Speaker Mike Johnson announced Tuesday that he would shut the House down earlier than scheduled ahead of the five-week August recess, canceling votes for Thursday, in order to quash the Democrats’ “political games” related to the Jeffrey Epstein files.
In recent days, Democrats have been demanding more votes on releasing the documents, but the Speaker argued during a press conference Monday morning that Congress needs to take a more cautious approach. Johnson told reporters the last votes in the House would take place Wednesday afternoon, and then “the House will be in recess until September.”
Republicans, according to the New York Times, “had planned to schedule votes this week on an immigration measure, a permitting bill and the rollback of Biden-era regulations.”
But a key panel that would move those bills to the floor has been paralyzed as Democrats vowed to force a vote on an Epstein-related measure.
As a result, the House cannot take up any substantive legislation until the matter is resolved. Republican leaders have suggested they would not try to move those bills until after a planned five-week recess, avoiding a controversial vote on Epstein that might put Republicans in a tough spot with their base or that could embarrass the White House.
The speaker’s announcement came just after the House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell, the disgraced financier’s longtime associate who is serving a prison term for sex trafficking.
“Ms. Maxwell is widely known for her role in facilitating Jeffery Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. Her sworn deposition will help shed light on the extent of Epstein’s criminal network, efforts to conceal his crimes, and the cover up that followed,” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) in a statement, Tuesday. Burchett had submitted a formal request for her testimony last week. “This subpoena is a critical step towards transparency and accountability for victims of abuse and for the American people.”
Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche also announced on social media Tuesday morning that he had requested a meeting with Maxwell to address lingering questions about the case.
“This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead,” Blanche said in a statement posted on X.
The joint statement by @TheJusticeDept and @FBI of July 6 remains as accurate today as it was when it was written. Namely, that in the recent thorough review of the files maintained by the FBI in the Epstein case, no evidence was uncovered that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.
@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.
Johnson, who has who has consistently advocated for total transparency regarding the Epstein files, told reporters that a cautious approach was warranted to protect the privacy of the hundreds of victims named in the documents.
“When the Epstein records are turned over to the public—which we must do as quickly as possible—we have to also be very judicious and careful about protecting the innocent,” he explained. “We cannot be careless in an open release like that. We have to be very careful.”
Earlier this year, Defense attorney Alan Dershowitz told GOP strategist Sean Spicer that he knew “for a fact” that Epstein documents were being “suppressed to protect individuals.”
“Let me tell you, I know for a fact documents are being suppressed and being suppressed to protect individuals,” Dershowitz said on Spicer’s podcast. “I know the names of the individuals, I know why they’re being suppressed, I know who’s suppressing him,” he continued. “But I’m bound by confidentiality from a judge and cases and I can’t disclose what I know.”
Dersh argued that accusations against individuals should be allowed out, along with the evidence that “diminishes the credibility of the accuser.”
“We know there have been many false accusers who have accused innocent people for money and those records are being deliberately, willfully suppressed,” he explained.
During the GOP press conference Tuesday, Speaker Johnson noted that President Trump himself has called for “maximum transparency” and for “all credible evidence to be turned over to the American public.”
Johnson stressed that he wanted all individuals involved in Epstein’s underage sex trafficking crimes to face justice.
“The law should be brought down upon their head,” he declared.
“What we refuse to do,” Johnson continued, “is participate in another one of the Democrats’ political games. This is a serious matter. We are not going to let them use this as a political battering ram.”
“We’re not going to allow them to engage in that charade anymore,” he said.
Johnson accused the Democrats of abusing the Rules Committee to play “gotcha politics” on the Epstein files when “they have no moral high ground” on the issue at all.
“They had all these files the entire time. They controlled the Department of Justice for the last four years,” the speaker pointed out. “They sat on everything Epstein-related for four long years … you can draw your own conclusions as to why but we’ve been intellectually consistent the entire time.”
Johnson noted that the very same Democrats who have been obsessing over the files on social media for the past few weeks, were completely silent on the issue during the Biden years.
Considering the Dems’ clownish duplicity on the issue, the speaker argued that the American people would be better served if the majority shut down their “side shows.”
“That’s what we’re doing by not allowing the Rules Committee to continue with that nonsense this week,” he explained.
“We’re done being lectured on transparency by the same party that orchestrated one of the most shameless, dangerous political coverups in the history of this country or any government on the face of planet earth,” the speaker added, referring to the Democrats’ coverup of Joe Biden’s “rapid mental decline” while he was “the leader of the free world.”