WASHINGTON − As momentum builds among conservatives for openness, House SpeakerMike Johnson, R-Louisiana, called for the release offiles related to Jeffrey Epstein, in a break with PresidentDonald Trumpand the White House. "I'm for transparency," Johnson said in a July 15 interview with the Benny Johnson Show. "It's a very delicate subject," he added, "but we should put everything out there and let the people decide." Arecent review of Epstein's caseby the FBI and Department of Justice has driven a wedge between Trump and his MAGA base, who have long called for evidence to support theories, including that the disgraced financier did not die by suicide while awaiting trial in 2019. Republicans in the House, put in the awkward position of choosing sides, recently blocked an effort by Democrats to push for the files to be released. Johnson, in his interview, also called for an explanation from Attorney GeneralPam Bondi, who in February seemed to suggest the existence of a client list during an interview with Fox News. Bondi recently clarified that when she said, "It's sitting on my desk right now to review," she had meant the Epstein documents in totality and not a list of clients. "She needs to come forward and explain that to everybody," Johnson said of Bondi. "I like Pam," he continued. "I mean, 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 ActBlue and the things that the president is most concerned about." Trump has pushed for his supporters to move on from the issue of Epstein, writing in a July 12 social media post, "We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening." "We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein," he wrote. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Mike Johnson says he supports release of Jeffrey Epstein case files
