Dem Rep. Bluntly Calls Out Mike Johnson Over Shifting Claim That Trump Was 'FBI Informant' In Epstein Case

Florida Democratic Representative Jared Moskowitz shared the list of questions he has for the FBI after Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said that President Donald Trump was an "FBI informant" in the case against the late financier, pedophile, and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein—only to walk back his claim a short time later.

Amid furor over his claim that Trump—who has fought any and all attempts to release the Epstein files—helped the FBI catch and charge Epstein, Johnson insisted he had only been saying what had already been said by other people.

He said:

“What I was referring to in that long conversation was what the (Epstein) victims’ attorney said."

"More than a decade ago, President Trump kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago, and he was one of the only people, one of the only prominent people, as everyone has reported … that he was willing to help law enforcement go after this guy who was a disgusting child abuser, sex trafficker, all the allegations."

"That’s what they heard. So the president was helpful in that. I don’t know if I used the right terminology, but that’s common knowledge, and everybody knows that. So this is much ado about nothing.”

But Moskowitz was not convinced and said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing that the committee should investigate Johnson's claim.

He remarked:

"Before [FBI Director] Kash Patel comes, we should clear up, maybe that we should send a letter to him to find out if the president was an informant. And if he was an informant, is that because he was working with the FBI after he was working—hanging out with Jeffrey Epstein? Did he turn because he got caught with Jeffrey Epstein?"

"You know, when you're an FBI informant, there are lots of questions about how you became an FBI informant. And then how long was he an FBI informant? When did his service to the FBI stop, you know, being a member of the deep state? When did he stop doing that?"

"I mean, what is the misspeak for 'informant?' And if he was lying then, is he lying now? I'm just confused. Perhaps maybe the speaker should come to our committee and tell us what he meant when he said that."

After multiple Republicans tried to interrupt him, Moskowitz pressed on:

“I'm only bringing it up again because this committee is the committee of jurisdiction over the FBI. And I don't think in the history of this country we've had a speaker of the House say the president was an FBI informant. I mean, that's a dual role if I ever heard one."

You can hear what Moskowitz said in the video below.

Many concurred—and criticized Johnson themselves.

Amid the backlash, Johnson told reporters that Democrats had “impure motives” for demanding that the Justice Department release the Epstein files, which are said to contain detailed lists of some of Epstein's most high-profile clients and enablers.

A spokesperson for Johnson said that Johnson was merely "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."

Johnson also told reporters that he and Trump "have talked about the Epstein evils many times" and that Trump is "as disgusted by it as everybody else."

However, Trump has continued to push back against calls for the files to be released and recently denied he ever "wrote a picture" after The Wall Street Journal reported on a birthday letter to Epstein bearing Trump’s signature that included a drawing of a nude woman in sharpie pen.