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In the hours after Congress released twenty thousand pages of emails connected to Jeffrey Epstein, the public conversation rushed to one central question:
Will this hurt Trump politically?
Commentators, journalists, and everyday observers all seemed to arrive at the same cynical conclusion: probably not.
His followers will defend him. His party will shield him. His power will endure.
But when politics becomes our only metric of whether the truth matters, we have lost the plot.
The truth is not valuable only when it produces political fallout.
The truth is not worthwhile only when it changes poll numbers.
The truth is not meaningful only when it topples a figure we dislike.
The truth matters because it is the truth.
What happened to Epstein’s victims—what happened to children—demands clarity.
It demands transparency. It demands that a nation stop treating truth as a strategic tool and start treating it as a moral obligation.
For years, the survivors of Epstein’s abuse have relived the worst moments of their lives in public. They have risked reputations, privacy, safety, and emotional stability to tell stories that no one should ever have to tell once, let alone over and over.
They have spoken not because there is anything to gain, but because they have hoped—against all typical patterns—that the truth might prevent someone else from experiencing the same horror.
If nothing else, we owe the survivors honesty.
We owe them the release of every file, every email, every record.
We owe them a society brave enough to stare injustice in the face without blinking.
Doesn’t matter if the people implicated are Democrats or Republicans. “Our” side or the other side.
They can all get the smoke.
But even if no politician pays a price, the truth is worth pursuing.
Even if releasing the files doesn’t budge a single voter, the truth is worth pursuing.
Even if this moment fails to shift the balance of power, the truth is worth pursuing.
Truth-telling is not ultimately a political calculus. It is a moral commitment.
Scripture insists on this.
One of the commandments etched into the heart of Judeo-Christian ethics is simple: Do not bear false witness.
The inverse is equally clear: tell the truth. Stand with truth. Protect truth.
And the truth is offensive to lies.
And when Scripture describes the “armor of God,” the only offensive weapon—the only tool that pushes back against darkness—is the sword of the Spirit, which Paul describes as truth.
Not spin. Not advantage. Not selective transparency. Truth.
Truth is liberation. Truth is light. Truth is how people wounded in the dark find their way back toward hope.
And future generations will judge us on this.
Historians will look back and ask: What did they know? When did they know it? And what did they do with that knowledge?
God help us if the answer is that we dismissed the truth because we assumed it wouldn’t change the outcome of an election.
We are accountable not only for what we defend, but for what we ignore. And the truth has value even when the consequences appear muted. Even when the powerful survive the blow. Even when the empire keeps churning along.
Truth-telling is the work of people who refuse to surrender their integrity.
The Justice Briefing
The Epstein Files are a case study in what happens when a society loses the will to tell the truth, or worse, when people decide the truth doesn’t matter unless it benefits their side.
We are living in a moment where truth feels optional for the powerful. Where conspiracy outshouts clarity. Where myth-making overwhelms moral imagination. The Epstein files aren’t just a scandal; they’re a warning.
When a society begins to treat truth as a partisan commodity, the rot runs deeper than one case or one man.
That’s why I am creating something different for this moment—something rooted in truth, moral clarity, and the conviction that faith demands honesty, integrity, and courage.
My Footnotes podcast has been reimagined.
Today, I’m officially announcing that the podcast is becoming The Justice Briefing‼️
Welcome to the first episode.
The Justice Briefing brings you the most important issues of the day, and interprets them at the intersection of faith, history, joy, and justice.
It’s designed as a constructive alternative to the far-right Christian media ecosystem, helping people interpret events through truth, not fear.
The Justice Briefing is place where truth is not an accessory to politics but the starting point for liberation.
If we are going to resist culture war chatter and podcasts that play on fear and distortion, then we need clarity not just commentary.
We need a briefing for the brave. And that’s exactly what The Justice Briefing is.
Take Action
What’s your take? What difference will releasing the Epstein Files (or forcing a vote on it) make? Let us know in the comments.
