Speaker Johnson Addresses Trump and Epstein Remarks

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) attempted to clarify his statement from last week suggesting that President Trump acted as an “FBI informant” pertaining to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“I’m not sure I used the right words,” Johnson told reporters on Monday. “I mentioned ‘FBI informant’, but, well, I wasn’t actually there—this isn’t really my area of expertise.”

He added, “What I relayed was general knowledge that’s been around for a long time. Essentially, President Trump was aiming to aid the investigation into Epstein, not obstruct it, and he’s growing weary of the narrative.”

In a conversation with CNN’s Manu Raju on Friday, Johnson claimed that Trump was “an FBI informant trying to combat something like this,” reflecting on Trump’s past friendship with Epstein and their fallout nearly two decades ago.

The label “informer” is an official term used to describe individuals who provide confidential information to the FBI.

As a strong ally of Trump, Johnson emphasized on Monday that he simply brought up details that have been reported for some time. He mentioned Trump had expelled Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago resort before Epstein faced allegations of sex trafficking minors last week and subsequently died by suicide in 2019.

Johnson remarked, “The victim’s attorney made it clear… Once Trump learned about Epstein’s actions, he kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago—just a terrible situation, serious allegations—and he was indeed involved in some way, working with law enforcement to put an end to it.”

Last week, several survivors of Epstein’s abuse spoke at the Capitol, calling for authorities to disclose more details regarding Epstein’s trafficking crimes and the potential involvement of other influential people.

A bipartisan group of House members is advocating for the release of further information related to the Epstein investigation, while Trump has consistently dismissed the “Epstein File” narrative as a “Democrat hoax.”

On Monday, Epstein’s estate submitted a batch of documents requested by the House Oversight Committee.