U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) takes questions from reporters at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 23, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday criticized the push to force a vote in the U.S. House on releasing more federal files pertaining to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as “reckless,” while the measure’s co-sponsors fired back against Republican Party leadership.
“House Republicans insist upon the release of all credible evidence and information related to Epstein in any way,” Johnson, R-La., said on NBC News.
“But we are also insisting upon the protection of innocent victims,” Johnson continued.
“And our concern is that the … discharge petition is reckless in the way that it is drafted and presented, it does not adequately include those protections,” he added, referring to the measure introduced by Reps. Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif.
Meanwhile, Massie and Khanna took to the airwaves on Sunday to defend their bill — and criticize the Republican leadership, whom they see as standing in the way of holding a vote on the measures.
Massie and Khanna both repudiated the allegations that releasing the Epstein files would hurt victims of the financier and convicted sex abuser.
In an interview on NBC News, Massie said that Johnson was making a “straw man argument” when the speaker said that the bill does not include protections for victims.
“Ro and I carefully crafted this legislation so that the victims’ names will be redacted and that no child pornography will be released,” Massie said.
The lawmaker’s comments underscore the ongoing divisions within the GOP over the Epstein files, which continue to fuel conspiracy theories among the party’s MAGA base and infuriate some of President Donald Trump’s strongest supporters.
On Friday, Trump deflected questions about Epstein, a former friend. Epstein died from suicide while in jail weeks after being arrested on child sex trafficking charges in 2019.
“I have nothing to do with the guy,” Trump said of the man he had socialized with for years before a falling out in the mid-2000s with the convicted pedophile.
The Trump administration has faced growing backlash in recent weeks after the Justice Department walked back on earlier plans to release the files related to Epstein’s case.
Massie also criticized Johnson on Sunday for beginning its August recess early in the U.S. House, avoiding being forced to take the vote on the motions related to the Epstein files.
“The question is, why isn’t Mike Johnson having this vote? Why did he send us home early?” Massie said on ABC News.
He also warned of the political implications if Johnson does not hold a vote on the bill.
“I’ll tell you what’s politically going to be a liability is, if we don’t vote on this, and we go into the midterms and everybody … they just check out because Republicans didn’t keep their promise,” he said.
“We’ll lose the majority,” he continued.
Massie said that he thinks pressure will build to hold a vote on it through the August recess period.
Some Democrats, including Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are also backing the bill.
Massie was also asked how he would react if Trump granted convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell some form of clemency.
“I don’t think she deserves that or needs that,” Massie said on ABC News, adding that “it’s hard to believe that she, herself, and Epstein did these crimes by themselves,” which means it’s “time to find out who else was involved,” by evaluating documents, bank records and others including plea bargains previously under seal.
In recent days, Maxwell was granted limited immunity by the Justice Department to answer questions about the Jeffrey Epstein case.
This type of immunity allowed Maxwell to answer questions from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, without fear that the information she provided could later be used against her in any future cases or proceedings.
When Johnson was asked what he thought of a possible pardon for Maxwell, he reiterated that the decision is ultimately up to Trump.
“Obviously that’s a decision of the president,” Johnson said, adding, “that’s not my lane.”