Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) lastly appeared to point out some semblance of empathy — however critics aren’t shopping for it.
A handful of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims gathered in Washington, D.C., Tuesday for a closed-door assembly with members of the Oversight Committee who’re investigating the federal authorities’s dealing with of the late intercourse trafficker’s case. Mace, who’s a member of the committee, was proven leaving the assembly early and appeared visibly upset whereas wiping away tears.
In a video of the second, the Republican could be seen shaking her head “no” as a reporter asks her a query.
Though the South Carolina congresswoman didn’t need to communicate with reporters on the time, she later defined her emotional departure on her X account.
“As a recent survivor (not 2 years in), I had a very difficult time listening to their stories,” Mace wrote. “Full blown panic attack. Sweating. Hyperventilating. Shaking. I can’t breathe.”
Mace added, “I feel the immense pain of how hard all victims are fighting for themselves because we know absolutely no one will fight for us. GOD BLESS ALL SURVIVORS.”
In February, Mace gave an hourlong speech on the Home flooring by which she accused 4 males — together with ex-fiancé Patrick Bryant — of drugging, raping and filming her and different girls with out their consent. All 4 males have denied the allegations, with one suing Mace for defamation.
“I rise today to call out the cowards who think they can prey on women and get away with it,” Mace stated on the time. “Today, I’m going scorched earth. So let the bridges I burn this evening light our way forward.”
Whether or not or not Mace’s horrific sexual abuse allegations are true, there may be one obtrusive flaw within the far-right politician’s stance with reference to Epstein’s victims — her unyielding loyalty to President Donald Trump.
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In 2023, Trump was discovered liable in a civil trial for sexually abusing author E. Jean Carroll in a division retailer dressing room within the Nineties. The decide added on the time that, whereas jurors stopped wanting saying Trump dedicated rape, his actions fell inside the widespread definition of the phrase.
That is on no account the one time a girl has aimed sexual misconduct allegations squarely on the former actuality TV star, who famously stated in a 2005 recording that he can seize girls “by the pussy” as a result of he’s a celeb.
In actual fact, so many ladies have publicly accused the president of sexual misconduct that HuffPost compiled a listing in 2017 that options the names and allegations of 25 girls and spans many years.
Including to the cognitive dissonance in Mace’s obvious compassion for survivors of Epstein’s abuse is Trump’s connection to the convicted intercourse predator. Trump denies partaking within the abuse the disgraced financier inflicted on so many younger girls, however he and his administration have been awfully bizarre about transparently releasing the whole lot of Epstein’s case recordsdata to the general public — probably as a result of Trump’s identify reportedly comes up repeatedly within the materials linked to the case.
Late Tuesday, the Oversight Committee introduced it had made hundreds of Epstein paperwork publicly accessible, although it posted them in a cumbersome Google Drive folder and a lot of the materials had already been made public.
Contemplating that Mace beforehand confirmed zero empathy towards victims of different abuses, when critics on X initially noticed the video of Mace crying Tuesday, many suspected her tears had been of the crocodile selection.
Critics on X weren’t feeling Mace’s clarification about her emotional outburst, both. Many felt that her leaving the assembly early was emblematic of her lack of ability to do her job correctly.
Need assistance? Go to RAINN’s Nationwide Sexual Assault On-line Hotline or the Nationwide Sexual Violence Useful resource Middle’s web site.
