House Speaker Mike Johnson defended Donald Trump on Friday when he was asked about Trump’s involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Speaking to a reporter, Johnson blamed Democrats for bringing accusations against Trump and claimed that the President has been assisting authorities in the case of Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while he faced charges of sexual abuse and trafficking underage girls.

What did Mike Johnson say about Donald Trump’s involvement in the Jefferey Epstein case?

Johnson defended the President when he was asked to explain why Trump is referring to the Epstein case as “the Democrat Epstein Hoax.”

“What Trump is referring to is the hoax that the Democrats are using to try to attack him,” Johnson said, per NewsNation. “It’s been misrepresented. He’s not saying that what Epstein did is a hoax. It’s a terrible, unspeakable evil; he believes that himself. When he first heard the rumor, he kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago.”

According to Johnson, Trump also worked closely with investigators to provide information on Epstein.

 “He was an FBI informant to try to take this stuff down,” Johnson said. “The President knows ― and has great sympathy for the women who suffered these unspeakable harms. It’s detestable to him.”

What is the latest in the Jeffrey Epstein case?

The House Oversight Committee recently met with the survivors in the Epstein case and released about 30,000 documents related to the charges. On Wednesday, the survivors delivered their statements on Capitol Hill, urging the government to release all the documents related to the case, including information on Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. While the Trump administration says Epstein didn’t have a client list, the survivors said they will come forward with their own list.

“I’m encouraged that this group of brave women is taking it upon themselves, since the government continues to fail them, to compile their own list of Epstein’s enablers and perhaps even co-abusers,” Arick Fudali, who represents 11 of the survivors, said in a statement to NewsNation.