Nancy Mace shows real and rare courage in standing up to Trump on Epstein | Opinion

Every Republican House member from the Carolinas tried to keep the secrets of one of the country’s most notorious pedophiles hidden from the public – except Rep. Nancy Mace.

She provided what amounted to the deciding vote to force a House vote this week on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. It’s an extraordinary development, a case of political courage from a woman I was convinced had none. It comes on the heels of an incident at Charleston International Airport that may have ruined her chances of becoming South Carolina’s next governor. Her standing up for Epstein victims makes it even tougher.

Mace was one of only four Republicans who joined with House Democrats to give us a clearer understanding of Epstein’s horrific crimes, potential co-conspirators and others who knew that he was sexually trafficking girls and young women but did little to stop him.

Though she remains a staunch President Donald Trump ally – and knows his endorsement would smooth her path to the governor’s mansion – she went against his wishes. No matter how much he pushed and cajoled and called those defying him stupid, she stood firm.

On this, she held the line.

Because of what she did, every elected official in Washington will have to go on record, to effectively side with a man who routinely raped children, or with those who survived his attacks.

Because of Mace’s steadfastness in the face of a Trump full court press that included summoning Rep. Lauren Boubert, Mace’s Republican colleague from Colorado, to the Situation Room to convince her to stop pursuing the release of the Epstein files, we are much closer to getting answers. There will be more facts, less conspiracy and speculation. Epstein victims might receive the justice they’ve been denied for far too long.

Make no mistake. That’s what’s at stake. No amount of professional political spin can make that reality go away.

I don’t know what this will mean for Trump long term. Criminal charges don’t seem in the cards. There’s no indication that he broke any laws while friends with Epstein, and he’s president. The Department of Justice doesn’t indict presidents.

But those files may include unpleasant revelations for Trump and his supporters. A trove of emails from Epstein’s estate has already done that, making it clear Trump’s association with Epstein lasted longer than the president has proclaimed, and was more intimate. According to the emails, Trump may have known more about Epstein’s activities than he has let on. That’s in addition to revelations dating back to the 2016 presidential campaign when Trump crudely bragged on tape about sexually assaulting women. He was sued successfully by one of dozens of women who claimed he either sexually harassed, assaulted or raped them. He even tried to appoint as attorney general a former congressman caught up in his own sex scandal.

Maybe that’s why he has spent so much time and energy trying to keep the files from the public after saying on the campaign trail he would release them. His behavior may fall below the mark of legal criminality but show that he has crossed more moral lines than are publicly known.

That’s why his supporters are being forced to show their true colors, particularly his base of white Evangelical voters who say Christianity is their guide. They have to make a choice, to clamor for the truth no matter where it leads, or pledge loyalty to a man who, until finally folding Sunday, was busy trying to make it harder for us to know more about a notorious pedophile and who else may have allegedly harmed up to 1,000 girls and young women.

There is no middle ground. There is no wiggle room. They must choose.

On that count, Mace has chosen. I usually don’t give much credence to her protestations that she is a protector of women and girls. She’s used that mantra to avoid consequences for her own actions and exaggerated harms she’s faced while repeatedly demeaning the trans community in ugly ways.

I won’t forget that. But neither will I ignore her act of political courage on the Epstein files.