Speaker Mike Johnson came out swinging on Wednesday, arguing that House Democrats’ efforts to make Republicans take tough votes on compelling the Trump administration to release files related to the deceased sex predator Jeffrey Epstein is politically motivated.
Johnson excoriated Democrats for attempting to use the administration’s handling of the Epstein files as a political cudgel despite not calling for the release of any documents related to Epstein and his longtime partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, when former President Joe Biden occupied the Oval Office. The speaker’s broadside comes shortly after House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested Monday that his party had not previously cared about the Epstein files until Trump was sworn into office.
“We’re not going to allow the Democrats to use this for political cover,” Johnson said during an impromptu gaggle with reporters. “They had four years. Remember, the Biden administration held the Epstein files for four years and not a single one of these Democrats — or anyone in Congress — made any thought about that at all.”
House Democrats have spent the past two weeks pressing their Republican colleagues to vote on measures that would force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release files related to Epstein and Maxwell in their possession. Johnson, in return, chose to truncate legislative business this week before leaving Washington for the August recess to preclude Democrats from having opportunities to hammer Republicans over the Epstein files.
Johnson has thus far resisted efforts to put an Epstein files-related measure on the floor, arguing that the Trump administration is actively working to release the files by unsealing grand jury information. House GOP leadership has suggested that they could address the Epstein files upon restarting legislative business in September if the DOJ has not facilitated the release of the information by then.
“There’s no point in having a vote today because the administration is already doing everything within their power to release them,” Johnson told reporters. “We’re going to let that process play out.”
“The President himself has said all credible evidence should be put out to the American people,” the speaker added.
A federal judge denied a DOJ request Friday to unseal grand jury material related to the government’s investigation into Epstein in 2005 and 2007.
Jeffries shows no signs of backing off the Epstein files issue and several Democratic strategists have claimed that the controversy has politically benefited their party.
Johnson has torched his Democratic counterpart for pressing for the records to be made public despite not calling for their release when Biden occupied the Oval Office.
Jeffries made a notable admission Monday that House Democrats’ preoccupation with the Epstein files occurred just recently — after Trump retook the White House.
“No one looking at the facts disputes that this isn’t anything that any of us as House Democrats have been focused on ever — in terms of trying to fan the flames of what may or may not happen,” the Democratic leader added. “Once it has broken into the public domain, and there’s a clear desire on behalf of the American people to get more information, then the right thing to do is to present the facts and the evidence to the American people.”
Johnson also shot down the prospect of supporting legislation sponsored by Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna that would require Attorney General Pam Bondi to release most Epstein-related materials to the public. The speaker questioned why the duo did not draft a similar measure when Biden was president.
“They could have brought a discharge position at any point in the last four years. They chose not to,” Johnson continued. “They waited until President Trump was elected. I think that’s very suspect.”
Massie and Khanna have pledged to force a vote on their legislation when the House returns from recess in September. The measure currently has more than ten Republican cosponsors.
Johnson also criticized the Massie-Khanna bill for not doing enough to protect victims’ personal information that may be contained in the files.
Though Johnson has refused to consider legislation on the House floor before the August recess that would demand Bondi release information related to Epstein, he insisted that Republicans are not afraid of voting on those measures.
“This is not out of fear in any way,” Johnson continued. “What we’re trying to do is maximize transparency and stand for the truth.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
