As I’ve gotten older, I have a somewhat warped sense of time.

For instance, it seems like only yesterday, but it’s been 27 years since Republicans expressed their moral outrage over Bill Clinton’s infidelity.

Yes, there was a time not all that long ago when the Republican Party billed itself as the party of family values and fiscal responsibility. You couldn’t make that claim these days without breaking out in laughter.

But the way they’re trying to block the release of the Epstein files is no laughing matter.

The party of family values evidently doesn’t care about the young girls who were trafficked and abused by Epstein and his associates. By blocking a full congressional investigation, they are protecting rich and powerful people by not demanding that all the information the FBI has on Epstein be made public.

It seems to me that if President Trump did nothing wrong, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson would be demanding the full release of everything the FBI has on the deceased pedophile Wall Street financier. He’d want to exonerate Trump. He’d put Ghislaine Maxwell on the stand under oath and have her testify that Trump was not involved in any way, shape, or form with Epstein’s perverted misdeeds.

As Republicans used to say when they were getting the Patriot Act passed, “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.”

There is enough information that has come out that makes me believe that not only President Trump, but numerous other rich, powerful people from both parties have a lot to fear.

At his tele-town hall meeting last Monday night, Congressman Don Bacon gave lip service to getting the information out, but then went on to say he doesn’t believe there is anything in the Epstein files. He claims that if it were, it would have been released by now.

Congressman Bacon is either trying to appease President Trump, Speaker Johnson, and other Republican elites, or he is incredibly naïve.

I have no doubt there is bad stuff in those files about Republicans and Democrats as well. That’s why these files have been kept under wraps by administrations from both sides of the aisle. Bill Clinton was associated with Epstein too. What did he know and what did he do? Let’s get everything out in the open.

The administration has tried to deflect by asking courts in New York and Florida to unseal the Grand Jury testimony. The Florida court said no, but it wouldn’t have added any real insight. The Grand Jury testimony pertained to the relationship between Epstein and Maxwell. It had very little to do with Donald Trump or other important figures.

The administration is also trying to look transparent by having Todd Blanche, a former attorney for Donald Trump and now the Deputy Attorney General, interview Ghislaine Maxwell. But that’s just a smoke screen. Is Blanche acting on behalf of the President or on behalf of the American people?

We deserve a full bipartisan congressional hearing. Have Ghislaine Maxwell and anyone else with information testify under oath in front of the cameras. The president loves good TV theatrics, and it wouldn’t get any better than that.

I can’t believe that Trump, his Justice Department, Speaker Johnson and many Republican representatives are this tone deaf. This is not going to go away. When Congress returns from its extended summer vacation, they are still going to have to deal with this. The deflections aren’t working.

I believe the Wall Street Journal story about the birthday card Trump wrote for Epstein’s 50th birthday. He drew the picture of the naked woman and wrote the line “may every day be another wonderful secret.” Trump may or may not have participated in any illicit acts with minors, but he definitely knew what was going on and continued to be Epstein’s friend.

I’m starting to think that the Republican elite never really cared about family values or balanced budgets. Their actions are speaking louder than their words. It’s time for us to stop thinking of ourselves as members of a political party and think of ourselves as Americans. Americans who expect the truth. Americans who demand our leaders have integrity and basic human decency. Americans who aren’t afraid to speak truth to power.

Americans who realize that promoting family values and fiscal responsibility doesn’t belong to any specific political party. It belongs to us all.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

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