Dear Editor:

Some of us might recall when the Republicans, after five years of investigating Whitewater, turned up Clinton’s affair with Lewinsky. Feigning moral outrage, they impeached the president.

But today they seem to have grown more tolerant of presidential misconduct and are willing to sweep under the carpet crimes that are on par with the Pizzagate allegations. Pizzagate, of course, proved to be a pernicious and dangerous hoax pertaining to the false allegations of child molestation.

The most disturbing feature of the Epstein-Trump coverup is that almost the entirety of the Republican party leadership seems to have abandoned any pretense of their previous moral outrage. Even our own Senator Collins has blocked the release of these files citing concern about protecting the identities of Epstein's victims. What the victims need is justice and that will never happen in Trump’s weaponized Department of Justice.

Protecting children from predators is a moral duty. To be faced with a political party that shirks this responsibility is unconscionable. The Epstein-Trump coverup is a stain on the integrity of the Republican Party undermining its already flagging credibility. The problem posed by the Epstein-Trump coverup is that it is indicative of the depth of corruption the party leadership has descended to.

Senator Collins needs to get off the fence on this issue and summon up the moral courage to do the right thing. Please contact Senator Collins and urge her to support the release of the Epstein files.

Fred W. Nehring

Boothbay