U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks next to U.S. President Donald Trump as he hosts a dinner with Republican members of the U.S. Congress in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 22, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) trashed the supporters pressing for the release the Department of Justice files pertaining to accused trafficker Jeffrey Epstein at a press conference on Tuesday.
Ahead of the vote on a bill that would mandate the release of all Justice Department files, Johnson found a way to blame former President Joe Biden and Democrats while trashing the bill for not going far enough in revealing Epstein's conduct.
"Democrats are trying to use the Epstein matter as a political weapon to distract from their own party's failures," Johnson alleged. "In a desperate attempt, they're trying to somehow tie President Trump to the scandal. President Trump has nothing to do with it. He has said himself he has nothing to hide."
He then added that requiring the Epstein files to come out "could ruin the reputations of completely innocent people, such as those who may just have known Epstein but knew nothing of his crimes or whose names he exploited and used to try to get close to his intended victims."
Executive producer Kyle Griffin then pointed out, "Breaking on MS NOW: Mike Johnson says he will vote to release the Epstein files."
The press conference prompted widespread mockery and rage on social media about Johnson.
"This performance by Mike Johnson is full of sheer panic," said academic and writer Tom Nichols in a BlueSky post.
"So, Fox totally ignored the press conference held by Epstein survivors ... but immediately aired the Mike Johnson press conference live. Propaganda arm," wrote journalist and commentator Ahmed Baba on X.
"Mike Johnson doesn’t give a flying f—— about the Epstein survivors. Not a single f——," said podcaster Jo Carducci a.k.a. @JoJoFromJerz.
"Speaker Mike Johnson is arguing why the Epstein files shouldn’t be released… then turns around and says Republicans want maximum transparency and accountability. Tell ya what — release the f—— files. Enough excuses. Enough delays. Let the truth come out," wrote journalist Brian Cano Sr. on X.
"Mike Johnson is a ventriloquist's dummy," bashed legal analyst Jen Taub.
Former Chicago Sun-Times editor Mark Jacob joked on BlueSky, "Mike Johnson is a strong argument against the existence of god, because surely a righteous and merciful deity would strike Johnson with lightning to stop his constant lying."
"I stand in awe of how effortlessly this evil Imp lies," said former journalist Scott Adamson.