Speaker Mike Johnson is calling for the Department of Justice to release all of its information on Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in jail after being charged with sex trafficking, and wants Attorney General Pam Bondi to explain previous statements on the matter.
The Trump administration this month declined to release additional information regarding Epstein’s death, with the Justice Department and FBI concluding there’s no evidence that Epstein had a list of clients or was murdered in his jail cell. Republicans blocked a House vote on Tuesday afternoon that Democrats tried to cast as a referendum to force the White House to release the files.
In an interview published shortly after the vote, Johnson told conservative commentator Benny Johnson that he is “for transparency.”
“It’s a very delicate subject, but you should put everything out there, let the people decide it,” the Louisiana Republican said.
He added that Bondi needs to clarify previous remarks she made about having some sort of “client list” of Epstein’s — pivoting from Monday when he threw his support behind the attorney general.
“I think she was talking about documents, as I understood that were on her desk. I don’t know that she was specific about a list or whatever, but she needs to come forward and explain that to everybody,” Johnson said.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In February, Bondi told Fox News that files related to the Epstein investigation — including a document suspected to include high-profile names associated with his sex crimes — was “sitting on my desk right now.”
But in a Cabinet meeting earlier this month, Bondi denied saying she had a client list.
“My response was, it’s sitting on my desk to be reviewed. Meaning the file, along with the JFK and MLK files,” Bondi said during the meeting.
Some of Trump’s top supporters, including congressional lawmakers and his former senior adviser Elon Musk, have expressed outrage over the administration’s decision to withhold information detailed in the reports.
Trump on Tuesday defended Bondi amid calls for her to step down.
“The attorney general has handled that very well. She’s really done a very good job, and I think that when you look at that, you’ll understand it,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Johnson on Tuesday said he is “anxious” to get the issue resolved.
“We need the DOJ focusing on the major priorities. Let’s get this thing resolved so that they can deal with violent crime and public safety and election integrity and going after ActBlue and the things that the president is most concerned about,” said Johnson.