Overview
- House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that President Trump "was an FBI informant to try to take this stuff down" while defending Trump's description of the Epstein documents fight as a "hoax."
- News outlets report there is no publicly available documentation or prior official confirmation supporting an informant role, and the White House had not responded to Johnson's assertion.
- Victims’ attorney Bradley Edwards has said Trump "helped" earlier investigations by providing information, a point reporters note is distinct from being a formal FBI informant.
- Johnson’s remark arrives as bipartisan pressure builds for fuller disclosure of Epstein-related files, following DOJ statements that no separate "client list" exists and that Epstein’s 2019 death was ruled a suicide.
- The claim drew immediate media skepticism and prompted a wave of online ridicule and memes portraying the informant story as political spin.