Chuck Schumer Shares His Theory on Trump Admin's Plans for Ghislaine Maxwell Amid 'Epstein Recess'

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has theorized that House Republicans declared an early summer recess not only to avoid voting on the Epstein files, but also to give President Donald Trump time to prepare documents to pardon Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

The Democratic legislator took to the Senate floor on Wednesday to share his theory after Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson shut Congress down earlier than scheduled.

"The ghost of the disgraced Jeffrey Epstein is haunting our Republican colleagues so much so that Speaker Johnson decided to cut bait and send the House home to escape discussions about Epstein, instead of doing their jobs like grown-ups and making progress on appropriations," Schumer said in his remarks.

"By shutting Congress down early, Speaker Johnson has assured that August has become the 'Epstein Recess,' because this issue is going to grow and grow and grow the longer House Republicans dodge the issue," he continued.

"Now, maybe they declared the 'Epstein Recess' to give Trump time to prepare pardon papers for Ghislaine Maxwell," he added. "Speaker Johnson shouldn't be skedaddling out of town early."

Schumer even took to his social media platforms to reiterate this sentiment, posting a clip of his remarks on X (formerly Twitter).

"Maybe Speaker Johnson declared the Epstein Recess to give Trump time to prepare papers for the pardon of Ghislaine Maxwell. Disgraceful," he wrote.

Speaker Mike Johnson announced that he would call an early recess for the House on Tuesday, as reported by The New York Times. Representatives will be sent home on Wednesday, therefore allowing Republicans to avoid holding a vote on whether or not to release files pertaining to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

"We're done being lectured on transparency," Johnson said at a news conference.