Tipsheet

Mike Johnson Wants Ghislaine Maxwell to Testify About Epstein List

Jeff Charles
Jeff Charles  |  July 15, 2025 4:45 PM

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) would like to see Ghislaine Maxwell testify before Congress about Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.

During a recent interview, conservative commentator Benny Johnson pointed out how Americans have “been lied to by our federal government for so long” and asked whether the speaker would support having Maxwell testify or having Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene or Anna Paulina Luna issue a subpoena for the release of the Epstein files.

“Yeah, I haven't talked to Marjorie or Anna about that … but I'm for transparency,” Speaker Johnson answered. “We're intellectually consistent in this. Look, Reagan used to tell us we should trust the American people. I believe in that principle. I know President Trump does as well, and I trust him.”

Johnson acknowledged that “It’s a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide.” 

The speaker further stated that Attorney General Pam Bondi “needs to come forward” and fully address the Epstein issue. “I like Pam. I think she's done a good job. We need the DOJ focusing on the major priorities. Let's get this thing resolved so that they can deal with violent crime and public safety and election integrity and going after Act Blue and the things that the President is most concerned about as we are,” he concluded.

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Speaker Johnson’s comments come after House Republicans on Tuesday voted against a second Democratic effort to have Congress pass a measure to compel the Justice Department to release the rest of the Epstein documents.

From Axios:

House Republicans on Tuesday voted down another Democratic procedural maneuver aimed at forcing the Justice Department to release documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.

Why it matters: It's the second time this week Democrats have forced their GOP colleagues to choose between loyalty to President Trump and a MAGA base that is furious at his administration over its handling of the Epstein files.

Democrats are already promising future votes: "That was probably not the last time that you're going to see us deal with this issue," House Rules Committee ranking member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) told Axios.

Republicans dismissed the vote as a cynical partisan ploy, with Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) telling Axios: "It's just politics, it's not about protecting little children. And that ticks me off."

What happened: The House voted 211-210 against allowing a House vote on Rep. Ro Khanna's (D-Calif.) measure to force the DOJ to publish the Epstein files online within 30 days.

Democrats' procedural motion would have scuttled the GOP's legislative agenda for the day in favor of the Khanna bill, making it difficult for Republicans to vote for it.

Of course, Rep. Burchett is right. Democrats never cared about the Epstein files until it became an issue after the Justice Department issued a memo claiming Epstein did not have a client list. It’s a cynical ploy to use Epstein’s victims to attack Republicans.

Be that as it may, there are still serious questions about who was involved with Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. President Donald Trump promised to release the rest of the information on the sexual predator on multiple occasions.

This issue is not going away anytime soon. The president on Tuesday told reporters that he instructed Bondi to release “whatever she thinks is credible” related to the Epstein case. He also claimed the files “were made up by [former FBI Director James] Comey” and Obama and Biden.