On Wednesday, a group of women gathered on the steps of the national Capitol for a press conference. They identified themselves as survivors, victims of Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier who victimized hundreds of teenage girls.
Brought to the Capitol by Congressmen Thomas Massie (R-Ken.) and Ro Khana (D-Cal.), the survivors, one after another, told how they’d been abused as teenagers. As a group, they called for the full release of the Epstein files, not merely the batch of previously identified records handed over to the House Oversight Committee.
Among those speaking at the Sept 3 press conference was Jena-Lisa Jones, who was only 14 when she was recruited to perform a massage. She said, “I had never been more scared in my life than that time when he hurt me.”
Haley Robson told of reaching 16 when she was coerced into bringing more young girls from her high school to the Epstein mansion. Marina Lacerta said, “I was 14 when I was told I could earn $300 to give an older guy a massage. I went from having a dream job to having my worst nightmare.” Chauntae Davies added, “Epstein bragged about his friendship with Trump, displaying a picture on his desk of the two of them.”
Annie Farmer, one of the survivors who testified at Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2021 trial, said, “We’re not going away, not going to be quiet and not giving up. Passing the Epstein Transparency Bill is one important step to prove to Americans that the government does not side with perpetrators.” At times, the two-hour press conference was drowned out by a military flyover that had some wondering if the flight’s timing was mere coincidence.
Reps. Massie and Khana are now attempting to force a House vote using a seldom-used discharge petition. While counting on united Democratic support, they have enlisted only four Republicans and will need two more Republican votes. That won’t be easy. The White House has said signing would be “a hostile act,” and House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that already released documents are sufficient.
One of the survivors, Lisa Phillips, said the group is compiling an informal list of those they say abused them. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-South Carolina) agreed to read the list on the House floor, where she would be protected from defamation lawsuits under the Constitution’s speech/debate clause. Greene, who attended the press conference, said, “The Epstein case shows America divided between members of a heedless overclass that never are forced to struggle, and the forgotten few who are routinely denied justice.”
The gathering on the Capitol steps underscores that, despite President Trump’s dismissal of calls for release of the files as a “Democrat hoax,” the survivors are standing firm and will not be silenced.
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