Speaker Johnson has called for the Department of Justice to release to the public in their entirety all files on a disgraced financier, Jeffrey Epstein. It’s a break with President Trump, who on Tuesday evening called the files “pretty boring stuff” amid growing agitation from his MAGA base. 

During an interview with the podcaster Benny Johnson on Tuesday, Mr. Johnson also called on the attorney general, Pam Bondi, to explain her statements to Fox News in February, when she said she had a client list belonging to Epstein on her desk “right now to review.”

Asked by Mr. Johnson if Epstein’s longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, now behind bars, should testify before Congress, the speaker answered: “I’m for transparency. We’re intellectually consistent in this.” 

He added that while he is not “privy to facts” and “this isn’t my lane … we need to put it out there.”

Last week, the justice department and the FBI released a brief memo concluding they had no evidence that Epstein did not commit suicide or that he possessed a “client list” that he used to blackmail powerful people with whom he socialized. The announcement, coming after the Trump administration had promised major disclosures about Epstein — and coming from FBI leaders who’d previously, in the private sector, expressed strong beliefs that the government was covering up dark secrets about Epstein — caused distress among many MAGA supporters.

Ms. Bondi clarified her comments to Fox News, saying she was referring to an Epstein “file,” not a client list. 

“I think she was talking about documents, as I understood, that they were on her desk. I don’t know that she was specific about a list or whatever, but she needs to come forward and explain that to everybody,” Speaker Johnson said. 

“The White House and the White House team are privy to facts that I don’t know. I mean, this isn’t my lane, I haven’t been involved in that. But I agree with the sentiment that we need to put it out there. We need the DOJ focusing on the major priorities,” he added. 

At an unrelated press conference at the Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters Tuesday, Ms. Bondi evaded questions about her handling of the Epstein case and her reported feud with the FBI deputy director, Daniel Bongino. 

“I’m not going to talk about Epstein,” Ms. Bondi told a reporter. Earlier, House Democrats tried to force a vote to release the Epstein files, which House Republicans voted down. 

Speaking with reporters outside Air Force One on Tuesday evening, Mr. Trump continued to defend Ms. Bondi while downplaying the seriousness of the Epstein case. 

“I don’t understand what the interest or what the fascination is,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s pretty boring stuff. It’s sordid, but it’s boring, and I don’t understand why it keeps going.”

Representative Tim Burchett, a Republican of Tennessee, also called on Ms. Bondi to explain her earlier comments on Epstein’s “client list,” calling it the “1,000-pound gorilla in the room.”

He said, regarding Epstein’s purported circle of molesters, “find them guilty and hang them publicly. That’s not over the top. I’m ready. I’m over it. It disgusts me.” He added that he did not believe the justice department’s statements, saying, “I don’t trust them.” 

On Tuesday, Mr. Burchett sent a letter to the House Oversight Committee chairman, James Comer, calling on him to invite Ms. Maxwell to testify in a public hearing. 

“It’s a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it,” Speaker Johnson said.