Mike Johnson, speaker of the House, called for the justice department to make public documents related to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, breaking with Donald Trump over an issue that has roiled the president’s rightwing base.
It was a rare moment of friction between Trump and the speaker, a top ally on Capitol Hill, and came as the president faces growing backlash from conservatives who had expected him to make public everything known about Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 while in federal custody as he faced sex-trafficking charges.
Last week, the justice department announced that his death was a suicide and that, despite conspiracy theories to the contrary, there was no list of his clients to be made public nor would there be further disclosures about the case. Conservative allies of the president have since criticized him and the attorney general, Pam Bondi, for what they see as opaque handling of a case that Trump campaigned on getting to the bottom of.
“It’s a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it,” Johnson told Benny Johnson, a rightwing podcaster, in an interview released on Tuesday.
“I agree with the sentiment that we need to put it out there.”
Referring to a comment Bondi made to Fox News this year that Epstein’s client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review”, Johnson said: “She needs to come forward and explain that to everybody.
“We need the DoJ focusing on the major priorities. So let’s get this thing resolved,” the speaker added.
Earlier in the day, Republicans voted down an attempt by Democrats to insert language into legislation that would require files related to the Epstein case to be made public. But the minority party is determined to keep the issue alive, and Democrats on the House judiciary committee have demanded that its Republican chair, Trump ally Jim Jordan, hold a hearing with Bondi and her deputy as well as the leaders of the FBI to answer questions about Epstein.
Trump has sought to quell the furor that has erupted within his Maga base over the justice department’s conclusion. Over the weekend, he wrote on Truth Social: “One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it’s the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”
As he departed the White House for Pittsburgh earlier on Tuesday, Trump defended Bondi, but hinted that more documents could be forthcoming. “She’s handled it very well, and it’s going to be up to her. Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release,” he said.
Related: Democrats demand Pam Bondi and Kash Patel be summoned for Epstein hearing
Speaking to NBC News on Tuesday, Bondi was asked about the frustration from Trump’s Maga base surrounding her department’s handling of the Epstein investigation.
“We’re going to fight to keep America safe again,” she said on a different topic. “We’re fighting together as a team. That’s what’s so important right now. We’ve got a war on drugs. We’ve got a war on human trafficking, we’ve got cartels in this country … we have got foreign adversaries around this world as well, and we’re all going to work together as a team.”
Asked about Trump’s earlier remarks that she should release whatever files she thinks are “credible”, Bondi added:
“Today, our memo speaks for itself. We’ll get back to you on anything else. I haven’t seen all of his statements today.”
At a press conference earlier on drug enforcement, Bondi had refused to answer questions about Epstein.
“Today is about fentanyl overdoses throughout our country and people who have lost loved ones to fentanyl,” she said. “That’s the message that we’re here to send today. Not Epstein. Not going to talk about Epstein.”
Robert Mackey contributed reporting
The post US House speaker Mike Johnson calls for release of Epstein files amid backlash appeared first on The Guardian.
