Epstein accusers join lawmakers to push for full release of documents

Ten accusers of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein joined House lawmakers and a crowd of hundreds at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to push for the Justice Department to release all of its files related to its investigations of the disgraced financier and of his imprisoned associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

In emotional testimony, the women - some of whom were speaking publicly for the first time - recounted how they were lured as teenagers into an elaborate sex-trafficking operation run by Epstein and Maxwell and abused for years.

All voiced their support for lawmakers to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a rare bipartisan measure led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) and Ro Khanna (D-California) that would compel the Trump administration to publicly disclose far more documents on Epstein.

“This is not just my story. It is about every survivor who carries invisible scars. It’s about the weight we live with daily. It is about the families broken and the futures stolen,” accuser Chauntae Davies said, fighting back tears. “So I ask you, President Trump and members of Congress, why do we continue to cover up sexual abuse and assault? Who are we covering for? Let the public know the truth. We cannot heal without justice. We cannot protect the future if we refuse to confront the past.”

Wednesday’s news conference was the first time accusers of Epstein and Maxwell have come forward as a group since the start of a polarizing debate this summer over how much information the Trump administration can and should release about the government’s long-running investigation into the matter.

Bipartisan pressure to release the entire trove of documents has been rising since Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in July that the probe was essentially closed, releasing a memo denying the existence of a “client list” naming powerful men who may have engaged in improper behavior and confirming that Epstein died by suicide while in jail. President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged people to move on from the matter, calling the focus on the abuse a “hoax.”

But much of the GOP base - including elected Republicans - was unsatisfied and has been pressing for more transparency.

Lawmakers have launched two efforts to secure more information - which they say will be released to the public. One is an effort by the House Oversight Committee, led by Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky), to subpoena the Justice Department and the Epstein estate for documents and call witnesses for testimony. A resolution sponsored by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) reaffirming support for Comer’s approach is expected to pass the House on Wednesday afternoon.

Comer’s committee on Tuesday evening released roughly 33,000 documents it received from Justice in what it says is a first tranche of documents it plans to receive and release publicly. Democrats claim that most of that information is already in the public sphere.

Yet Comer’s committee has not imposed a timeline that the Justice Department has to comply with, while the Massie and Khanna effort would require the release of documents from the administration within 30 days.

Massie and Khanna are hoping to circumvent leadership and send their bill directly to the House floor via what’s known as a “discharge petition.” They have seven days to gather 218 signatures, and the petition would then have to be considered by all lawmakers on the floor. If their effort succeeds, then it would have to be passed by the Senate and signed by Trump, significant hurdles that may not be overcome.

Democrats are largely expected to support the discharge petition. So far, only three other Republicans besides Massie - Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colorado), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia) and Nancy Mace (South Carolina) - have joined Democrats. Johnson opposes the discharge effort and has urged GOP lawmakers not to support it. Massie emphasized Wednesday that he only needs two more Republicans to sign the petition to force a vote.

“The message is that there’s 200 Republicans who could do something to protect, to get justice for the victims and survivors, and I only need two of 200, and none of them are stepping up to the plate,” Massie said.

Johnson has said that Massie’s push to release largely unredacted documents would endanger the victims. On Wednesday morning, however, all of the accusers who spoke outside the Capitol said they unequivocally supported the release of the Epstein files.

The ramped-up pressure comes as the White House has for weeks tried to tamp down growing furor over the administration’s handling of the Epstein files. On Wednesday, many of the victims said that hearing Trump brush off their abuse as a “hoax” was devastating, and several repeatedly insisted this was not a partisan issue.

“This is not a hoax,” Haley Robson, who noted she is a registered Republican, said Wednesday. “This is real trauma.”

Brad Edwards, an attorney who represents many of the victims, told reporters that Trump has done an “about-face” since he spoke to him in 2009.

Trump “was friendly back then, did not think that it was a hoax and was trying to help,” Edwards said. “And now it seems like all of a sudden somebody is in his ear, and he’s not. So I’m hoping he’ll come back to where he was back in 2009, be on the side of the victims and stand with us.”

Not since a 2019 court hearing after Epstein’s death have so many of his accusers gathered together and told their stories. Some of the victims Wednesday said they are compiling their own “client list” among themselves but were scared to speak publicly about other abusers for fear of legal action.

“We’re not quite sure how or if we’re going to release that,” Lisa Phillips said, adding later that the onus was on the Justice Department, not them, to release the names. “Why do we have to say the names when the government knows the names?”

Edwards said the list includes friends of Epstein to whom he “farmed out” the women once they reached “a certain age.” By some estimates, there are as many as 1,000 victims of Epstein and Maxwell, one woman said.

“We’re in a sorority none of us asked to join. This is not a partisan issue. … We are here together to stand united,” Liz Stein, who said she was 21 when she met Epstein and Maxwell, said at a rally before the news conference with lawmakers.

Victims also expressed outrage Wednesday over the fact that Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on sex-trafficking charges and is serving a 20-year sentence, was moved to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas a month ago. They also pushed back on transcripts and audio recordings the Justice Department recently released of interviews Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted with Maxwell in July, saying she could not be trusted to tell the truth.

Anouska De Georgiou, another Epstein accuser, said Wednesday that justice in the case requires transparency.

“Every day of this journey towards healing has come at a profound cost for my mental health, but I am here; I chose to come because this bill really matters,” De Georgiou said.

De Georgiou also said that if Maxwell were pardoned, “it would undermine all the sacrifices I’ve made to testify and make mockery of mine and all survivors’ suffering.”

“That is why the Epstein Files Transparency Act is so essential: It requires the Justice Department to release all the records related to Epstein and Maxwell investigations, flight logs, immunity deals, internal communications, and even the records surrounding Epstein’s detention and death,” she said.

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Liz Goodwin and Katie Tarrant contributed to this report.