An analyst says House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is using the government shutdown to cover for President Donald Trump's fears over the Epstein files, saying there is "little doubt" that Johnson wants to silence the survivors.
Salon's Amanda Marcotte writes Monday, as the government shutdown hits its 20th day, that it's still unclear "the full extent of the information the FBI collected on Epstein and his buddies, Trump’s determination to bury the evidence shows he’s deeply worried about the truth getting out.
"There can be little doubt that Johnson knows he’s covering for a sexual abuser. This has been adjudicated twice by civil courts, with juries finding that Carroll told the truth when she said Trump sexually abused her in a department store dressing room. There is also a tape of Trump bragging about grabbing women by the genitals in a way that directly echoes Carroll’s experience."
Johnson has "has already gone to great lengths to make sure FBI files chronicling the alleged misdeeds of Epstein and his associates never see the light of day," Marcotte writes, describing some of the backlash to the #MeToo movement.
"The purpose is silencing the victims of infamous child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged fellow abusers," Marcotte writes. "Worse, it’s all done to protect President Donald Trump, a man who was already found by a civil jury in New York to have sexually abused journalist E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room."
Questions have also risen after Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asked Attorney General Pam Bondi during a Senate hearing this month about “photos of President Trump with half-naked young women.” She refused to answer the question.
He has also refused to reopen the House of Representatives to swear-in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ). She has said Johnson may be blocking her to prevent the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Democrats have speculated that Johnson is trying to prevent her from signing on to a discharge petition circulated by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to force a vote on releasing evidence from Epstein's sex trafficking case, and Grijalva agreed that's possible.
"Johnson has denied the charge, but his pattern of behavior is clear," Marcotte writes. "He knows that if Trump turns against him, he would likely lose the speakership. Hiding the Epstein files appears to be Johnson’s first priority, even above reopening the government so federal employees can be paid."