February 12, 2026

This week, Speaker Mike Johnson told three lies as Attorney General Pam Bondi deflected and evaded questions on the Epstein Files during a five-hour congressional hearing. The song and dance from the Trump sycophants on Capitol Hill encapsulated the pathetic capitulation and election denialism marching the Republican Party toward its funeral. 

And not to state the obvious, but I highly doubt Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell will be at this one.  

Speaker Mike Johnson started the lying early in the morning on Wednesday, going on Fox News to claim that Democrats “feel they gotta cheat” to win elections. 

Speaking with Maria Bartiromo about the SAVE America Act, he lied through his teeth about the bill that could potentially disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans. Johnson said that Democrats “want illegals to vote. That’s why they opened the border wide for four years under Biden and Harris and allowed in all these dangerous people. They feel they’ve got to allow illegals to participate in elections so they can continue to win. We’ve got to stop that.”

Never mind the fact that the SAVE America Act would make it harder for U.S. service members to register to vote. Forget that over 21 million citizens lack access to proof of citizenship. For Trump and Republicans, this is about Democrats cheating their way to electoral victories. 

That was only the beginning of Johnson’s lies. After a grand jury rejected the criminal indictment of six Democratic lawmakers for making a video urging service members to reject illegal orders, Johnson criticized the decision. 

“A line is crossed and it's very serious when you have leaders here in the Senate and House effectively telling members of the military to defy orders,” he told reporters. “It's a very dangerous gambit they were playing.”

Let’s be clear: The line Johnson claims was crossed does not exist. Johnson, who claims to be a constitutional law expert, knows that he is supporting members of Congress being indicted for exercising their First Amendment right. Not only was making the video perfectly legal — in fact, it was the right thing to do. 

As usual, it was the president who crossed the line when he said that lawmakers participated in “seditious” behavior that should be “punishable by death.” Maybe it’s Trump who should be investigated for inciting and calling for violence. 

But, as he proved just a few hours later, Johnson would never turn his back on Trump — or a loyal foot soldier in the administration — no matter how illegal the activity. 

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick is under fire for some lies of his own — this time involving Jeffrey Epstein. Despite claiming his relationship with the sex offender ended in 2005, the Epstein Files tell a different story, revealing a trail of emails, lunches and trips to the island that go well into 2013. 

There have been calls from both sides of the aisle for Lutnick to resign, but the White House and Speaker Johnson are in lockstep with the commerce secretary, brushing off the gravity of the situation with callously feigned ignorance.

“I don’t know anything about that,” the speaker said. “I know Howard as an individual, and I trust his word on it. I mean, I don’t know of the timing and all of that. I’m not sure. You’ll have to ask others.”

Lutnick isn’t the only Cabinet member in hot water over the Epstein Files. Attorney General Bondi spent her Wednesday being grilled by the House Judiciary Committee. Rather than work with Congress to bring justice for Epstein’s victims, she used her time on the Hill to insult Democrats and claim “theatrics.” 

Bondi, who at this point should be on Trump’s personal payroll, has shirked the normal responsibilities of attorney general in order to execute a cover-up. 

As Rep. Jamie Raskin pointed out, that’s likely because Trump is mentioned in the Epstein Files over a million times. And those are just the files that we’ve seen.   

With the midterms inching closer, Republicans are panicking and they’re turning to lies and deflection to save themselves. Between the Epstein Files, their increasingly unpopular policies and the dangerous authoritarianism that’s taken over our cities, Republicans will not win a free and fair election — but they refuse to lose. 

That’s why Johnson is claiming Democrats are cheating. That’s why he’s desperate to pass the SAVE America Act and disenfranchise millions of Americans. That’s why Pam Bondi’s DOJ is orchestrating an Epstein cover-up and targeting lawmakers like Kelly and Slotkin, trying to instill fear in anyone who speaks out and stands up to this corrupt administration. 

It all comes back to your right to vote, and just how far Trump and the Republican Party are willing to go to take it away. It all comes back to the unfree and unfair elections. 

Republicans may be losing in the courts, their gerrymandering plot may be failing, and their poll numbers are torpedoing — but Trump and his army of sycophants are determined to lie and intimidate their way to victory. 

We cannot let them. We must keep standing up and we must keep speaking out. They know they’re losing, and every day they keep lying means that we are winning. Let’s keep the momentum going.