In early September 2025, a claim began to circulate that U.S. President Donald Trump had been an FBI informant in the agency's investigation of the late financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana and Speaker of the House of Representatives, first made this claim on camera while talking to journalists at the Capitol (the exchange starts at the 3:37):
As a result, several news outlets reported on the comment, including MSNBC, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast and The Independent. Further, several Snopes readers emailed seeking to confirm the rumor.
The term "informant" led to some speculation, as it typically refers to someone who provides information to authorities about a crime. This suggests an informant is either witness to or a participant in criminal activity. Informants sometimes provide information in exchange for more lenient sentences or immunity.
However, on Sept. 7, 2025, as various publications contacted Johnson's office requesting details about his claim, some reported that he had clarified it. For example, The Washington Post said that he had "backed off" of his comment on Trump being an FBI informant in the Epstein case. Citing a statement from Johnson's office, the Washington Post's story read:
"The Speaker is reiterating what the victims' attorney said, which is that Donald Trump — who kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago — was the only one more than a decade ago willing to help prosecutors expose Epstein for being a disgusting child predator."
Snopes contacted Johnson's office, as well as the White House and the FBI, seeking clarifications on this claim we will update this report should they respond.
Trump and Epstein were once close, as Snopes reported in 2023. Epstein died in prison in 2019.