As soon as Trump changed his position on the House vote to release the Epstein files, he was an omen that Republicans had a plan to kill the legislation it would force the Justice Department to release the records.
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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Monday that he never tried to kill the petition to discharge Epstein’s records, which is laughable because Johnson kept the House closed and delayed the congressman’s swearing-in by nearly two months that became the 218th vote on the discharge petition.
Republicans are trying to bury the Epstein scandal in the hope that time will make it go away.
Trump fought and tried until the last moment to pressure one of the four Republicans who signed the petition to withdraw his name. None of them moved, because Trump’s pressure campaign was so suspect that it caused House Republicans to dig deeper.e.
The president is headed for a massive defeat in the House, but Trump and Mike Johnson had a backup plan.
They are looking to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to defeat legislation that would force the DOJ to release the records.
Trump said he would sign the bill if it reached his desk, even though he knew he never would.
Speaking to reporters before the House vote, President Johnson made it clear that this is the problem.
Speaking to reporters, Johnson said he enlisted Thune in the cover-up of the Epstein files.
Read and watch Johnson’s comments below.