In a notable shift from his previous statements, Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday clarified his earlier assertion that former President Donald Trump served as an "FBI informant" in the case against Jeffrey Epstein. Speaking to the media, Johnson conceded that his choice of words might not have been precise. “What I was referring to was what the victims' attorney said over a decade ago,” he explained, emphasizing that Trump’s actions, such as banning Epstein from Mar-a-Lago, were in support of broader law enforcement efforts.

Johnson's comments last week had sparked a flurry of media attention and conjecture when he suggested that Trump was actively collaborating with the FBI to bring down Epstein, a convicted sex offender. However, he stated on Monday, “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.”

The confusion was further fueled by a spokesperson for Johnson, who indicated that the speaker was not actually revealing Trump's role as an informant. Meanwhile, the White House has maintained silence on the issue.

During his initial remarks last Thursday, Johnson accused Democrats of harboring "impure motives" in their push to unseal Justice Department records related to Epstein, asserting that Trump was an informant intent on exposing Epstein’s criminal activities. Yet, no evidence has publicly surfaced to corroborate the claim that Trump had any formal role in law enforcement efforts against Epstein.

A statement from Johnson’s spokesperson on Friday attempted to clarify the situation by stating that Trump was "the only one more than a decade ago willing to help prosecutors expose Epstein for being a disgusting child predator."

On Monday, Johnson reiterated that his comments were based on others' statements and conversations he had with Trump about the Epstein case. “The president and I have talked about the Epstein evils many times. He's as disgusted by it as everybody else," Johnson said. He noted that Trump has consistently expressed a desire for full transparency, wanting "all credible information" to be available for public scrutiny.

Despite these clarifications, Trump has perplexed some members of the House by dismissing the ongoing demands for more detailed Epstein-related documents as a "Democratic hoax," claiming that the Justice Department has already provided all necessary information.