Mike Johnson says he was ‘misquoted’ on Epstein — then repeats call for release

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called for information on the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to be released Wednesday, while also claiming past comments of his related to the case had been “misquoted and misrepresented."

“I have been misquoted and misrepresented on all of that, go watch the interview I did with Benny Johnson, I'm pretty clear,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday.

“We're for transparency… You need to have all of the credible information released for the American people to make their decision. We trust the American people, and I know the president does as well. It's an important principle to abide by here.”

Epstein has long been alleged to have maintained a client list of powerful figures for blackmail purposes, and his death in 2019 while awaiting trial on human trafficking charges has only fueled further speculation as to the scope of the financier’s alleged operations.

Theories around Epstein were fueled further by none other than Trump himself, who pledged to release more information on Epstein should he win in 2024. Many of Trump’s cabinet picks – Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI leaders Kash Patel and Dan Bongino – also played a role in hyping up theories around Epstein, leading to a particularly harsh blowback from Trump’s base when the Justice Department concluded last week Epstein’s case was closed.

Trump has pushed back hard against further inquiries into Epstein, claiming Wednesday that theories around Epstein were a Democrat-manufactured “hoax.”

Johnson, giving Trump some leeway for his hesitancy to delve deeper into the Epstein case, went on to suggest that the hesitation may stem from sensitive information within any files related to Epstein.

“What the president has to do is protect the innocent; there are whistleblowers and minors' names involved and things related to Epstein obviously, and we've got to be careful not to release that,” he said.

Reacting on CNN, Brianna Keilar wasn’t buying it.

“They're having a hard time selling that it's a Democratic-led hoax like he is alleging that it is, because it so clearly isn't, and they're clearly struggling with that,” Keilar said.

CNN’s chief domestic correspondent and anchor Phil Mattingly also noted the tough spot Republicans were in, a spot largely of their own making.

“This is a Box Canyon of their own making that is very difficult to get out of when you've been promising something to your voters over the course of years,” Mattingly said. “...It's a tough game to actually pitch when you've been saying the alternative for the better part of years.”

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