“Morning Joe” cohost Joe Scarborough tore into “morally bankrupt” Republicans on Thursday’s show following the U.K.’s arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, claiming they were eager to shield fellow Republicans from accountability over their Jeffrey Epstein ties while the British arrested a former member of the Royal Family.
Scarborough cited the House Oversight Committee’s deposition Wednesday of Les Wexner, a former Epstein associate, as an example, pointing out that no GOP lawmakers attended. Instead, chairman James Comer (R-KY) has focused on Bill and Hillary Clinton, who are set to appear before the committee next week.
“They’re protecting Republicans,” Scarborough said. “And so again, if you did something horrific or if you were extraordinarily close to Jeffrey Epstein, if you got caught lying time and time again about your relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, if you’re a Republican, this same party that talked about getting to the bottom of the Epstein files… Now, if you’re a Republican, you’re off the hook!”
“In fact, Comer and his committee doesn’t even care about the man who started this hellscape,” Scarborough added, in reference to Wexner. “They don’t even show up for his deposition. That tells you how hypocritical and how morally bankrupt on this Epstein issue they are!”
Scarborough’s remarks came shortly after U.K. police arrested Mountbatten-Windsor on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office tied to his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein. The arrest, which came months after Mountbatten-Windsor lost his royal titles, followed an investigation into the former royal’s ties to the late sex offender.
Scarborough compared the two countries’ accountability measures, saying that “moral gravity still holds” in light of Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.
“JD Vance, always looking down the end of his little nose at Europe,” Scarborough said. “Well, at least they have shame in Europe if somebody was hanging out with Jeffrey Epstein, there are consequences. No consequences here!”
While the Department of Justice has not accused anyone of a crime after it said it completed its release of the Epstein files last month, the “Morning Joe” host warned Republicans that they risked alienating their base if they continued to let Epstein associates off the hook.
“This is your own base you’re screwing,” Scarborough said. “This is your own base you’re ignoring. This is your own base that you’re saying, ‘hey, don’t trust anything we Republicans say’ – you’re doing that to yourself. And all the money and all the campaign stops by the president, all of that? That doesn’t help. That actually makes things worse for you, because you’re covering up for people who consorted with Jeffrey Epstein.”
