WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson stunned reporters Friday when he claimed President Donald Trump once served as an FBI informant in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, adding a dramatic twist to a scandal that continues to entangle America’s most powerful institutions.
The comment came as Johnson defended Trump’s controversial dismissal of efforts to release thousands of Epstein-related documents as a “Democrat Epstein Hoax.”
“What Trump is referring to is the hoax that the Democrats are using to try to attack him,” Johnson said. “It’s been misrepresented. He’s not saying what Epstein did is a hoax. It’s a terrible, unspeakable evil. He believes that himself. When he first heard the rumor, he kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago.”
Then Johnson dropped the bombshell: “He was an FBI informant to try to take this stuff down. The president knows — and has great sympathy for the women who suffered these unspeakable harms. It’s detestable to him.”
Trump has not yet commented on Johnson’s assertion, which quickly spread across Capitol Hill and on social media. The White House has remained silent on whether there are records supporting Johnson’s claim.
Epstein case fallout
Epstein, a wealthy financier with ties to elite business and political figures, died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide, but suspicions about the full extent of his network — and whether others helped him escape accountability for decades — have fueled years of public outrage.
On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee released more than 30,000 pages of records from the Justice Department related to Epstein. Survivors of Epstein’s abuse, however, said the release was heavily redacted and fell short of real transparency.
The next day, several survivors traveled to Capitol Hill, demanding that Congress force the release of all files connected to Epstein and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. They accused lawmakers of protecting powerful individuals who may have been complicit.
“Unless we learn from this history, monsters like Epstein will rise again,” survivor Chauntae Davies said. “There are government files that hold the truth about Epstein — who he knew, who owed him, who protected him — and why he was allowed to operate for so long without consequence.”
Frustrated by years of delays, survivors announced they would begin compiling their own list of Epstein’s associates. Conservative Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) promised she would read that list aloud on the House floor if victims asked her to. “I’ll say every damn name,” Greene declared.
Political battle lines
The push for transparency has divided Washington. A bipartisan discharge petition led by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is just three signatures shy of forcing a full House vote on releasing the files. But the White House has lobbied Republicans to withdraw support, arguing that Democrats are weaponizing the issue against Trump.
Johnson’s claim that Trump himself acted as an FBI informant may be an attempt to shield the president from criticism while reframing the debate. Yet the remark raises new questions about Trump’s past relationship with Epstein.
The two men were known to socialize in the 1990s and early 2000s. Trump has said he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after learning of troubling behavior, but photographs show them together at parties in Palm Beach and New York. Epstein’s former butler has also suggested the financier maintained ties to Trump longer than the former president acknowledges.
Survivors’ push continues
For Epstein’s accusers, Johnson’s statement about Trump being an informant does little to address their core demand: full disclosure.
“I’m encouraged that this group of brave women is taking it upon themselves, since the government continues to fail them, to compile their own list of Epstein’s enablers and perhaps even co-abusers,” said attorney Arick Fudali, who represents 11 survivors. “I look forward to learning more about this endeavor.”
As the House edges closer to a potential vote and survivors vow to name names, Johnson’s revelation may shift the narrative but not the urgency. The question that lingers: Will Congress — or the president himself — allow the full truth about Epstein’s network to finally come to light?
