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BumRushDaShow

(160,177 posts) Mon Sep 8, 2025, 07:21 PM Sep 8

Mike Johnson claimed Trump was anti-Epstein informant, then retreated amid criticism

Source: The Guardian

Mon 8 Sep 2025 09.34 EDT
Last modified on Mon 8 Sep 2025 10.44 EDT

In a matter of days, the US House speaker, Mike Johnson, claimed that Donald Trump was an FBI informant who was working to try to take down the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein – then backed away from the confusing statement. Johnson made the baffling claim on Thursday speaking to reporters at the US Capitol. “He was an FBI informant to try and take this stuff down,” Johnson said of Trump. The remark was so perplexing that it reportedly confused even Trump administration officials.

By Sunday, Johnson was walking back his explosive comment. “The speaker is reiterating what the victims’ attorney said, which is that Donald Trump – who kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago – was the only one more than a decade ago willing to help prosecutors expose Epstein for being a disgusting child predator,” his office said in a statement.

Brad Edwards, an attorney who represents several Epstein victims, told reporters Wednesday that Trump had helped him look into claims against Epstein more than a decade ago – but had since done an about-face, according to the Washington Post. He did not say on Wednesday whether Trump had cooperated with law enforcement.

Johnson’s comments came as both Democrats and Republicans are pushing the US justice department to release more information about Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor and died by suicide in 2019 while in jail awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/08/mike-johnson-trump-epstein-fbi-informant

5 replies

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Mike Johnson claimed Trump was anti-Epstein informant, then retreated amid criticism (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Sep 8 OP

Has he been on The Simpsons ? twodogsbarking Sep 8 #1

MaddowBlog-In Epstein case, Mike Johnson backs off claim that Trump was an FBI 'informant' LetMyPeopleVote Sep 8 #2

Magats are better at messaging, gab13by13 Sep 8 #3

Trump as an FBI informant is just too hilarious for words. patphil Sep 8 #4

Sadly, the cult will believe anything pro-Trump and anything Fox and other right-wing pundits say. walkingman Sep 8 #5

twodogsbarking

(15,775 posts)

1. Has he been on The Simpsons ?

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Mon Sep 8, 2025, 07:23 PM

Sep 8

LetMyPeopleVote

(169,809 posts)

2. MaddowBlog-In Epstein case, Mike Johnson backs off claim that Trump was an FBI 'informant'

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Mon Sep 8, 2025, 07:24 PM

Sep 8

When the House speaker claimed that the president was an FBI “informant” in the Epstein case, it raised some awkward questions. Then he walked it back.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/epstein-case-mike-johnson-backs-claim-trump-was-fbi-informant-rcna229828

These foolish claims have never made any sense, which made it rather surprising when House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill last week — out loud, on the record and on camera — that Trump was “an FBI informant” in the case against Epstein.

in which Mike Johnson claims that Donald Trump was an FBI informant to take down Epstein
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-09-05T22:23:11.474Z

,,,,,,Similarly, two days after the Louisiana congressman made the comment, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky appeared on ABC News’ “This Week” and asked, “If [the Epstein scandal is] a ‘hoax,’ why was Donald Trump an informant to a hoax?”

A few hours later, The Washington Post reported:

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) on Sunday backed off his claim that President Donald Trump was an FBI informant in the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. ... On Sunday, his office released a statement modifying that claim.

“The Speaker is reiterating what the victims’ attorney said, which is that Donald Trump — who kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago — was the only one more than a decade ago willing to help prosecutors expose Epstein for being a disgusting child predator,” the statement from Johnson’s office read.....

As for the bigger picture, a bill called the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would compel the administration to disclose more documents related to the Epstein case, is still pending on Capitol Hill. Johnson has refused to bring the bill to the floor, but a discharge petition, championed by Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, is still seeking signatories.

As of last week, the measure was still a handful of GOP members short of its goal. Watch this space.

gab13by13

(29,784 posts)

3. Magats are better at messaging,

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Mon Sep 8, 2025, 07:40 PM

Sep 8

Magat Massie said that Krasnov was an FBI informant for a hoax.

patphil

(8,258 posts)

4. Trump as an FBI informant is just too hilarious for words.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Mon Sep 8, 2025, 07:45 PM

Sep 8

That guy was transactional in everything he did. I can't imagine him doing anything to help take down a criminal, without being compensated.
Which, of course, rendered anything he might have done as totally useless.
Besides, Epstein would have given him a lot more than the FBI ever could, and I'm not just talking money here.

walkingman

(9,835 posts)

5. Sadly, the cult will believe anything pro-Trump and anything Fox and other right-wing pundits say.

Reply to patphil (Reply #4)

Mon Sep 8, 2025, 08:35 PM

Sep 8

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