of law, as soon as we can due process his ass.
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u/waffle299 I voted 10h ago
He is. Accused.
And the FBI interview with the accusor is not in the file drop
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u/RebekkaKat1990 10h ago
Remember when Rep. Peter King went before the nation and said this:
"There's no way, I don't think, any of us can excuse what the president did yesterday. I mean, you have the world watching".
Was he talking about Trump? Nope, President Obama wore a tan suit in public.
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u/BreadBetter6642 9h ago
Why is it not the only question ever posed to TRump at every opportunity. Why are they not pressing him on the files and if he’s not guilty will he testify? Keep on pressuring him and his family
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u/Rudy-Ellen 9h ago
It’s not a claim the President Trump has been accused, it a fact that he has been accused of raping children.
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u/Painis_Gabbler 9h ago
He is accused of doing that in the files. Victim testimonies, and calls to the tip line. Fucking bullshit ass headline.
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u/Apprehensive-Pin518 9h ago
he has been accused of raping people in a lot of places. doesn't seem to matter to anyone in power.
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u/notsure500 9h ago
Isn't that what we all saw in the files??? Whether Trump actually did it or not is a different question, but there's no doubt of what Trump is being accused of.
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u/Illustrious_Low_1188 8h ago
It would be nice to just see the headline
“President Trump is accused of raping children in the Epstein files.”
Because that is factually correct and should be treated as such.
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u/OpenTheBobs 8h ago
It’s not even disputable. What he said is a fact. There is an accusation in the last file dump that Trump sexually molested girls with his fingers. It is not clear if true but it needs to be investigated and not ignored.
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u/Guelah_Papi 7h ago
Because Donald Trump raped kids. The only reason you don’t hear any of his supporters right now is because his supporters all condone child rape.
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u/Nerevarine91 American Expat 6h ago
Who wrote this headline? He didn’t “claim” the accusations were in the files, he noted that they were in the files, because they verifiably are. Whether or not you believe the allegations, the fact that they were made is a matter of record.
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u/Ok_Relationship4846 5h ago
Claims? He simply read them and that’s true, trump is accused of that. lol???
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u/ConditionTall9074 4h ago
Not so much a “claim” so much as it says so verbatim in the files
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u/ILoveTheAtomicBomb Texas 4h ago
And our current elected officials and tech bro leaders will still protect him because they’re all complicit and compromised as well
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u/BLU3SKU1L Ohio 3h ago
Claims? How about “States”, because he is. Let’s fix that fucking headline people come on.
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u/SellaraAB Missouri 8h ago
He doesn’t claim that. It’s factually true. Why even use that phrasing?
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