​​​​​​​WASHINGTON

US House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday criticized Democrats for what he described as a politically motivated push to force congressional action to release records related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"I'm going to vote to move this forward. I think it could be close to a unanimous vote, because everybody here, all the Republicans want to go on record to show their maximum transparency," Johnson told reporters at the Capitol ahead of a vote on releasing the files tied to Epstein.

Last week, a discharge petition to compel a vote in the lower chamber on releasing the Epstein files successfully reached the required 218 signatures after Rep. Adelita Grijalva signed.

Johnson accused Democrats of attempting to weaponize the issue to distract from their “own party’s failures,” while insisting former President Donald Trump has “nothing to hide.”

"Why suddenly are they so interested -- they have such an urgent interest in the Jeffrey Epstein matter? ... Democrats are trying to use the Epstein matter as a political weapon to distract from their own party's failures, and in a desperate attempt, they're trying to somehow tie President Trump to the scandal. President Trump has nothing to do with it. He has said himself he has nothing to hide," he said.

Johnson reiterated that the Republicans and Trump support the release of the full set of Epstein-related files, but stressed that the process should proceed through appropriate congressional channels.

The speaker emphasized that he has backed transparency “from the very beginning,” but insisted that Congress must conduct its oversight work in a careful and professional manner.

"If and when the discharge reached the 218 signature, it will be forced, and the forcing mechanism here prevents the very deliberate, professional, careful manner in which Congress is supposed to do this. I lament that. That's why I have been opposed to it all along, but having now forced the vote, none of us want to go on record and in any way be accused of not being for maximum transparency," he said.

Earlier Tuesday, a group of Epstein accusers gathered on Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to advance legislation compelling the Trump administration to make all government records tied to the late sex offender public.