Joy of Resistance will feature anti-rape activist and survivor supporter: Professor Caroline Heldman breaking down recent developments leading to the astounding turnaround of both the House and Senate with near unanimous votes in BOTH houses to RELEASE release the Epstein Files through passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The battle had raged over many months and included the refusal of House Speaker Mike Johnson to swear in a newly elected Democrat from Arizona, Adelita Grijalva, because she would have provided the 218th vote needed to force a discharge--or vote--on the bill. 

In the leadup to the Bill, Donald Trump tried to strong arm four Republicans who had joined Democrats in saying they would vote for the discharge--creating a majority for the bill coming to the floor. But the rogue Republicans did not succumb to the pressure and by Monday it had become apparent that even more Republicans were about to jump ship--on of the first defection from Trump control by his own party. Simultaneously, the Democrats had released selected emails including one between Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in which Epstein referred to Trump, saying "He knew about the girls"; Trump had consistently said that he did not know about Epstein's rapes of under-age girls.

On Tuesday, the House voted unanimously for the discharge and the Senate voted with only one demur, to pass the bill. By that time, Trump, acting as if he'd been for 'full disclosure' all along, in an effort to avoid the impression of complete defeat and look as if he was in control of the situation, advised all members of Congress to vote FOR it. He signed it on Wednesday (yesterday). However, at the press conference, A.G. Pam Bondi, refused to say she would release all the files. She said, instead, that she would "follow the law". The catch here, is that the DOJ/Trump had 'insured themselves' by initiating an investigation of Democrats, which could serve the purpose of still not releasing the Epstein files, as there is a legal dictum that files can be withheld if they are part of an ongoing investigation.

Activist Professor Caroline Heldman and host Fran Luck will have a far-reaching conversation, about the meaning of the entire Epstein rape racket and its meaning for women and our liberation. Fran Luck will ask Professor Heldman the following questions:

1) Many in this country, who have been following the battle to get this Act voted on by Congress, have only recently  become aware of the  'institutional failure' cited by a survivor cited by a survivor at the Survivor Press Conference on Tuesday: in regard to the 20 year uphill battle survivors have faced up until now, to get any recognition--much less justice--for the  harm  done to them. You have been in the trenches on this issue for decades--from your perspective, how do you assess what is happening now, within a larger framework of the movement for justice for survivors? Even if things proceed to indictments of all perpetrators--is this  just a 'blip', a one-off, or do you think it could have some sort of lasting impact on the entire landscape of the uses to which women are put in this society, and the lack of justice for all kinds of sexual assault?

2) Let's look at the obstacles this Act may still face (releases of files being blocked by DOJ/Trump's "investigation of Democrats", redactions blocking names, Trump's name already having been removed from thousands of documents, etc,) 

3) This is one of the few issues around which such a Repub/Dem alliance could have unfolded. How do we account for that? Do you see differences between how the right wing and Democrats see this issue? Megan Kelly tried to draw a difference between "a seventeen year old" and an "eight year old". Could this be because Republicans are obsessed about pedophilia, but have little regard for the rapes of grown women? There is a strong case that, in general, this Administration, in its policies and statements is actually "pro-rape" (defunding rape crisis centers, throwing out sexual harassment cases lodged with DOE, many cabinet members having been credibly accused of rape/sexual assault (including Trump), pastor/mentor of at least one cabinet member--Pete Hegseth's pastor Doug Wilson--having said that rape is 'caused by women not submitting to their husbands', the resistance to bringing Epstein crimes to light...) 

4) Many Epstein survivors still live in fear of retaliation and get death threats constantly. They are also afraid of lawsuits that 'sue them into homelessness'. Even the ghost writer for Virginia Giuffre's book has had to fear for her and her children's safety (she 'knows the names'). Can you give an overview of how accused men are intimidating female accusers with such tactics? What help is available (including legal help/financial help for women being sued for survivors being sued for slander or defamation when they name names?

Where do you think the movement for survivors and an end to all women living in fear of rape, should be going (root causes? background assumptions about the 'uses' of women?)

CAROLINE HELDMAN UPDATED BIO

Dr. Caroline Heldman is a Political Scientist and Chair of the Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies program at Occidental College in Los Angeles. She is also Co-Founder of Stand With Survivors and a political commentator for CNN and CBS. She has published ten books, including Gender, Power, & Politics: The Fight for Gender Equality in the United States, and The Media Book on Representations. Her work has been featured in numerous documentaries, including Miss Representation and The Mask You Live In. She co-founded the New Orleans Women’s Shelter, the Lower Ninth Ward Living Museum, End Rape on Campus (EROC), Faculty Against Rape (FAR), and led the campaign that overturned the time limit on prosecuting rape in California. She is the Board President of the TEP Center, the first Civil Rights museum in New Orleans, and the Chair of the Board of Alturas Institute, a non-profit fighting for stronger democracy.