A year after former President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race following his troubling debate performance, House Speaker Mike Johnson released a video accusing top Democrats of repeatedly lying to the public. Johnson claimed they knowingly defended and covered up signs of Biden’s mental decline. He called it a “cover-up” while speaking to reporters. Not just this, he also blamed the Biden administration for the delay in the release of the Epstein files.
“We will not be lectured on transparency by the same party that orchestrated one of the most shameless, dangerous political cover-ups in the history of the United States, and that was President Biden’s obvious mental decline,” Johnson told reporters.
Johnson criticised liberal lawmakers for their continued push to make the Jeffrey Epstein case files public, calling it a “hypocritical political move”. He pointed out that the Biden administration held on to the Epstein files for four years with little scrutiny from Democrats. Johnson blamed President Biden and his party for not acting sooner to release the documents and argued that Democrats are only raising concerns about openness now because Donald Trump is back in office.
Johnson said on Thursday that he wants the truth to come out about the Jeffrey Epstein files and insisted that the case is “not a hoax”.
“It’s not a hoax. Of course not,” Johnson said when CBS’s Major Garrett asked him to clarify his stance.
Bats for victim privacy while backing file release
Johnson said he supports making the Epstein files public. However, he also wants to protect the privacy of Epstein’s victims. He believes the names of victims should stay private so they are not hurt again. “House Republicans stand for maximum transparency and truth. We always have, and we always will.”
“I tried to explain in my press conference this week, man, we want full disclosure. If I had these things in my possession, I would have put them out a long time ago, but I would also have been very careful to protect the innocent,” he added.
Recently, some lawmakers tried to hold a vote in Congress to release all the Epstein files. But Mike Johnson ended the House session early, stopping the vote.
Johnson and other Republican lawmakers have dealt with a barrage of media scrutiny on Epstein’s case over the last two weeks. This comes after the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memo and declared the matter closed. The DOJ stated that Epstein died by suicide and even released a video from his prison, which raised more questions than answers. Why? Because of a missing minute in the video.
Far-right criticises Trump allies on Epstein case
Figures on the far right have hammered Trump officials like Attorney General Pam Bondi, accusing them of going back on earlier vows of transparency. At Trump’s direction, the DOJ is moving to have grand jury files related to Epstein’s case unsealed. Bondi is looking into whether imprisoned former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell will speak with federal authorities as well.
“We want everybody who is involved in any way with the Epstein evils, let’s call it what it was, to be brought to justice as quickly as possible. We want the full weight of the law on their heads,” Johnson said.