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Campaign Almanac: DNC ad campaign targets Iowa Republicans over Epstein files
Also, Ted Cruz to headline Brenna Bird fundraiser
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
The Democratic National Committee has launched a five-figure digital ad campaign targeting Iowa U.S. Reps. Ashley Hinson and Zach Nunn, pressuring the lawmakers to release files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The ads accuse House Republicans of heading home early for their monthlong August recess as part of what the DNC alleges is an effort to "bury the truth about Donald Trump’s association with a known sexual predator."
The ads also urge Iowans to contact their representatives and demand the release of the records.
“Democrats are going to continue to hold the Trump administration and Iowa Republicans in Congress accountable for their failure to release the Epstein files and the cover-up that we are witnessing in real time,” Tim Hogan, the DNC’s senior adviser for messaging, mobilization and strategy, said in a statement.
Hinson told reporters earlier this month that she opposed a procedural move aimed at forcing a vote in the House of Representatives on a resolution to release Department of Justice files related to Epstein. The move was being pushed by Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie.
Hinson said she believes that Massie's approach is "the wrong way" to achieve transparency on the issue, arguing it could be exploited for political gain by Democrats. She asserts that Americans have a right to demand justice for Epstein's victims and have questions about the case. However, she has expressed confidence in the Trump administration and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to handle the release of information appropriately.
A spokesperson for Hinson called the ads “a waste of money” and that Hinson “supports full transparency and trusts the administration to deliver on that promise.”
Nunn, in a statement to The Gazette, said: “Transparency and accountability from our government isn’t optional, it’s a duty. Jeffrey Epstein is a disgusting human being who committed horrific crimes. Victims deserve justice, not DC politicians who want to use them to score political points.”
A key House committee is looking into the investigation of Epstein, a financier who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee acted just before House Speaker Mike Johnson canceled votes and sent members home a day early for its six-week summer recess to avoid having to hold votes on releasing files related to Epstein. Johnson has deferred to President Trump and the DOJ on the matter, while continuing to say that he is calling for transparency.
The Trump administration and congressional Republicans have come under mounting pressure. Many prominent Republicans and supporters of Trump have criticized the president, saying his administration hasn't done enough to release the truth behind the sex trafficking charges against Epstein.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week Bondi told Trump in May that his name appeared in investigative files related to Epstein.
The White House initially called the report "fake news," but later acknowledged that Trump's name does appear in some files, according to Reuters. Trump, who knew Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, is mentioned on Epstein's flight logs and appears in his contact book. The information was revealed during Epstein's coconspirator Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal trial and in materials the DOJ has already released.
Trump has denied flying on Epstein's plane, and has sued the Wall Street Journal over a July 17 article asserting Trump's name was on a 2003 birthday greeting for the late financier and sex offender.
Under instructions from Trump, the Justice Department petitioned courts in Florida and New York to release grand jury transcripts from the investigations of Epstein and Maxwell, his imprisoned associate. A judge in Florida last week rejected the request, stating it would violate state guidelines governing grand jury secrecy.
Ted Cruz to headline Brenna Bird fundraiser
Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird will host 2016 Iowa Republican presidential caucus winner and Texas GOP U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz at her third annual "Big Barn Bash" fundraiser next week.
The event will be held Aug. 2 at the Dallas County Fairgrounds in Adel.
Cruz edged Donald Trump, who finished a close second in the Iowa Republican caucuses before going on to secure the party’s nomination that year. He carried Iowa in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections.
Bird also will host Missouri Republican U.S. Senator and former state attorney general Eric Schmitt.
Interested members of the public can RSVP at http://birdbarnbash.com, Bird said on X (formerly Twitter). Cost is $25 per person and $50 per family.
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