US House speaker shuts down chamber to block Epstein vote
The move delays a politically fraught vote on the matter until September amid growing bipartisan pressure for transparency. It followed a key committee vote to subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime associate, to testify before Congress.
Calls to declassify Epstein-related files have intensified recently, including from supporters of President Donald Trump.
Earlier on Tuesday, the US justice department requested a meeting with Maxwell to ask: "What do you know?"
Maxwell's legal team told the BBC they were in discussions with the government and she would "always testify truthfully".
On Capitol Hill on Tuesday, facing mounting pressure from both Democrats and some Republicans to force a vote to release Epstein-related files within 30 days, Johnson declared recess a day earlier than planned.
The House is expected to reconvene in September, when the usual summer break ends.
Johnson defended the decision, accusing Democrats of "political games".
"We're done being lectured on transparency," the Republican congressman from Louisiana said.
The decision to bring forward the summer recess gives Johnson times to mend cracks within the Republican party over how to manage disclosures in the Epstein case.
Factions of Trump's Make America Great Again (Maga) movement have been incensed by the justice department and FBI's conclusion on 6 July that Epstein did not have a so-called client list that could implicate high-profile associates, and that he did take his own life.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump's personal attorney in his 2024 criminal trial, said that assessment "remains accurate".
His statement noted that a recent, thorough review of FBI records related to the Epstein case uncovered "no evidence to predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties".
"This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead," Blanche said. He confirmed plans to meet Maxwell "soon."
"If Ghislaine Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say," he added.
Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, President Trump said interviewing Maxwell "sounds appropriate to do" adding: "I don't know anything about it."
The justice department's meeting invitation has already been critiqued by some in the Maga world.
Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer who has the ear of Trump, questioned why the Maxwell interview was not done "on day 1".
"I guess what I want to know is whether the DOJ is basically saying they have never met with Ghislaine Maxwell to ask her or interview her about whether she has information about sex crimes committed against minors," Ms Loomer wrote on social media.
Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019 while he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Last week, Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to petition a court to release all relevant grand jury testimony in the case.
Maxwell was found guilty of helping Epstein sexually abuse young girls. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2022.
On Tuesday, her lawyer David Oscar Markus said in a statement: "We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case."
Earlier this year, Maxwell urged the Supreme Court to review her case. The justice department pushed the court to reject that appeal last week.
Throughout the course of Maxwell's 2022 trial, four women testified that they had been abused as minors at Epstein's homes in Florida, New York, New Mexico and the Virgin Islands.
One of those women, Annie Farmer, said her only sense of justice came from the conviction of Maxwell.
She told the BBC in an interview this week that the "rollercoaster" of the Epstein saga was a "real weight" on accusers, adding that too much focus has been paid to the abusers with little new information emerging, leaving her feeling "used". — BBC
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