Democracy Redacted

By covering up the Epstein files, Republicans are ending the last illusion that they are participating in a functioning democracy. Democracy requires sunlight. It requires accountability that applies upward as well as downward. It requires that crimes committed by the powerful are investigated with the same urgency as crimes committed by the poor. What we are seeing instead is a coordinated effort to bury evidence, stall disclosure, and protect a network of wealthy and politically connected men from consequence. That is not a failure of process—it is the process working exactly as designed for those at the top.

This is not about partisanship or embarrassment. It is about power protecting itself. When a political party decides that exposing the truth would be too destabilizing—to donors, to allies, to its own leaders—it is making a choice against democracy and in favor of impunity. The Epstein case isn’t an anomaly; it’s a stress test, and Republicans are failing it in plain sight. They campaign on “law and order,” then panic when the law approaches their own doorstep.

In a real democracy, evidence is not classified to spare reputations. Files are not slow-walked to protect election prospects. Victims are not quietly sidelined because their testimony might implicate someone important. When transparency becomes optional and accountability becomes selective, elections turn into theater and justice into branding.

Covering up the Epstein files doesn’t just shield predators—it sends a message to the public: there are two systems of justice, and you will never be in the one that matters. At that point, the lie collapses. This isn’t a party defending democracy. It’s a party managing the fallout of its absence.