Letters to the Editor | July 22, 2025

Donald Trump “is in the Epstein files,” wrote Elon Musk in June. “That is the real reason they have not been made public.” When a person with inside knowledge makes a public claim that the president has a purely personal reason for suppressing certain portions of the files describing the criminal investigation into charges of child sex trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell — both known associates of Trump — how does that matter evaporate from our consciousness in just a couple of days? This administration’s strategy is to create so much chaos and angst that we are too stunned and numb to focus on any specific claim. I call on the FBI and U.S. Justice Department to pursue Musk’s allegation. If these federal government agencies are unable or unwilling, I call on Congress to do its job now and investigate if this is an abuse of presidential power, as we had with Watergate. I have a right to know about the character and integrity of the people running the United States of America. We all do.

Kathy Dwyer, Hollywood

The Inquirer headline, “DOJ wants to peek at state’s voting roles, data,” is equivalent to, “Mr. Fox wants to peek inside the henhouse to make sure everything is OK.” In a democracy, voters choose their politicians. But Republicans apparently believe the politicians choose the voters. I protested on the fifth anniversary of Rep. John Lewis’s death, and the best way to honor his legacy is to revive and pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which was defeated by the GOP. In the words of Lewis, “The vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democracy.”

Dave Posmontier, Melrose Park

On July 11, The Inquirer ran an Associated Press story headlined, “Job scams are on the rise.” That headline could have been reused a few days later, when Sen. Dave McCormick claimed an artificial intelligence investment of a purported “north of $90 billion” would bring in “tens of thousands of jobs” in the coming years. AI creating, rather than eliminating, tens of thousands of jobs? Really? Perhaps The Inquirer’s business and investigative staff could apply some actual intelligence to this and other such claims to reveal actual jobs created (and the quality of those jobs) vs. the promises used to sell the projects.

Terry Shepard, Bryn Mawr

The smooth functioning of society depends on the smooth functioning of its institutions. When care facilities, agriculture, hotels, restaurants, and construction projects can’t find workers to fill needed positions, society breaks down, affecting both the economy and the well-being of its inhabitants. This is where we are today. But rather than fixing the laws to benefit the needs of society, both the law and the people respond extrajudicially.

Masked law enforcement officers round up workers suspected of being in the country illegally and send them, without due process of law, to foreign countries or into inhumane custodial settings. The government gives U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials access to protected data, and people knowingly try to protect — and benefit from — undocumented residents. When it becomes obvious to the government that we are shooting ourselves in the foot, such as when President Donald Trump grasped that agriculture depends on undocumented workers to pick our crops, the law is quietly circumvented. Countries not governed by the rule of law become governed by the rule of dictators.

Norma Van Dyke, Philadelphia

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