House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday accused congressional Democrats of using the push to release documents connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as “their entire game plan,” asserting the effort is aimed at placing pressure on President Donald Trump and deflecting from other issues.
Johnson’s remarks came in an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” in which he repeatedly emphasized what he described as Trump’s clean record.
“President Trump has clean hands. He’s not worried about it. I talk to him all the time. He has nothing to do with this. He’s frustrated that they’re turning it into a political issue,” Johnson said, referencing the document-release efforts.
Johnson also accused Democrats of “cherry-picking three emails out of 20,000 documents” linked to Epstein to “try to imply that the president was guilty.”
The speaker cited media-released emails in which Epstein allegedly told associates that “of course” Trump was aware of his relationships with underage girls.
The document-release effort is driven by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who led a discharge petition that secured sufficient signatures on Wednesday to force a floor vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act (H.R. 4405).
The bill would require the Department of Justice to publish all unclassified records, communications, and investigative material in its possession related to Epstein.
Khanna countered Johnson’s framing on NBC’s Meet the Press, arguing that Trump is “losing his MAGA base” because his earlier campaign promise to oppose “a corrupt governing elite” and stand up for “forgotten Americans” has not been fulfilled.
Khanna said, “He’s forgotten those forgotten Americans. And we are saying that we are going to stand up for survivors, for America’s kids, and we’re going to hold this class accountable.”
The bill is scheduled for a House vote next week.
If passed, the legislation would still face significant hurdles. It would require 60 votes to advance in the Senate and would need a signature from Trump or a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a potential veto.
Republican leadership has shown little appetite for advancing the measure in the Senate, underscoring intraparty tension.
Many rank-and-file Republicans face a decision between aligning with the speaker’s opposition to the bill and siding with the bipartisan push for transparency.
Observers say a substantial number of Republicans could break ranks.
Conservatives close to the speaker say most of the GOP is focused on legislative priorities and see the Epstein-file campaign as a distraction.
Johnson described the Democrats’ filing effort as a political strategy to shift attention.
“And it’s not surprising because the Democrats have nothing else to talk about. What have they accomplished in months? Epstein is their entire game plan,” he told the host.
With the House set to vote soon, the outcome will signal how many Republicans are willing to support the document-release effort despite resistance from the White House.
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