At the weekly House Republican leadership press conference on Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson outlined the GOP’s latest push to provide what he described as the most complete transparency yet regarding the Jeffrey Epstein files. Johnson said House Republicans remain committed to exposing the full scope of information related to Epstein’s crimes while protecting survivors who continue to seek justice.

Johnson also took aim at Democratic leaders, accusing them of showing interest in the files only now—despite the documents being in federal custody throughout the Biden administration. He argued that Democrats’ sudden calls for disclosure were inconsistent with their actions over the past several years.

According to Johnson, “the truth is, the loudest voices demanding a discharge petition were never genuinely motivated by helping victims or exposing the truth about Epstein. The reason we know that is simple: the Biden Department of Justice held every Epstein file for four years, and not one of those same Democrats ever pushed for their release.”

Johnson then broadened his criticism, linking Democrats’ recent attention on the Epstein investigation to what he characterized as similar patterns of political denial during the Biden presidency. He pointed to Democratic messaging on the border, inflation, and President Biden’s personal fitness for office, arguing that the party dismissed obvious realities until public pressure became unavoidable. He suggested the same sudden shift was now happening with the Epstein case.

“For four years,” Johnson continued, “they denied there was a border crisis. They brushed off inflation as temporary. They refused to acknowledge what Americans could see with their own eyes—President Biden’s decline. And now, all at once, these same voices have discovered an urgent interest in the Epstein case.”

He emphasized that during the Biden administration, Democrats showed no public push for further accountability when prosecutors brought cases only against Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell. “None of these individuals held press conferences back then. None called for documents to be released. None raised concerns about the limited scope of the investigation,” Johnson said. “So the American people deserve to know—why now?”

Johnson stressed that House Republicans are approaching the issue differently, insisting they are working carefully and deliberately to make information available while ensuring that survivors are protected. “This was an atrocious tragedy,” he said. “We have deep compassion for every victim, and justice should not be delayed any longer.”

The Speaker noted that the House Oversight Committee has already been cooperating in a bipartisan manner, releasing extensive documentation—far more, he said, than what the discharge petition demands. “By our latest count, over 65,000 pages related to Epstein have already been made public,” Johnson explained. “These include flight logs, financial documents, ledgers, daily schedules, and tens of thousands of pages from Epstein’s estate.”

Johnson argued that the discharge petition championed by some Democrats is flawed and potentially dangerous. He warned that releasing unverified or incomplete materials could drag innocent people into public suspicion simply because their names appeared in Epstein-related documents. He stressed that individuals may show up in the files for reasons unrelated to criminal activity and that care must be taken not to damage reputations or mislabel bystanders.

He also pointed out that the current petition lacks essential protections for victims. Johnson referenced a letter sent to the court by a survivor pleading that identifying information be kept confidential. The petition, he said, does not guarantee that such details would remain redacted, raising concerns that victims’ trauma could be amplified by careless disclosure.

In addition, Johnson argued that the petition cites the wrong section of federal law, which, if enforced literally, could compel the release of graphic evidence related to child exploitation. He said the language of the petition could block necessary redactions, inadvertently making it impossible to comply with legal protections designed to shield minors from further harm.

Beyond those issues, Johnson raised alarms about the potential exposure of whistleblowers, confidential informants, and undercover agents whose identities were never meant to become public. These individuals, he explained, took substantial risks and relied on promises of confidentiality. “If their names are revealed,” Johnson warned, “future investigations could be crippled. Who would come forward knowing their safety could be compromised?”

A final concern he raised involved national security. The petition would require the release of classified information on a fixed timeline, bypassing the longstanding principle that the agency that created the intelligence should decide when and how it can be safely declassified. “This is not how national-security materials are handled,” Johnson said. “It ignores basic safeguards that have protected the country for decades.”

Johnson concluded by reiterating that Republicans aim to strike a balance between transparency and responsibility. “We are committed to revealing the truth,” he said, “but we will not sabotage victims, law enforcement, or national security in the process.”