4 days ago
Speaker Mike Johnson greeted with Jeffrey Epstein billboard in Shreveport-Bossier
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana was greeted with a billboard demanding he support the public release of Jeffrey Epstein documents as Johnson returned home to Shreveport-Bossier for Congress' summer recess.
MoveOn Civic Action, a left-leaning political action committee, said it bought a billboard near Johnson's Bossier City office that says: "Speaker Johnson, stop the Epstein cover up" with a photo of sex offender Epstein, who committed suicide in prison, and President Donald Trump.
Trump and Epstein were once friends, but there's been no evidence the president knew about Epstein's crimes.
Johnson adjourned the House for summer recess a day early last week as the Epstein debate escalated, including a call from some members in Johnson's own Republican conference who want a vote to release all Justice Department documents related to the case.
'Speaker Johnson and Donald Trump have made their priorities clear — they would rather protect the powerful and corrupt than show Americans the truth,' said Britt Jacovich, spokesperson for MoveOn Civic Action, in a statement. 'Just as Trump promised on the campaign trail, the American people deserve to know who enabled Jeffrey Epstein's abuses. With Speaker Johnson ignoring the public's demands and Trump creating a cover-up, MoveOn members are making sure constituents and the country know exactly who they are protecting."
Johnson said last week there is "no daylight" between the Trump administration and that the House and the White House needed "space" to address the issue.
"We're not going to play political games with this," Johnson said July 22 in a news conference.
Johnson has called Epstein's actions evil and said the controversy over his case isn't a hoax.
The billboard will remain up throughout the summer recess, Jacovich said in an email to USA Today Network.
More: $10K stolen from Speaker Mike Johnson's campaign committee, confirms campaign official
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Speaker Mike Johnson greeted with Epstein billboard in Shreveport-Bossier
