House Speaker Mike Johnson has insisted that the drama surrounding the case of late child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein “is not a hoax” and that lawmakers want to see justice for the victims as he grapples with a growing firestorm over the issue.
“We want full transparency,” Johnson (R-La.) told CBS News’ “The Takeout with Major Garrett” Wednesday. “We want everybody who is involved in any way with the Epstein evils — let’s call it what it was — to be brought to justice as quickly as possible.”
“We want the full weight of the law on their heads.”
A weeks-long controversy has roiled Trump’s MAGA movement after the Justice Department and FBI concluded in a July 6 memo that Epstein most likely killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell and didn’t have an “incriminating client list” of rich and powerful people who took part in sex with girls as young as 14.
The conclusion has caused headaches for Johnson after House Democrats won over several Republicans in a push to publicly release the full case file.
On Monday, the House Rules Committee — the lower chamber’s gatekeeper for most legislation that gets a floor vote — was forced to adjourn by Republicans who wanted to short-circuit a Democratic effort to force the disclosure of the Epstein files.
Johnson then opted to send lawmakers home to their districts Wednesday for the August recess — one day ahead of schedule — due to the House floor effectively being frozen over the Epstein revolt.
President Trump has seethed at the controversy, calling out “past” supporters as “weaklings” for buying into the “hoax.”
“It’s not a hoax. Of course not,” Johnson told Garrett.
“I’ve never seen the Epstein evidence; it wasn’t in my lane, but I had the same concerning questions that a lot of people do,” he later added.
Rank-and-file lawmakers are pushing Johnson to hold a vote to compel the release of outstanding documents once the House returns from its recess Sept. 2.
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) are pursuing a discharge petition — a legislative technique to force a vote on a bill without the speaker’s blessing — to that effect.
Meanwhile, Trump has announced his support for the release of grand jury testimony in the cases against Epstein and his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.
On Thursday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell and her legal team in Tallahassee, Fla. to discuss the case.
Additionally, the GOP-led House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed Maxwell for testimony, with an interview tentatively set for Aug. 11.
