Speaker of the US House Johnson claims that the Epstein issue is “not a hoax”

In a Thursday interview, Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson declared the Jeffrey Epstein story was “not a hoax,” as the matter continued to fuel discord among President Donald Trump’s party.

Without success, Trump has called the commotion surrounding his late friend—a disgraced banker and convicted sex offender—”the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax” and advised his fellow Republicans to give up on the matter.

It’s not a hoax. “Obviously not,” Johnson stated in a CBS News interview.

To prevent a political battle over whether to release more files on Epstein, who hanged himself in a New York City jail in 2019, Johnson announced on Tuesday that he would send lawmakers home one day early for a five-week summer break, according to the city’s chief medical examiner.

However, on Wednesday, a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee, which is controlled by Republicans, authorized a subpoena to obtain all Justice Department documents pertaining to Epstein. Trump’s party was not prepared to abandon the topic, as evidenced by the fact that three Republicans joined five Democrats in supporting the initiative.

“We demand complete openness,” We want the swiftest possible justice for all those connected to the Epstein evils, as we shall call them. During the Wednesday interview, Johnson told CBS, “We want the full weight of the law on their heads.”

A revelation on Wednesday regarding Trump’s inclusion in the Justice Department’s case files raised the possibility of exacerbating the political crisis that has gripped his administration for several weeks.

According to the Wall Street Journal, in May, Trump was informed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name was included in Epstein-related probe files.