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House Speaker Mike Johnson explained — with perfect clarity — the obvious pitfalls in Republican-led efforts to question Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted child sex trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein accomplice, as President Donald Trump and his allies try to quell the outcry over his administration’s handling of the Epstein case.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, formerly Trump’s criminal defense attorney, is meeting with Maxwell — for whom Trump expressed his well wishes in 2020 — on Thursday. And a House Oversight Committee spokesperson said that the committee, led by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., intends to subpoena Maxwell for a deposition as soon as possible.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Johnson said he backed Comer’s plan — but raised what he called an “obvious” caveat:
I will note the obvious concern, the caveat, that Chairman Comer and I and everyone has, that — could she be counted on to tell the truth? Is she a credible witness? I mean, this is a person who’s been sentenced to many, many years in prison for terrible, unspeakable, conspiratorial acts, and acts against innocent young people. I mean, can we trust what she’s going to say?
Even Johnson, a lawyer who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, understands what seemingly every reputable lawyer understands: the obvious incentive for Maxwell to lie.
And Johnson isn’t the only Republican to raise this concern. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told CNN’s Kaitlin Collins that it seems Trump is trying to “move to other news” when it comes to his administration’s handling of the Epstein files — and that the tactic isn’t working. When Collins asked the senator whether she thinks Maxwell is credible, Murkowski took a long pause before answering.
“I don’t know that I find her credible,” she said.
Trump and some of his allies seem to think that questioning Maxwell will quiet the storm of controversy surrounding the administration, its handling of Epstein-related documents — and the growing appearance of a cover-up designed to shield the president from potentially damning allegations about his personal ties to Epstein.
Johnson and Murkowski just explained the flawed logic in that strategy.