{"id":16319,"date":"2025-09-08T04:30:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T04:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/?p=16319"},"modified":"2025-09-08T04:30:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T04:30:12","slug":"johnson-backtracks-on-trump-epstein-fbi-claim-amid-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/news\/johnson-backtracks-on-trump-epstein-fbi-claim-amid-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnson Backtracks on Trump-Epstein FBI Claim Amid Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

September 8, 2025, 9:19 AM IST<\/strong> \u2013 House Speaker Mike Johnson has retracted his surprising claim that former President Donald Trump acted as an FBI informant in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, a statement that sparked widespread skepticism and intensified demands for transparency in the Epstein case. The controversy, which erupted following Johnson\u2019s remarks on September 5, 2025, has exposed divisions within the Republican Party and reignited calls to release sealed documents related to Epstein\u2019s criminal activities, as survivors and lawmakers push for accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson\u2019s initial claim came during a Capitol Hill press interaction when he was pressed by CNN reporter Manu Raju about Trump\u2019s repeated references to the Epstein scandal as a \u201cDemocrat hoax.\u201d Attempting to clarify Trump\u2019s stance, Johnson stated, \u201cWhat Trump is referring to is the hoax that the Democrats are using to try to attack him. He\u2019s not saying what Epstein did is a hoax. It\u2019s a terrible, unspeakable evil. When he first heard the rumor, he kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago. He was an FBI informant to try to take this stuff down.\u201d The assertion that Trump, a former close associate of Epstein, had worked with the FBI to expose the disgraced financier\u2019s crimes stunned observers and prompted immediate backlash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The claim drew sharp criticism from within the GOP, notably from Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who questioned its plausibility and demanded evidence to substantiate it. Massie, a vocal advocate for releasing Epstein\u2019s files, argued that Johnson\u2019s statement contradicted Trump\u2019s dismissal of the scandal as a hoax and lacked any corroborating details. Social media platforms, including X, lit up with reactions, with users mocking the claim as far-fetched and speculating about its potential to inspire satire, with one post suggesting, \u201cSouth Park is gonna have a field day.\u201d Others expressed confusion, pointing out the inconsistency between Trump\u2019s \u201choax\u201d narrative and Johnson\u2019s informant assertion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faced with mounting scrutiny, Johnson retracted the claim on September 8, 2025, admitting there was no concrete evidence to support the idea that Trump served as an FBI informant. A spokesperson for Johnson clarified to the Daily Beast that the Speaker had been \u201creiterating what the victims\u2019 attorney said\u201d about Trump\u2019s actions at Mar-a-Lago but acknowledged the informant reference was inaccurate. The reversal has fueled perceptions of disarray within Trump\u2019s GOP allies, with critics arguing it undermines efforts to deflect attention from Trump\u2019s documented ties to Epstein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The controversy has intensified pressure to unseal Epstein\u2019s files, which many believe could implicate powerful figures across political and social spheres. Epstein, who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sexually abusing and trafficking underage girls, was known to have connections with high-profile individuals, including Trump. The two were once friends, with Trump famously praising Epstein in a 2002 interview as a \u201cterrific guy\u201d who liked women \u201con the younger side.\u201d Trump later claimed he distanced himself from Epstein after the financier poached staff from his Mar-a-Lago club, though reports suggest the ban took over a year to implement following Epstein\u2019s 2006 indictment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Survivors of Epstein\u2019s abuse, alongside bipartisan lawmakers like Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep. Thomas Massie, have been advocating for the release of over 30,000 documents related to the Epstein investigation, recently made public by the House Oversight Committee. On September 4, 2025, Epstein\u2019s victims held a press conference on Capitol Hill, urging Congress to pass legislation compelling the Justice Department to disclose all remaining files. \u201cIt will be done by survivors and for survivors,\u201d said Epstein survivor Lisa Phillips, emphasizing their determination to compile a list of alleged abusers if the government fails to act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Justice Department has maintained that no official \u201cclient list\u201d exists, though Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly informed Trump his name appeared multiple times in the unreleased files, according to a Wall Street Journal report. This has added fuel to speculation about what the documents might reveal, with figures like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) vowing to disclose any names provided by survivors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson\u2019s retraction highlights fractures within the GOP, as Trump\u2019s allies grapple with defending his Epstein connections while facing pressure for transparency. The House Oversight Committee, led by Johnson, has promised to \u201cuncover things that have never been uncovered before,\u201d but critics argue the probe may yield little new information without full document disclosure. Meanwhile, the bipartisan bill led by Massie and Khanna continues to gain traction, reflecting growing public and political demand for accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Epstein case remains a lightning rod for controversy, Johnson\u2019s misstep and subsequent backtracking underscore the challenges of navigating Trump\u2019s legacy and the unresolved questions surrounding one of the most notorious scandals in recent history. For the latest updates on this developing story and other global news, visit www.nriglobe.com<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

September 8, 2025, 9:19 AM IST \u2013 House Speaker Mike Johnson has retracted his surprising claim that former President Donald Trump acted as an FBI informant in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, a statement that sparked widespread skepticism and intensified demands for transparency in the Epstein case. The controversy, which erupted following Johnson\u2019s remarks on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[843,4169,209],"class_list":["post-16319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-epstein-case","tag-johnson-backtracks","tag-trump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16319"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16321,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16319\/revisions\/16321"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}