US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday he believed the approaching vote on releasing Justice Department files related to Jeffrey Epstein should help put to rest allegations that US President Donald Trump had any connection to the late sex offender’s abuse and trafficking of underage girls.
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“They’re doing this to go after President Trump on this theory that he has something to do with it. He does not,” Johnson, the Republican leader in the House, said on Fox News Sunday.
“Epstein is their entire game plan, so we’re going to take that weapon out of their hands,” Johnson said of Democrats. “Let’s just get this done and move it on. There’s nothing to hide.”
Although Trump and Epstein were photographed together decades ago, the president has said the two men fell out before Epstein’s convictions.
Emails released last week by a House committee showed Epstein believed Trump “knew about the girls”, though it was not clear what that phrase meant. Trump has since instructed the Department of Justice to investigate prominent Democrats’ ties to Epstein.
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Congressman Ro Khanna, a California Democrat and an original sponsor of the petition calling for a vote on the files’ release, said on Sunday that he expected more than 40 Republicans to vote in favour.
Republicans hold the majority in the House, with 219 seats, versus 214 for Democrats.