{"id":73278,"date":"2026-11-03T20:57:16","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T20:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diaspora.biz\/?p=73278"},"modified":"2026-11-03T20:57:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T20:57:16","slug":"in-kansas-both-sides-twist-the-facts-in-accusations-of-protecting-pedophiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaspora.biz\/?p=73278","title":{"rendered":"In Kansas, Both Sides Twist the Facts in Accusations of Protecting Pedophiles"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In Kansas\u2019 tight Senate race, ads from Democratic and Republican outside groups are accusing the other party\u2019s candidate of having protected pedophiles. In both cases, the attacks are misleading or unsupported by the evidence.<\/p>\n

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Ads from Democratic groups misleadingly claim Sen. Roger Marshall, the Republican incumbent, helped cover up Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s crimes by voting to keep the Epstein files under wraps while taking money from the convicted sex offender\u2019s \u201cassociates.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Marshall supported the November 2025 law that required the Justice Department to publicly release the files. He previously voted against a Democratic amendment calling for the files\u2019 release, saying he opposed attaching it to an unrelated defense bill. As for the purported Epstein \u201cassociates,\u201d they\u2019re people whose names appear incidentally in the files but had no documented contact with Epstein, or whose interactions with him were limited. None has been accused of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

An ad from a Republican group, meanwhile, claims Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton, a pastor, \u201cprotected a pedophile\u201d accused of molesting teenage boys two decades ago at a camp his church ran. <\/p>\n

According to court records reviewed by local news outlets, the boys reported the abuse but couldn\u2019t identify the culprit, and the church didn\u2019t notify police. It\u2019s unclear what role Hamilton played in that decision. The next year, a camp volunteer was caught and reported to police. Hamilton has acknowledged<\/a> that the church could have handled the situation better, but there\u2019s no evidence he knowingly protected a predator. <\/p>\n

The Cook Political Report rates<\/a> the Kansas race as one of several toss-ups that could determine control of the Senate on Nov. 3.\u00a0President Donald Trump campaigned<\/a> for Marshall in Kansas on Nov. 1, the president\u2019s second rally<\/a> in the state in two weeks.<\/p>\n

Votes on the Epstein Files<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Multiple Democratic-aligned groups have run ads accusing Marshall of voting to cover up the Epstein files.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of the worst child abuse scandals in history,\u201d states an ad<\/a> from WinSenate<\/a>, a super PAC working to elect Democrats. \u201cDozens of young girls sexually trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein. Drugged, molested, and raped. And Roger Marshall helped cover it up. Marshall voted to keep the Epstein files sealed, ignoring pleas from victims and saying releasing the information was, quote, \u2018not of much interest to me.\u2019 Roger Marshall used his office to protect pedophiles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another WinSenate ad<\/a> makes a similar claim, interspersing images of Marshall with what appears to be a photo of an Epstein victim with her face redacted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a 14-year-old girl,\u201d the ad\u2019s narrator says. \u201cHe was a 65-year-old senator. She was drugged, molested, and raped. And he helped cover it up. Roger Marshall took nearly $40,000 from Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s associates. Then voted to keep the Epstein files sealed, protecting pedophiles.\u201d<\/p>\n