Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is lying. Yes, I know. Writing that is about as obvious as saying “cats are furry” or “it’s pumpkin spice season.” But the current lie serves a purpose even more depraved than usual for this self-proclaimed moral standard-bearer. Its aim? Silencing the victims of infamous child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged associates — all to protect President Donald Trump, who was already found by a civil jury in New York to have sexually abused journalist E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room.
The Louisiana Republican has gone to great lengths to make sure FBI files chronicling Epstein and his network’s alleged misdeeds never see the light of day. In July, Johnson cut the House’s summer recess short to avoid Democrats pushing a bill that would require the Justice Department to release the voluminous Epstein files. Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, was reportedly close friends with Trump. According to a lewd birthday message attributed to Trump by the Wall Street Journal — leaked by House Democrats — Trump wrote to his longtime friend, “We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.”
There’s allegedly more. During Attorney General Pam Bondi’s recent Senate hearing, for example, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., asked about “photos of President Trump with half-naked young women.” Bondi refused to answer.
Now Johnson has found a new excuse to block a House vote releasing the Epstein files: the government shutdown. The Speaker has adjourned the House and refused to seat Rep.-Elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., blaming the shutdown — even though the Senate continues to operate. Grijalva has pledged to be the deciding vote on a discharge petition to release the Epstein files. In comments to the Arizona Republic, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., bluntly stated: “Speaker Johnson is protecting pedophiles. That’s what this is all about.”
Johnson denies the accusation, but his pattern of behavior is clear. He knows that if Trump turns against him, he could lose the speakership. Hiding the Epstein files appears to be Johnson’s first priority, even above reopening the government so federal employees can be paid.
All of this, combined with Trump’s 2024 reelection, underscores that there is a backlash to the #MeToo movement, which peaked in 2017 and 2018 amid widespread public revelations of sexual abuse. For years, a wave of “manosphere” influencers and right-wing commentators have told men they are the real victims — claiming feminism has gone “too far” and masculinity is under attack. This anti-feminist push is wrapped in a misleading moral justification about “innocence.” Women, we’re told, became so revenge-minded about sexual abuse that they overreached, ensnaring innocent men in cancel culture.
This narrative is false and disturbing, but Johnson’s actions reveal the uglier truth: the backlash to #MeToo was never about male innocence. It was about protecting the likely guilty and reasserting male privilege to abuse women — and even children — with impunity.
While the full extent of the FBI’s information on Epstein and his associates remains unknown, Trump’s determination to bury the evidence shows he fears the truth coming out. There is little doubt Johnson knows he is covering for a sexual abuser, a fact adjudicated twice in civil courts, with juries finding Carroll truthful in her claim that Trump sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room. There’s also a tape of Trump bragging about grabbing women by the genitals, mirroring Carroll’s account.
The #MeToo backlash also aims to silence victims of sexual assault. Epstein faced federal prosecution in 2019 largely because of the #MeToo movement, despite having received a lenient plea deal 11 years earlier, courtesy of Trump ally Alexander Acosta. Under that agreement, Epstein served minimal time and quickly returned to his lifestyle. Thanks to relentless investigative reporting by Julie K. Brown of the Miami Herald and victims’ courage in speaking out, Epstein finally faced prosecution in New York.
There is no mistaking the message Johnson, Trump, Bondi, and others are sending to abuse victims: Speaking out is futile because justice will never come.
The GOP’s actions provide a stark example of how the #MeToo backlash is not about innocence; it’s about shielding men from consequences. False allegation claims are rare, and those portrayed as victims of #MeToo rarely faced false accusations. Cases like Kevin Spacey’s, where prosecutors lacked enough evidence, still show numerous accusers corroborating claims. Debates around comedians like Louis CK and Aziz Ansari reflect questions about boundaries rather than credibility. Even Tara Reade’s accusation against Joe Biden collapsed under scrutiny, demonstrating why many false claims don’t survive legal review.
The backlash has infiltrated pop culture. The film “After the Hunt” tells a fictional story of a marriage ruined by a sexual assault allegation. Critics like Michelle Goldberg called it “a silly anachronism,” but the movie aims to fabricate a male victim example that reality rarely provides — much like Christian right propaganda films such as God’s Not Dead, based on false urban legends. When real examples are absent, fantasy is used to justify imagined oppression.
This context explains why E. Jean Carroll has become an icon. The #MeToo movement’s flaw wasn’t victims speaking out — it was society failing to enforce consequences. Carroll not only endured sexual violence but also the primary backlash: being falsely accused of lying. She sued Trump for assault and repeated defamation. After winning $5 million, Trump continued defaming her, resulting in a subsequent $83 million victory.
These cases reveal the ugly truth about the #MeToo backlash: critics were not upset Carroll was lying — they were angry she told the truth. The goal has always been to silence victims and allow abusers to evade accountability.
