On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson ruled out holding a floor vote this week on any measure to force the public release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein records. Johnson told reporters, “My belief is we need the administration to have the space to do what it is doing, and if further congressional action is necessary or appropriate, then we’ll look at that,” the Louisiana Republican told reporters Monday. “But I don’t think we’re at that point right now because we agree with the president.”
Johnson’s comments effectively shelve, at least until September, two competing efforts circulating in the House:
- A non-binding GOP resolution advanced by the Rules Committee last week that urges Attorney General Pam Bondi to release selected documents within 30 days.
- A bipartisan bill from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) that would compel the Justice Department to publish all Epstein-related files and could be brought to the floor through a discharge petition if 218 members sign on.
Massie urged Speaker Mike Johnson to bring his bill up for a vote before Congress adjourned for its month-long August recess.
“We should not punt this until after the 5-week recess, nor should we wait for my discharge petition to ripen and collect the required signatures to force the vote,” Massie wrote on X.
Johnson first signaled support for broader disclosure of the files during a July 18 appearance on CNBC, saying he believes in maximum transparency and that both he and Trump want all credible evidence… put out there for the American people while still protecting victims’ privacy. But in the days since, the speaker has moved toward the administration’s go-slow approach after Bondi asked a federal judge to unseal only select grand-jury transcripts.
The turnabout has frustrated some members of the GOP base who view unsealing the Epstein files as a litmus test of Trump’s pledge to “drain the swamp.” On social media, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) warned, “If you tell the base of people, who support you, of deep state treasonous crimes, election interference, blackmail, and rich, powerful elite evil cabals, then you must take down every enemy of The People.”
On Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote, “@POTUS Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.
Therefore, at the direction of @AGPamBondi, I have communicated with counsel for Ms. Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors from the Department. I anticipate meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the coming days. Until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government. That changes now,” on X.
Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of multiple federal crimes for her role in facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of underage girls with Jeffrey Epstein. Specifically, she was found guilty in December 2021 on five criminal counts, including:
- Sex trafficking of a minor
- Conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts
- Conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity
- Transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity
- Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors
Her conviction stems from recruiting, grooming, and enabling underage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein between 1994 and 2004.
A U.S. court upheld her conviction in September 2024, affirming her guilty verdict and prison sentence on sex trafficking-related charges.
Whether Maxwell will speak to the DOJ or not is to be seen. Earlier this week Illinois Senator Dick Durbin alleged that approximately 1,000 FBI personnel were directed to “flag” any Epstein-related documents that mentioned President Trump. According to Durbin’s letters to Justice Department and FBI leadership, this directive was part of a broader review process conducted in March 2025, where agents worked around-the-clock shifts to examine roughly 100,000 Epstein-related documents.
Durbin’s office received information suggesting that Attorney General Pam Bondi “pressured” the FBI to assign these personnel to work on an “arbitrarily short deadline” to publicly disclose documents. The Illinois Democrat, who serves as the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, raised concerns about why agents were specifically told to flag documents mentioning Trump and what happened to those flagged materials.
When directly confronted about these allegations during a White House press briefing, Karoline Leavitt notably did not deny the claims. Instead, she deflected responsibility to the FBI.
These allegations come amid significant political turmoil within Trump’s MAGA base over the administration’s handling of Epstein files. The Justice Department and FBI released a memo in July 2025 stating there was no evidence of an Epstein “client list” and that no further files would be released. This contradicted earlier promises from Trump officials, including Bondi, who had suggested more revelations would come.
Trump has since called the Epstein controversy a “hoax” and criticized his own supporters who continue to press for transparency, calling them “stupid” and “foolish.”
