Don Wolfensberger at The Hill:
What the Rules Committee did on Monday of last week was to put out a special rule for consideration of the four scheduled matters — the energy-water appropriations bill and three disapproval resolutions of executive regulations promulgated by the Bureau of Land Management. It then tacked on to the special rule three unscheduled House resolutions.
Two of them related to the Epstein files. The first simply tabled the pre-recess resolution on full disclosure and substituted for it another resolution commending the House Oversight Committee on pursuing the Epstein investigation already underway thanks to a subpoena issued approved by a bipartisan vote in an Oversight Committee subcommittee.
The third resolution creates a select subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The resolution was introduced just last week by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) who has been investigating the matter since last Congress as chair of a House Administration Committee subcommittee on oversight.
Although the Speaker announced the creation of the new Jan. 6 committee on Judiciary last Jan. 22, together with his aim to appoint Loudermilk as its chair, the actual formal launch was delayed for the last seven months due to internal committee jurisdictional disputes.
The Rules Committee’s special rule “self-executed” the adoption of all three of those simple resolutions. It is not surprising the House adopted the rule 212-208 with ten members not voting and one Republican, Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, voting present.
Why has the leadership been engaging in all this surreptitious gimmickry? The president has made clear to the Republican leadership he wants to stop the Epstein files discharge petition in its tracks. He has referred to the Epstein imbroglio as “a Democrat hoax.”
The discharge motion was filed on Sept. 2 by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). By the end of the week it already had 216 of the 218 signatures needed. The more shiny glass baubles dangled before members on unrelated issues having appeal to the MAGA base, the better the chance of keeping any more than the current four Republican signers off the petition. The stealth procedjury was the quick and dirty way of achieving that end — a double jury-rig if ever there was one. However, with two House Democratic seat vacancies being filled by special elections this month, it may well be too late.