Key takeaways from Mike Johnson’s press conference
Keen to put on a show of Republican unity and blame the Democrats for the ongoing Epstein furore, which the Trump administration is very much struggling to contain, House speaker Mike Johnson sought to reaffirm Donald Trump’s commitment to “transparency” and securing the release of all “credible” evidence relating to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
“I believe in maximum transparency,” Johnson said, later adding:
The president himself has said that he wants maximum transparency and all credible evidence to be turned over to the American public, so that everyone can make their own decisions. We’re owed that.
He attacked what he called the “Democrats’ endless efforts to politicize the Epstein controversy and the whole investigation”, accusing the opposition of a “charade” and playing “political games”, conveniently ignoring the fact that a lot of the heat on Trump’s administration is actually coming from his own party and support base.
Indeed, asked about Republican Thomas Massie and his discharge petition to release the Epstein files, Johnson accused him of “seeming to enjoy inflicting pain on [his] own teammates”. He went on:
I don’t understand Thomas Massie‘s motivation. I really don’t. I don’t know how his mind works … Thomas Massie could have brought his discharge petition anytime over the last four and a half years.
If there was any room left for interpretation about Johnson’s frustration with his colleague, he ended with that most southern expression of saltiness, saying of Massie: “Bless his heart.”
Mike Johnson arriving for an early morning strategy session with the Republican Conference on Tuesday. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/APShare
Updated at 17.06 BST
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Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr said that the US is assisting the country in building up its defense system.
“This is an ongoing process and, again, I will stress the point because we feel it is necessary,” Marcos said.
Trump said that, during his first administration, the US went into the Philippines and helped “wipe out terrorists.”
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Trump said that former president Barack Obama led a “gang,” including Joseph Biden, Hillary Clinton, FBI director James Comey, James Clapper and John Brennan, that orchestrated false allegations of Trump and Russia colluding.
This follows a release of documents by director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, alleging that the Obama administration led the groundwork to accuse Trump of colluding with Russia.
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Trump again echoed theories that Democrats, including former president Barack Obama, tried to “rig the election” from 2016 “up to” 2020. He claimed there should be “very severe consequences.”
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Trump lashes out at Powell again
Trump called Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell a “numbskull” during a meeting at the White House, saying he was refusing to cut interest rates “probably for political reasons.” Trump said that Powell did not cut interest rates enough.
“I think he’s done a bad job. But he’s going to be out pretty soon anyway, in eight months he’ll be out,” Trump said.
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Updated at 17.03 BST
Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr said that he was “very happy” to be meeting with Trump to “reaffirm the very strong ties between the Philippines and the United States.”
The United States is the Philippines’ only treaty partner, Marcos Jr said, emphasizing that the “strongest, closest” ally to the Philippines is the US.
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Trump: ‘very close’ to finishing trade deal with Philippines
Trump said on Tuesday that the US and the Philippines are “very close” to finishing a trade deal.
“We do a lot of business with you,” Trump told the Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “I was surprised to see the kind of numbers – they’re very big and they’re going to get bigger under what we’re doing and what we’re proposing.”
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Updated at 17.03 BST
Trump said during a White House meeting that Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. comes from a “great family” with a “great family legacy.”
Marcos Jr’s father, Ferdinand Marcos, was a right-wing dictator in the Philippines, having ruled under martial law for a period during his two-decade presidency. His rule, violently targeting political dissidents, led to extreme poverty for much of the Philippine population. Marcos was overthrown in 1986.
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Key takeaways from Mike Johnson’s press conference
Keen to put on a show of Republican unity and blame the Democrats for the ongoing Epstein furore, which the Trump administration is very much struggling to contain, House speaker Mike Johnson sought to reaffirm Donald Trump’s commitment to “transparency” and securing the release of all “credible” evidence relating to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
“I believe in maximum transparency,” Johnson said, later adding:
The president himself has said that he wants maximum transparency and all credible evidence to be turned over to the American public, so that everyone can make their own decisions. We’re owed that.
He attacked what he called the “Democrats’ endless efforts to politicize the Epstein controversy and the whole investigation”, accusing the opposition of a “charade” and playing “political games”, conveniently ignoring the fact that a lot of the heat on Trump’s administration is actually coming from his own party and support base.
Indeed, asked about Republican Thomas Massie and his discharge petition to release the Epstein files, Johnson accused him of “seeming to enjoy inflicting pain on [his] own teammates”. He went on:
I don’t understand Thomas Massie‘s motivation. I really don’t. I don’t know how his mind works … Thomas Massie could have brought his discharge petition anytime over the last four and a half years.
If there was any room left for interpretation about Johnson’s frustration with his colleague, he ended with that most southern expression of saltiness, saying of Massie: “Bless his heart.”
Mike Johnson arriving for an early morning strategy session with the Republican Conference on Tuesday. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/APShare
Updated at 17.06 BST
Oversight committee votes to subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell over Epstein files
The House oversight subcommittee has approved a motion to issue a subpoena for imprisoned Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell to testify before Congress.
The motion was offered by Republican congressman Tim Burchett, of Tennessee, during a hearing of the subcommittee on government operations. According to Axios, Burchett said he did not consult Donald Trump, who has been trying to put the controversy to bed, beforehand.
Oversight committee chair, Republican congressman James Comer of Kentucky, directed Burchett to introduce the motion and will seek to subpoena Maxwell “as expeditiously as possible”, a committee spokesperson told Axios.
Comer told Axios he also did not speak with Trump or House speaker Mike Johnson about the matter.
The motion passed by a voice vote, with only four members – three Republicans and one Democrat – present.
Earlier this morning, deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said he would will meet with Maxwell in the next several days.
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Updated at 16.22 BST
With the floor paralyzed over the Epstein crisis, House GOP leaders have canceled its scheduled Thursday votes.
The House’s last votes before August recess are now scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. The House now won’t vote again until 2 September.
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Johnson accuses the Democrats of playing “political games” and a “charade” over the Epstein case.
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Johnson says ‘credible evidence’ will be revealed
“We have to make sure that the credible evidence is revealed and we’re doing that,” says Johnson.
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Updated at 15.49 BST
Johnson goes on:
The president himself has said that he wants maximum transparency and all credible evidence to be turned over to the American public, so that everyone can make their own decisions. We’re owed that.”
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Updated at 15.47 BST
He says there is a dual responsibility between wanting transparency and also protecting Epstein’s victims.
“We have to do both things at the same time,” Johnson says.
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Updated at 15.40 BST
“I believe in maximum transparency,” says Johnson.
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Mike Johnson accuses Democrats of ‘politicizing’ Jeffrey Epstein investigation
House speaker Mike Johnson also chimes in on the “Democrats’ endless efforts to politicize the Epstein controversy and the whole investigation”.
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Updated at 15.49 BST
House majority leader Steve Scalise just repeated the Trump administration’s usual claims about the Democrats “covering up” the Epstein files and highlights efforts to get court documents unsealed (Donald Trump has asked US attorney general Pam Bondi to seek the release grand jury testimony related to the criminal prosecution).
“We’re going to continue pushing for that transparency,” Scalise says.
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Updated at 15.39 BST