Epstein survivors hold MUST-SEE hearing

Thank you for. these days.

originally.

We're going to start uh this hearing in. just about one minute. So, I just want. to let folks know if folks can grab uh a. seat if they're able and we're going to. start the hearing in just about one. minute. Thank you so much.

right now. It's okay. I just wanted to.

[laughter]. always right. people.

I love. forget we're not here to be politicians. We're here to be a person, right? Perfect.

Well, good morning everyone and I want. to begin by opening up this hearing. Of. course, we're here in uh Palm Beach. County and Oversight Democrats are here. because we're launching a new phase of. our Epstein investigation. Our. committee, of course, has been leading. on this uh over the last year. Now, we're here, of course, in Palm Beach, of.

course, just miles away from Mara Lago, from key locations where this Epstein. investigation has taken us, because from. the very beginning, we know that Florida. has been a key place where so much of. the horrors and crimes of Jeffrey Epste. and Gain Maxwell have happened. The survivors of Jeffrey Epstein deserve. to be heard and as a committee, we. should always uplift their stories. and. I want to thank them, of course, for. being here today. We know that many of our witnesses today.

that you'll hear from were actually. failed by their own government. We will. hear how the FBI ignored Maria Farmer's. courageous report in 1996. We will hear how Alex Acasta, the future. Secretary of Labor at the time, overruled some of his own prosecutors. and work with Epstein's attorneys to. grant a sweetheart deal which allowed. Epstein to continue assaulting women. We. will learn how Epste continued to gain. the system and the law to prey on women,

expanding his trafficking network. overseas. And [snorts] we will hear from. people who have fought hard to bring him. to justice. We're also going to hear. about a continued cover up which has. harmed survivors. How some have been. doxed or put into danger, ignored, revictimized, and betrayed by this. government. These stories are both. horrific and outrageous. But they should.

also inspire us to keep fighting for the. full truth. We're here because every. American deserves equal justice. It. doesn't matter who you are, how powerful. you are, whether you're a Democrat or a. Republican, how much wealth you may. have. If you hurt women and girls, you. will be held accountable. We should also. be very clear that Epstein was not. alone. Others enabled him. We know he. was surrounded by lawyers, accountants,

private investigators, and assistants. Many of those people who have been. forced to testify for the first time. because of our investigation have given. us key information, whether it's been. through depositions or interviews. But. some, even some that we've recently. spoken with, were never contacted by law. enforcement in the 30 years since Maria. Farmer's first report. Why is it only.

now that we have begun these interviews, these depositions. that folks are being contacted for the. first time in decades and that should. outrage every single American. Some of these men enabled financial. crimes. Others fought to hide facts. about this case and to deny justice and. closure for survivors. All of these. people need to be called out and held.

accountable. And these are failures of. multiple governments and administrations. regardless of party. Everyone has failed the public and. certainly everyone has failed their. survivors, especially those that sought. justice and that had the ability and. courage to file reports. because we also. know that so many others didn't have. that opportunity or the support to do. so.

This is why we're here today. Now, before I introduce our witnesses, I want. to briefly just mention a few things. about the investigation. Now, oversight Democrats launched our. investigation when we forced a subpoena. for the full unredacted files from the. Department of Justice last year. And I. especially want to thank Representative. Summer Lee for her leadership to get. that actual done. So, thank you, Congresswoman. [applause].

To this day, the Department of Justice. continues to break the law and defy that. subpoena. It's not just about the. Transparency Act, which is so critical. to moving this debate and the truth. forward, but that subpoena and the. defiance pushed us then, of course, including with leadership from. Congressman Roana to get the Epstein. File Transparency Act through the. Congress. But let's be very clear, the. DOJ continues to withhold half.

of the Epstein files have not been. released to the public. Now, we've heard testimony from Alex. Acasta, former Attorneys General Bill. Barr, Les Wexter, Darren Indk, Richard. Khan, folks that are key to the Epstein. investigation. We've heard from former. President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik just. last week. And we have talked, of. course, to survivors, witnesses, and. whistleblowers. And we have brought. critical documents to light from Jeffrey.

Epstein's estates, emails, photographs, videos. We secured bank records, documents, and we've done all this. without formal committee subpoena power. to properly conduct this investigation. But we're undeterred and we're going to. continue to fight till they get the. truth. Today we're also oversight Democrats are. also publishing a new report. Now this. report uses evidence obtained by our. investigation including and most.

importantly bank records that show how. Alex Aosta's sweetheart deal let epine. build a global network using enablers to. bring in women who he could then exploit. and abuse. And this report is just the. beginning. of numerous numerous reports and. information that we intend to put out. over the course of the months ahead. This hearing is about making one thing. clear and that is that no one is above. the law. Survivors matter and this.

committee committee will continue to. demand transparency. Before I turn this. over to our colleagues, I want to thank. Congresswoman Lois Frankl who has been. critical in this fight for many years. Congresswoman Frankle. [applause]. Congresswoman Frankle of course uh. represents uh the community that we're. in now. I want to thank her for hosting. us. I also want to thank particularly. West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James, their.

staff, the county, West Palm Beach PD, all for their assistance today. And I. want to recognize Congresswoman Franco. for a few brief remarks. >> Thank Thank you, Mr. and welcome. everybody to West Palm Beach and we're. gathered here in a chamber that very. near dear to me because I was mayor here. for eight years and I've had the honor. of serving as and I'm very proud to be. with my Democratic colleagues uh of the. House Oversight Committee of course the. various witnesses and most importantly.

the survivors whose courage and. perseverance made this hearing possible. and to the survivors I want to say and I. know I say this for everyone here. Thank. you. Thank you for your strength. Thank. you for your resilience. And thank you. for your determination to tell the truth. even when the system failed you. This. hearing is long overdue. Myself and. Debbie Wam, we have been asking for a. hearing for many years here um for many. reasons I won't go into, but we're here.

today because it is right here, folks. Right here in Palm Beach County. more. than 20 years ago that the survivors of. Jeffrey Epstein's horrific crimes were. first denied justice with devastating. results. In 2005, the Palm Beach Police Department, led by. then Chief Michael Ryder, I'm giving him. a shout out, a good guy. He uncovered a. deeply disturbing pattern of predatory.

sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and his. associates, targeting women, of course, and young girls. Many recruited from our. local high schools right here in Palm. Beach County. The police did their job. They listened to the survivors. They. built a serious case. Then they brought. it to then state attorney Barry Krisher. I call his name because his succeeding. prosecutors are not involved. But. instead of filing charges,

was overwhelmed by the power, by the. wealth. He sent the case to a grand jury. where prosecutors shockingly minimized. the abuse, limited the witnesses, and. treated vulnerable young girls as if. they were criminals. And you can read. that grand jury testimony yourself. At the urging of Christian's. prosecutors, the grand jury returned. just one count against Epstein, and it. is jaw-dropping solicitation of.

prostitution, punishable by up to 60. days in jail. How crazy and wrong, an. abomination [clears throat]. if you ask me. Disappointed and alarmed, Chief Ryder took the case to federal. authorities. And what was what followed. was more shock and awe to the justice. system. In 2008, as we've heard, uh, Accassa approved a secret, shameful. nonprosecution deal without notifying. the survivors and then sent the case.

back to Palm Beach County. Epstein was. allowed to plead guilty to solicitation. of prostitution. Solicitation of of uh. for a minor for prostitution. Really, that was that? And then he got an. 18-month sentence, which he served about. 13 months, federal immunity from prosecution here. in South Florida. Immunity for unnamed. co-conspirators, and work relief priv. privileges. Listen to this. He had work.

relief priv privileges that allowed him. to leave the jail each day to continue. his systematic sexual exploitation of. women and girls. And the most uh. troubling also uh deal was hidden from. the public and the full extent didn't. come to light until reporting from the. Miami Herald and the Palm Beach Post who. who brought the fight to bring the grand. jury records into the open. Justice was. denied without explanation. Uh and. listen, I'm hoping as we move forward,

these local prosecutors must be. subpoenaed and they must be questioned. under oath because [applause] they. I think they know the secret. So, these. survivors were abused first by a. predator and then failed by a justice. system that too often protected wealth. and power over vulnerable women and. children. And let's be clear, folks, had. prosecutors in Florida done their jobs, most likely hundreds of young women.

might have been spared unimaginable. harm. So, we're here again. We're going. to continue to ask the questions, questions that should have been answered. years ago. Uh, why was Jeff Jeffrey. Epstein, a serial predator who uses. wealth and influence to exploit under. underage girls given little more than a. slap of the wrist? Uh, who else should. be held accountable? And what must we. continue to do to make sure this never. happens again? We owe the survivors and.

the public the answers and more. And. with that, I thank you and I yield back. >> Thank you. Thank you, Congresswoman. We're going to, of course, uh hear some. opening testimony uh from survivors and. advocates who will speak about the. failure of our justice system to protect. them, others, and certainly to hold. Epstein and so many others accountable. I want to they're going to each provide. some opening remarks. I do want to. introduce them uh briefly. Uh we're. going to hear from Danny Benky who is an.

advocate, dance, teaching artist, choreographer, and Epstein survivor. As. an educator of the arts, Danyy's. advocacy derives from creating a safer. world for her students and future. generations. She is a public speaker in. hopes that by sharing her story, we can. get an inside perspective into grooming. and how abuse can happen and how systems. fail people. Danny was abused by Jeffrey Epstein in. 2004 and 2005 when she was just 17 years. old and working as a dancer in New York.

City. She has since spoken out about the. government's handling of the case and. has pursued legal action and of course. um the amount of courage uh is is is. incredible and I want to thank of course. Danny for being here. We'll also hear. from Rosa. Uh Rosa is testifying under. her first name and under that name only. just for her own safety. She was. recruited in Uspekiststan by a modeling. agent co-conspirator and brought to the. US with promises of a career. She met.

Jeffrey Epstein in 2009 and was abused. over several years. With her immigration. status used to keep her from leaving, Rosa is a fighter, a coach, a wife, and a stepmother. And her courage, of course, is immense. And we want to thank Rosa for for being. here. We're going to hear from Courtney Wild, who was abused by Jeffrey Epstein in. Palm Beach beginning at the age of 14.

Courtney is a mom, advocate, and. survivor. She later brought a lawsuit against the. federal government over the. nonprosecution agreement that allowed. Epstein to avoid federal charges. And. she will speak about its lasting impact. on survivors. We're also going to hear from Jenna Lisa. Jones, who was abused by Jeffrey Epstein. in Florida when she was 14 years old.

She has spoken publicly about her. experience and about her disappointment. with the failure to fully release. information related to this case. She is. a mom, a wife, and a founding survivor. of Survivors, Inc. We're going to also hear from Spencer. Kuven who is an attorney who represented. some of the earliest survivors to come. forward against Epstein and he spent. years advocating on behalf of victims. He will speak about the failures in the. original prosecution and the impact. those failures have had on survivors.

We'll also hear from Lauren Hirs who's a. former prosecutor and an advocate. working to combat trafficking and. exploitation. She will discuss the. ongoing efforts by survivors and. advocates to seek accountability and. justice. We will also hear from Maria. Farmer by by video who is the first. person to report Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. to authorities in 1996. She'll be providing video testimony. Finally, Sky and Amanda Roberts are.

here. We all of course know their. incredible courage and they'll be. reading a brief statement as well. We. will continue, of course, to honor. Virginia's memory, her legacy, and her. tireless fight for justice. I want to. especially thank the witnesses for being. here and for your enormous courage. You. are doing obviously a service not just. to all of the women and girls that have. suffered, but to every single.

American woman and American girl in this. country who need to be believed and who. need to know that when they report a. horror against them that their. government is going to believe them and. is going to stand up for them. And so, thank you for your courage today. I now we're going to um hear a uh a. video that uh Maria Farmer wanted to uh. she wanted folks to hear about and so.

we're going to go ahead and and play. that. [snorts]. >> So, >> my name is Maria Farmer. I am the. whistleblower who reported Jeffrey. Epstein, Helen Maxwell, Les Wexner, and. others to the FBI 30 years ago in 1996. Today, I apologize for my appearance. I. was not well enough to attend this. hearing in person and have recently been. released from the hospital. That's the. result of 30 years of fighting. For three decades, I've carried a weight. that no survivor should ever have to.

bear. I reported what I believed were. heinous crimes against children and. these individuals responsible were. involved in an international pedophile. ring. I reported their crimes in real. time and the government continues to. ignore me to this day. In 1996, I. reported Epstein and his co-conspirators. to my local New York City 6 precinct. The commanding officer told me local. police could only address the local arts. and crimes, and he instructed me to. immediately report the whole story. spanning several states to the FBI. He.

told me that it was vitally important. that I tell the whole story to the FBI, which I did. The FBI asked me questions, said they were familiar with some of the. perpetrators I identified, and gave me. every reason to believe they would. respond. That failure, that single. moment when law enforcement refused to. take action, set off a cascade of. injustice and grave repercussions to my. sisters, my family, and so many others, and to me personally, including my. health and well-being.

The FBI's decades of failure and. inaction led to countless more girls and. young women suffering abuse and trauma. that could have been prevented. Individuals like Virginia Jafrey, Anushka Deorgio, Shante Davies, Mara. Cherton, Danny Bensky, Jenna Lisa Jones, Ashley Rubé, and Jennifer Rose among. others. Each survivor represents a life. change forever. suffering that could. have been spared if the FBI had done.

their job in 1996. The failures did not stop there. In. 2006, the FBI tracked me down, stating. that they searched for me because they. knew I had reported Epstein 10 years. earlier and no one else had. They urged. me to testify in a federal criminal. trial against Epstein and his. co-conspirators. And they promised that. they would get him this time. I trusted. them again, relied upon them again, and. they betrayed me again. Rather than. following through with their promises, the government offered Epstein a.

sweetheart deal and shielded powerful. individuals from accountability, and. they persist in granting special. treatment to certain people to this day. I have received death threats from. Maxwell and her associates, including. one instance where they threatened to. burn my apartment down, and those. threats have not stopped. I have been. subjected to more than three decades of. ongoing harassment, vicious challenges. to my truthfulness, and real danger from.

in internet instigators, trolls, and. more. Meanwhile, my numerous efforts to obtain. my 1996 [clears throat] report from the. FBI have been rejected time and again. In 2023, I wrote a letter to the. government asking for an investigation. of the government's actions or inactions. in response to my 1996 report. The. inspector general replied saying they. were busy with other things would get. back to me and they never did. I sent. multiple foyer requests for my FBI.

report records. in January 2025 in. response to my most recent request. The. government said that they would get back. to me in November of 2027, a delay of 3. years. I finally received a letter. saying they looked at my complaint, took. some kind of action, and the matter was. addressed, but what they did was a. secret. With no other choice, I filed an. administrative claim against the. government, and then a lawsuit. Since. then, virtually nothing has happened, and I'm left waiting and wondering what.

is next. With the passage of the Epstein. Files Transparency Act, after years of. efforts to get my records, an FD71 form. was released for the first time, confirming just a small part of my 1996. whistleblower report and vindicating. some of what I had said for years. However, the full extent of what I told. the FBI was not in that document. So, the release of the Epstein files. provides only partial relief for me. [clears throat].

Where is the evidence I provided of my. sexual assault and that of my sister. Annie? Why won't the FBI release my full. report? The failures of those sworn to. protect us protect us have overwhelmed. me. Doing my civic duty has caused me. dearly. The stress of this trauma, the. government hiding and [clears throat]. refusing to turn over written. confirmation of my 96 report along with. the ongoing harassment and death threats. have contributed to me developing. serious health issues including Hodgkins.

lymphoma, a brain tumor, and recently. Addison's disease. In the last month, I have spent 23. nights in hospitals, including multiple. nights in the ICU. Along with my health, it has robbed me. of my career. In 1996, I was fresh out. of graduate school and living a life. that I had always dreamed, creating and. selling art in New York City. When I was assaulted, threatened, held. captive, my career was halted and the.

trajectory of my life was thrown off. course. So many others had their dreams. shattered by these crimes and they could. have been prevented. individuals like. Virginia Jafrey, who is the backbone of. this case and remains the inspiration. behind this fight. She's the reason my. sister and I came forward publicly so we. could stand together. She faced also. relentless attacks to her credibility. online. Yet, she fought. While Virginia. may no longer be physically beside us, she's been our shining star and guiding.

light and remains so today. The rest of. humanity owes it to her legacy to. continue this quest. We are still. walking down the trail that Virginia. blazed for us. So, let me be direct. about what we need. [snorts]. The federal government owes us. explanations, accountability for. injuries caused, and a promise of. systemic change when crimes against. children are reported. Accountability. should start with the government's. acknowledgement and responsibility for. their repeated failures to act in.

response to my 1996 report. The. government needs to take responsibility. for endangering and injuring girls and. young women. The government needs to. start telling the truth, face my. lawsuit, and be held to account to me. and to all others who have been harmed. Had the FBI done their job, 30 years of. child sex abuse and trauma could have. been avoided. I want my full FBI file, including the. 96 and 2006 reports,

including my art. We also need the FBI and the Department. of Justice to fully investigate every. lead in this case. We need investigation. and prosecution of everyone responsible, both men and women. [snorts]. This includes the officials who enabled. the 2008 sweetheart deal, the other. perpetrators, and the many. co-conspirators, and anyone who is. currently shielding powerful individuals. from justice. No more protection for the guilty. There.

must be no pardoning or communicate. commuting commuting the sentence of. Maxwell who sexually abused me, my minor. sister, hurt so many girls and other. young women and personally threatened to. kill me has shown no remorse and has not. has demonstrated no basis on which to. believe she would ever be truthful. As the Epstein case whistleblower, I. have waited three decades for justice. It's a miracle I'm still fighting, especially considering what the stress. of three decades of this case has done.

to my health and well-being. I will keep fighting for justice and. transparency for a better, safer future. for the next generation. Thank you. [clears throat]. >> Well, thank you. And obviously, um I. know we don't often get to hear from uh. from Miss Farmer and we're just very. grateful that she uh chose to address. obviously us and and and the country. I. also want to thank her sister Annie. Farmer who has been an incredible. advocate or survivor of course herself. um and has really uh worked to share her.

sister's story and her own story um when. whenever possible. We're going to hear. some opening remarks also from Sky and. Amanda Roberts. And so I would ask them. to uh join us here uh at the podium. And. I want to thank them also for for their. courage and for being here. Thank you, Representative Garcia, and. all members here today. We deeply.

appreciate the opportunity to be here. Um, obviously wish Virginia was here to. do this herself, but. I will do my best to keep it together. and to get through this. [snorts]. My name is Sky Roberts and I am the. younger brother of Virginia Roberts Juy. I am here today because without. Virginia's courage and her story, we. would not be having this conversation. about accountability. In the summer of 2000, just steps away. from this courtroom at Marargo, Virginia.

was recruited by convicted trafficker. Galain Maxwell. She was only 16 years old, a child who. had just finished 10th grade when she. began being trafficked. Before her passing, Virginia gave sworn. testimony exposing this for what it. truly was, [snorts] a global sex. trafficking operation enabled, protected, and funded by powerful. people. For years, survivors have been. asked the same question. Who were the.

names? The truth is, many survivors stay silent. because many of these individuals still. hold power, wealth, and influence in our. society. Point blank. Period. That is dangerous. No survivor should have to risk their. own safety just to be believed. But Virginia, she did it anyway. She stood up when others were afraid, told the truth under oath, and faced.

people she knew were powerful. Today, we lean on her courage once again. because she believed accountability. should reach everyone involved, no. matter their status or influence. If Virginia were here today, she would. say these words herself since she. cannot. I will say them for her as her little. brother. And with that, I'd like to.

share Virginia's own words from her. sworn deposition dated May 3rd, 2016. They trafficked me to many people. Okay. Please name a person that Gla. Maxwell directed you to have sex with. Prince Andrew. Okay. Who else? As a whole, they both trafficked me to.

many people. Okay. So, can you please tell me when. Gain Maxwell asked you to have sex with. another person? Glenn Dubin. Who else? Well, Redacted is another one. Gain. Maxwell asked you to have sex with. redacted. And Glenn Dubin and Steve Kaufman were, like I said, the first people I was sent. to after my training.

And where does Alan Dersowitz fit into. this group of people? Same. I can't tell. you piece by piece by piece who I know. Glenn Dubin was first. Okay. And I know. Steven Kaufman was the one of the first. that I was sent to. Alan Dersitz could. have been between there. Between, sorry, between Glenn and Steven. This is only a small sample of the. thousands of stories that still remain. untold.

But the question today is no longer. whether names exist. The question is. what will Congress and the Department of. Justice do about it? Even if only a. handful of names are publicly known, will there finally be investigations and. accountability? With that, I'd like to turn it over to. my wife, Amanda Roberts. First, I want to thank this committee. and Representative Garcia and everyone. here who continues to fight with us for.

accountability, but most importantly, standing with survivors. Virginia's story was harrowing and as. you heard my husband speak, she wasn't. afraid to say the names. We are talking. about millions of files, sworn. testimony, depositions, emails, flight. records, bank records, photographs, videos, and evidence collected over. decades. evidence that points to a. network not just to people who traffked. and abused over 1,200.

victims, girls, children, women, and. boys. Epsteina and Maxwell did not act alone. and Palm Beach was the blueprint. It was. the center for expansion. So when this Department of Justice says. there is nothing to see here, survivors. know exactly what that sounds like, a. cover up. Virginia wrote in nobody's girl, "Don't. be fooled by those in Epstein's circle.

who said they didn't know what Epstein. was doing." That sentence should guide. this committee's work. because I don't recall is not enough. When people like Les Wexner are asked. about Epstein's finances and alleged. connections to his network, the public. deserves real answers and. investigations. When Howard Lutnik has given changing. accounts about his association with. Epstein, that deserves scrutiny, resignations, and investigations.

when former Prince Andrew denied knowing. Virginia despite evidence and testimony. surrounding that encounter that deserved. scrutiny and investigation. And when acting attorney general Todd. Blanch met with Glay Maxwell, a. convicted sex traffer accused of perjury. and shortly after was moved to a minimum. security prison that demands answers and. investigations. So today we ask for four things. First,

Congress must hold this Department of. Justice accountable, including contempt. proceedings as the record has shown that. this DOJ has violated the law. Second, state investigations must continue in. and expand in New Mexico, New York, Florida, the Virgin Islands, and. everywhere this network operated. Third, this committee must issue issue further. subpoenas and required alleged. co-conspirators, enablers, financers,

and witnesses to testify under oath. [snorts]. Fourth, follow the money. Financial. records are not secondary. They may the. be the key to exposing the full network. Suspicious payments, shell entities, possible tax violations, money. laundering, and transactions connected. to trafficking and abuse must be. investigated aggressively because. financial crimes can open the door and. lead to real prosecutions.

And finally, the Epstein and Maxwell. investigations must be reopened. Not. partially, not quietly, but fully. Survivors and the public deserve the. truth and enablers must no longer hide. behind wealth, power or silence. Thank. you. >> Thank you both u very much for uh for. those words. Uh we are going to uh to. begin and hear uh some opening. statements from our from our witnesses.

So I want to just start by thanking Miss. Wild who's going to be recognized now. for her opening five minute statement. Miss Wild. Hello, my name is Courtney Wild. When I was 14 years old, I was abused by. Jeffrey Epstein. He abused me until I. was 17 years old. What happened to me. was terrible, but what happened after. that by our own go government changed my. life just as much. I came here today to.

ask for one simple thing. To make sure. this never happens again. I filed a case. under the Crime Victim's Rights Act. because government secretly made a deal. with Jeffrey Epstein. They signed the a. nonprosecution agreement. They made the. deal behind closed doors. They never. told me and they never told any of us. Instead, they sent letters telling me to. be patient even though they knew the. case was already over. For years, I. believed there was an investigation. happening. There wasn't.

When I found out the truth, I went to my. lawyer, Brad Edwards. He took my case in. 2008, and he fought for me against the. government for over a decade. We wanted to do the right thing for all. victims. Together, we wanted answer. We. wanted answers to a simple question. How. could this happen? We had to fight all. the way to the 11th Circuit, which took. years to get the emails between the. government and Jeffrey's lawyers to help.

us understand what happened. When we. finally got them, they showed something. I will never forget. The government wasn't trying to. negotiate with Epstein's lawyers. It. looked like the government was trying to. make him happy. They were trying to make. sure that the punishment they were going. to give him was okay with him. It seemed. like they had forgotten that there were. 40 of us kids. who had been. abused by him.

I was so confused because where I come. from, if you commit a crime, you go to. jail. I have never heard the feds of. letting you help them decide which. crimes they're going to charge you with. or if you're cool with how long you're. going to spend in jail. But I thought, what do I know? Maybe. that's how it works for rich guys. That's how it did work for Jeffrey. Epstein. Finally, after 10 years of fighting, in. 2019, a federal judge finally ruled that.

my rights and that the rights of other. victims were violated by the. nonprosecution agreement. But there was nothing that could be done. about it. There was no remedy. I just want to say it again. I'm sorry. Sorry, I have to. The court found that. the government violated the law and. nothing happened. That means the law, the crime victim's. rights act 18 USC 3771.

does not matter. And if the law has no. consequences, it doesn't protect. anybody. I was lucky to have a lawyer willing to. fight for me for almost a decade. A lot. of victims won't find that, especially. in this case where everybody made us. feel like we were crazy. So, I'm asking asking you to fix that. Please fix the Crime Victim's Rights Act. so it could actually help victims in the. future. I have my own ideas.

and [clears throat] my lawyers have more. ideas, but I really hope that if nothing. comes with this, we can finally get the. leg legislation right. There needs to be. a clear definition of what it means to. meaningfully confer with victims. I'm. still not sure what that actually means, but I know it never happened for me. There must be real consequences and. penalties in the statute that apply. automatically when a court determines.

that a victim's rights have been. violated. The answer after after years. and years of litigation cannot be. nothing happens when you finally win and. prove that your rights have been. violated. If prosecutors choose to ignore victims, those victims voices must be put on the. record, memorialized and preserved, especially when a deal is made behind. closed doors. There needs to be attorneys fees. provision so victims can find lawyers.

who will stand up for them. If th if those changes had existed back. then, maybe what had happened to me and. so many others would have not happened. My case against the government for. violating the rights of at least 40 of. us Palm Beach kids was happening from. 2008 to 2019. Do you know how many other girls Jeffrey. abused in that time period? I bet the. FBI knows. But the point is that Epstein. continued to abuse other girls in New.

York, New Mexico, around the world, and. even still here in Florida. Well, after. he was released in 2019, or I'm sorry, in 2009, and everybody knew it. There. were lawsuits. There were so many new. articles. He was a registered sex. offender and still nothing was done by. the government. Not until 2019 when he. was finally arrested. None of the girls, none of those girls. should have ever been abused. Jeffrey. Epstein should have been in jail. If he.

had been in jail like any other man who. did the same thing as him, he would have. been. And there wouldn't have been a. single victim after 2009. But he wasn't. And he did. He abused so. many girls after 2009 at the same exact. time that I was asking the government. why he got the deal and why they. violated my rights. That is the real injustice here. That. the real that is the real thing we need.

to prevent from ever happening again in. this country. I was there for his bail hearing in 2019. and I spoke to the judge right in front. of him about how dangerous he was. The. bail was denied and for the first time I. thought we might finally get justice. A. month later he was dead. Once again the. system failed us. Someone let him die in. a secure prison, ensuring that he would. never be held accountable for what he. did to me as a kid.

Since then, there have been. prosecutions. There have been civil cases. There have. been settlements, but none of that. changes what was lost. And none of that. fixes what was allowed to happen in the. first place. We fought for years to get. Jeffrey Epstein arrested. We fought to. hold people accountable. We did not. fight. so that this could turn into something. political. or so that our rights would be violated. once again. I lost years of my life.

fighting this and so did many others. We. did that so the next victim wouldn't. have to. So don't let this work be in vain. Make. the Crime Victim's Rights Act matter. Thank you so much. >> Thank you very much, Miss Wild. >> [applause]. >> Uh, Miss Jones, you're now recognized. for your opening statement. >> Ranking member and members of Congress, my name is Jenna Lisa Jones. I was 14.

years old when I was abused by Jeffrey. Epstein in Palm Beach. It has taken me. many years to find my voice. For a long. time, I stayed silent because I was. afraid and because I did not understand. why this happened to me. When I finally. came forward, I made a commitment to use. my voice responsibly. I'm here today to. do exactly that. Last September, I went. to Washington DC along the other. survivors with a simple request, transparency and accountability.

We asked you to help us understand how. Jeffrey Epstein was given a. nonprosecution agreement even though the. government had evidence that he had. sexually abused dozens of children, including me. We asked how he was allowed to leave. jail in 2009 and continue harming young. girls. We asked for answers. Answers. that would hold our government. accountable for its actions. We still do. not have those answers. Instead, what we received caused harm.

all over again, including too many of. our survivor sisters who had never come. forward before and who never wanted. their names or abuse to become public. The Department of Justice released. documents that exposed our names, our. social security numbers, and deeply. personal information. Survivors and. identities were made public. Husbands. learned about their wives abuse for the. first time.

Children learned about the abuse of. their mothers. from reporters, from strangers on the internet, [snorts] and in some cases from other. kids at school. [snorts] Some survivors learned. that friends had also been abused. [snorts] only because they saw their. names. in those documents. >> [snorts]. >> Others saw the most intimate details of.

their own trauma. >> publicly exposed. Our privacy was. violated. The government promised us over and over. again that our information would be. protected. and properly redacted. Those [snorts]. promises were broken again. We came [snorts] to you seeking answers. for why our rights were violated in. 2007. [snorts] And in the process of.

asking for those answers, our rights. were violated again. I [snorts] want to believe that each of. you in this room is listening because. you truly care. Not just about us, but. about every child in this country who. survived sexual abuse. If Congress and the Department of. Justice truly want to do right by the. survivors, the path forward is not. complicated. Acknowledge the failures. When Jeffrey Epstein was set free in. 2009 and again when our privacy was.

shattered earlier this year, take. responsibility and provide meaningful. remedies to the [snorts] to the women. who have been harmed over and over. again. Please do not force us to relive. this through more litigation. Pass a law. requiring the Department of Justice to. compensate victims for the harm that. they had caused by releasing the names. and information that would show that. this is truly about helping victims. Second, with respect to our ongoing.

investigations, please remember this. Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Gislain Maxwell. is in prison. [snorts]. Do not pardon Maxwell. If there are other men who hurt women, hold them accountable, but please leave. the survivors alone. If you subpoenaed. someone to testify before your. committees and she tells you she is a. victim, listen to her. Believe her. Respect her trauma. Jeffrey tried to.

plant paint his victims as bad guys to. avoid responsibility for himself. Please. learn and understand that sharing our. story should be a choice. The choice I. was able to make today. It should never. be something survivors are forced to do. The girls who were groomed by Gizlain. Maxwell and abused by Jeffrey Epstein. should not be treated like criminals. Please learn the stories of the women. who have been harmed before you force. them to testify in a room full of. strangers about the worst moments of.

their lives. Jeffrey Epste destroyed so. many of our lives and Gain Maxwell. helped him do it. do not blame their. survivors for the crimes of the abusers. That is not how the story should end. Find a way to bring closure to the story. of Jeffrey Epste. To allow survivors and. this country to finally begin to move. forward so that one day, and I pray. soon, Jeffrey Epste's name is no longer. something we are forced to hear every. single day. And my last point, I am not here today.

only to talk about the past. I'm here. for the children who are sitting in the. classroom today. children who may be. vulnerable, confused, and unsure of what. is happening to them. When I was a. teenager, I did not have the language to. understand what was happening to me. I. did not know who to tell. I did not know. where to go. Many [snorts] of us didn't. We were young and we were manipulated. We were left without the tools or the. support we needed. That is something. Congress can change. Every middle school. and high school student in this country.

[snorts] should receive education on the. signs of sexual abuse and exploitation. What [snorts] it looks like, how to. recognize it, and how to safely report. it. Schools should have trained adults. accessible resources so that no child. feels as lost or as alone as we did. I. have worked with other survivors to. start a nonprofit called the Survivors, Inc. Because not everyone. who has been abused has [snorts] ex. access to strong legal representation,

therapy or support systems. I became a. certified life coach. I believe in. giving others the support I wish I had. [snorts] Though though the survivors we. were able to provide these services. to people who have been abused so they. can begin their healing journey too. [snorts] I'm proud of that work. But. individual efforts are not enough. Real. change requires leadership at a national. level. You have the power to make sure. that happens to us does not happen again. on this scale. I believe one [snorts] of.

the most important places to begin is in. our schools. Train teachers, educate. students, give children a place to turn. when they feel they have nowhere else to. go to. Together we can do better for the. next generation. [applause]. Thank you so much. [applause]. Uh, Miss Bensky, you are now recognized. for your opening statement. Thank you. >> Thank you. Hello, my name is Danny Bensky. I was.

abused by Jeffrey Epstein in 2004 and. 2005. That was eight years after Maria. Farmer first reported Jeffrey to the. FBI. Although discussing my abuse is far from. easy, I live with diagnosed PTSD from. that experience. Um, my story is. actually one of the safest stories to. tell. The key abuser who caused me. physical harm is dead. It's imperative. to understand that the stories you are.

hearing today are a tiny fraction of the. whole. I am one of more than 1,200 girls. and women. I don't face the same level. of threats of defamation lawsuits and. serious risks to my safety as my. survivor as some of my survivor sisters. do. While there are co-conspirators who. do need to be held accountable for the. the parts that they played in the. operation of my own abuse, I was. trafficked only to Jeffrey, which really.

unfortunately is not the case for so. many others. I was groomed prior to meeting Jeffrey. I [clears throat] grew up in the dance. world where perfectionism, body image. issues ran rampant in a world that was. built on hierarchy and secrecy. I would have my body criticized, critiqued, and manipulated. Um, not so. different from what I initially. experienced with Jeffrey. I was trafficked to Jeffrey. I had two.

recruiters. One was a late teen and the. other was only 15 years old, just trying. to escape her own abuse. Jeffrey. weaponized my aspirations and dreams by. speaking the language of dance and. making false promises. My mom had been. diagnosed with a brain tumor. I had seen. the name Epstein listed on a donor wall. and believed that his wealth and power. had come from the medical profession. I. brought him her scans, hoping to. understand her diagnosis. Instead of.

helping her, he used my mother's brain. scans over me, giving me an ultimatum. Either recruit more girls or do more for. him. I didn't end up recruiting anyone. and instead just endured the abuse. In. May of 2005, my mother had a successful. operation at Mount Si to to remove the. tumor and I finally extricated myself. from Jeffrey's web. The Epstein case demonstrates that.

institutional systems have failed. survivors time and time again. I was. first subpoenaed in 2008 for an. interview. I was just 20 years old and. without a victim's rights advocate or a. lawyer, I didn't know that I was. entitled to those protections. No one. told me I was safe. And for many parts. of my interview, it felt like an. interrogation. Jeffrey had already threatened my friend. and he had told me that I would be. charged with prostitution if I ever.

interacted with law enforcement. He made. it clear that he held the cards. The. passage of the Epstein Files. Transparency Act was a moment in which. survivors hoped and believed that we. might see some reckoning. But the system yet again failed. survivors. Before the first document dump uh by the. DOJ, my lawyer teamed up with another. law firm representing survivors.

Together they submitted 350. victim's names to the DOJ. as names that. needed to be redacted prior to the. deadline on December 19th. In the first. round of documents, I saw my name in two. places. Then in the January dump, there. were more. And the reductions were far, far worse. These files displayed my. name, my phone number, my old address, where I worked at the time, where I was.

studying, and other identifying. information. What's important to understand is that. these documents weren't just somehow. overlooked and not redacted at all. On. one document, my nickname Danny redacted. while Danielle Hannah is left completely. unredacted. I am just one of the. hundreds of survivors exposed like this. A few weeks ago, a legal analyst reached. out to share that yet again, my name.

appeared in a third batch of only 20. documents. After my lawyer continued to. contact the DOJ on multiple occasions. for protection, my name and information. remained attached. These documents hold. disturbing and yet incomplete accounts. of my abuse and they were viewable not. only by the entire world but my child, my students, my students parents, my. friends, my employers, my colleagues, my.

family. I'm public. However, in my FBI 302, a Jane Doe who has never ever wanted to. be revealed was exposed. This outing of survivor names does real. irrevocable damage. The passage of the Epstein Files. Transparency Act was meant to be a. moment when survivors could regain their.

power and finally obtain the truth. It [snorts] was a time for our. institutions created to protect the. American people to for once stand on the. side of survivors. As survivors, we have. said time and time again, this is not. political. This requires coming together and. prioritizing. prioritizing coming together, not. political showmanship. I'm always asked, what does. accountability look like? Accountability.

means removing perpetrators from power, seeing arrests be made, and legislators. pass laws like protecting victim's. rights like Virginia's law, which would. remove the statute of limitations for. victims civil claims against their. abusers. Our entrenched systemic. failures have allowed powerful people. like Jeffrey to thrive. When. institutions prioritize protecting the. powerful and their enablers over.

protecting victims, abuse becomes. normalized. If we continue down this path, the. question isn't whether abuse will happen. again, but who will be the next Jeffrey. Epstein. This moment is critical. It is time to. reform our system to protect our. survivors, not the perpetrators, and to. ensure the truth can come to light. Thank you.

[applause]. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Um, Miss Rosa, you are now. recognized for your opening statement. In 2008, I just turned 18 when I met MC. Square Model Management owner named. Jeanluke Brunell. Coming from a. financial and stable background, I was a. perfect target for Corin. I was promised. modeling career beyond my dreams. In.

less than six months, MC Squared. obtained an 01 visa for me. I feed. nearly impossible for a teenager with. almost no experience. I did not have the. documentation to earn that visa. By May. of 2009, I was in New York City. I was. isolated, controlled in a manner I've. never experienced before. Within three. months, the agency claimed I owed them. over $10,000. I had no family, no friends, or no. money. MC Square controlled every aspect.

of my life, where I went, how I dressed, and how I looked. They provided me. enough of allowance to keep me afloat, but never enough to be independent. Less than a month after I arrived to. United States, my agency sent me to a. home of a registered sex of a sex. offender, [snorts]. I was I was introduced to his girlfriend. under disguise that she was a. photographer who helped me build my. portfolio. Now I know that Jeffrey Epson. was supposed to be in jail cell in June. of 2008. I met him at his house right.

here in West Palm Beach. He was not in a. jail. Jeanluke Brunell brought me to West Palm. Beach to have dinner with Epstein in. July. Epstein used the names of powerful. politicians to demonstrate his. influence. He told me he's an investor of the very. agency that promised me a career. He. also spoke of his arrest that it was a. game bragging about girls visiting his. cell and his [snorts] and his.

friendships with authorities. Jeffrey offered me a position at the. Florida Science Foundation to handle. phone calls to help me with my financial. troubles. [snorts]. One day, his masseuse called me into his. room where I was molested for the first. time by Jeffrey. For the following three years, I was. subject to ongoing rape.

Jeffrey Abson was under house arrest. for the molestation of underage girls at. the exact time I was he was abusing me. Seeing that. the fact that he could commit those acts. made just justice feel impossible to me. and it took my ability to seek for help. [snorts].

I was summoned to his residence right. here in West Palm Beach. My agency. relocated me to Miami to keep me closer. and [snorts] only after he was released. from the house arrest I was allowed to. go back to New York City where my. nightmares continued. Those years of abuse turned into a. decade of fear that I still carry today. I eventually found the courage to reach. out for help. [snorts] I stepped forward. among other survivors,

hoping those who allow this to happen. will be held accountable. I kept my. identity protected as Jane Doe. I woke. up one day with my name mentioned over. 500 times. [snorts]. While the rich and powerful remain. protected by reduction, my name was. exposed to the world. Now reporters from. across the globe contact me. I cannot.

live without looking over my shoulder. I. can only imagine the long-term impact. this mistake will have on my life. [snorts]. I wanted to be a doctor when I was a. kid. So I want to end this statement. with a story. In 1800, the doctor named Ignas Seamise. discovered something life-saving. He re. realized that the doctors who were.

performing autopsies and then. immediately delivering babies without. washing their hand were carrying. cadaavverous particles causing women die. in agony. He had evident evidence. He. had solution. He begged the medical. establishment to wash their hands to. save lives. >> [snorts]. >> But the doctors were offended. They. found it easier to protect their own. reputation and maintain the status quo. than to admit they were the ones causing.

harms. They closed the they chose their. pride over the life of women. And Dr. Samise was ignored, ridiculed, and. eventually cast out. I see the same. patterns happening today with handling. of these files. [snorts]. Releasing releasing my name while. redacting the name of other powerful is. not a mistake. It's a choice. It's a. choice to prioritize the comfort of an. institution over the safety of the. survivors. The evidence is right here. Yet those in power rather us die.

socially, emotionally and physically. then admit their own complicity. I am no longer a Jane dome hating in the. files. I'm a woman. I'm a fighter and I'm a. witness and I'm begging you, please wash. your hands. [snorts]. [applause].

[applause]. [applause]. Thank you, Miss Rosai. Um, obviously I. think uh one of the true horrors of this. investigation has been the way uh so. many survivors continue to be. traumatized and I think this is one uh. just really horrific example of um how.

even through the transparency act um so. much so much horror and retraumatization. u continues to happen. Um so thank you. for the testimony. Mr. Mr. Kovven, I'm. going to recognize you for your opening. statement. >> Thank you. Truly moved by her strength. Um, ranking. member members of Congress,

my name is Spencer Kubin. I have. represented numerous survivors of sexual. exploitation and trafficking over the. years, including the first victim to. come forward in the Epstein. investigation here in Palm Beach. I'm. here today because what happened during. the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein was. not simply a failure of judgment. It was. a systemic failure of justice. In Palm. Beach County, credible evidence of.

widespread sexual abuse involving minors. was presented to state prosecutors, including my client. Law enforcement. initially identified dozens of victims. The conduct was organized, repeated, and. devastating. Yet, instead of a. prosecution that matched the scale of. the harm, what followed was a secret. agreement, as we know, that minimized. the abuse and insulted the children that. had been abused. Despite the efforts of. some of the federal agents at the time,

the US Attorney's Office in the Southern. District decided to have these secret. meetings with Epstein's attorneys. The. US Department of Justice in conjunction. with the Palm Beach County State. Attorney's Office at the time colluded. in secret to quietly shove this case. with minimal state charges that branded. a 15 and 16year-old child victim as. prostitutes. They gave a sweetheart deal to Jeffrey. Epstein and four named as well as.

unnamed co-conspirators. The Southern District US attorney at the. time, Alex Aosta, spearheaded what every. attorney advocate saw as the worst. nonprosecution agreement ever executed. by a US attorney. This sent a message. It told victims. that even when the evidence is strong, accountability is negotiable if you are. rich and powerful. This awful non-prosecution agreement.

completely shut down further federal. charges for the events they were. investigating here in Florida. As I. mentioned, that tragic deal was. negotiated and signed in secret. Not. only was it kept secret from the world, it was kept secret from me. Calls were. made repeatedly to the US attorneys. investigating this at the time by. myself, an advocate for multiple victims. at the time. And of course, it was kept. secret from those victims. I was forced. to file motions with the court to compel.

its ultimate disclosure even after it. had been executed. And finally, after. obtaining court orders, they turned it. over to us. A full year after it had. been signed, the victims were not consulted. Their. advocates, like me, were not consulted. Victims were never given an opportunity. to be heard. This was not just a moral. failure. We believed it was a violation. of law under the Crime Victim's Rights.

Act. Originally passed in 2004, subsequently amended by Congress in '. 06,08 and 15. Victims have had the right. to confer with prosecutors and the right. to be treated with fairness and respect. Yet those rights were ignored at the. very moment that it mattered most when. decisions were being made that would. determine whether justice would ever be. pursued. The result was predictable. Survivors, as you've heard, were retraumatized not.

only by the abuse they endured, but by a. system that excluded them from the. process designed specifically to protect. them. and the public was left. questioning whether justice can trust be. trusted when powerful interests are. involved. This failure by the Department of. Justice at the time was a subject of. litigation brought as you heard by Miss. Wild. That case ultimately exposed a gap in. the law, one that must be closed by you.

Today, I want to offer that clear path. forward. First, Congress should amend. the Crime Victim's Rights Act to make it. explicit that victims must be notified. and given a meaningful opportunity to. confer before any nonprosecution. agreement or deferred prosecution. agreement is finalized. Second, as. you've heard, there must be enforcable. remedies, not just suggestions. Victims should. have standing to challenge agreements.

reached in violation of the act and. courts must have the authority to review. and where appropriate void those. agreements. Third, transparency must be the rule, not the exception. Secret agreements. that extinguish criminal liability, particularly in cases involving multiple. victims, should not exist in our system. of justice. And finally, there must be. accountability. When prosecutors fail to. uphold victim's rights, there must be.

consequences sufficient to ensure that. those failures are not repeated. This is. not about relitigating the past. It's. about ensuring what happened here never. happens again. The survivors in this. case have showed extraordinary courage. coming here today. They told the truth. and they trusted the system and the. system failed them. Congress now has the. opportunity and I would suggest the. responsibility. to fix it. Thank you. We look forward to.

your questions. >> Thank Thank you very much. [applause]. I'd like to go to to Miss Hirs, please, who's now recognized for her opening. statement. >> Thank you so much, ranking member, members of Congress. I'm Lauren Hirs, the CEO of World Without Exploitation, the largest anti-trafficking co. coalition in the country. We have nearly. 200 member organizations across the. country. Many of those organizations are. survivor-led. It is an absolute honor to sit beside.

each one of you. You are the reason this. moment of reckoning is happening. What we have witnessed in the handling. of the Epstein case is not simply a. bureaucratic misstep. It is a deeply. horrific failure to protect the very. people the system is meant to serve. Survivors have repeatedly been promised. dignity, confidentiality, and in care. And instead, we have seen a systemic.

breakdown in their protection at nearly. every step of the way. We have watched. those with power and privilege. manipulate the system, shielding. themselves from accountability while. survivors have suffered in silence. Every one of these failures sends a. devastating message not only to Epstein. survivors, but to survivors everywhere. that accountability is optional for the. powerful. Survivors have had enough. And.

frankly, the American public has had. enough of this, too. We are now in a. moment of reckoning that requires a. thorough examination of all of the. things that have gone horribly wrong. But it also requires a serious course. correction. Survivors have been repeatedly harmed. first by Epstein and his associates and. then by law enforcement who refused to. bring adequate cases, who didn't notify. victims when secret sweetheart deals.

were made, who allowed abuse to continue. even after pleased in. and then they. were again abused by the DOJ. When the federal government fails to. protect provide protection under the. Crime Victim's Rights Act, survivors. cannot be left without remedy. We need a. legislative fix immediately to provide. compensation and recourse for violations. of the Crime Victim's Rights Act. And. this is urgent.

I think everyone in the room has heard. the survivors and understands the. profound harm caused by the DOJ in. releasing hundreds of names of survivors. and their personal information in the. aftermath of the Epstein Files. Transparency Act. So, I'll keep this. part brief. As a former prosecutor, I. understand that mistakes happen. We're. human. But when hundreds of names are. released repeatedly, including nude. photos of a survivor, this can no longer.

be dismissed as human error. Something. has gone horribly wrong inside the DOJ, and the American public deserves clear. answers about how this failure has. occurred. This requires a recorded. deposition of Pam Bondi on May 29th, not. a transcribed interview. Survivors. [applause].

also deserve meaningful legislative. recourse, including a private right of. action so that they can be comp. compensated for the exposure of their. private in information to the public. Accountability cannot end with an. examination of process failures or even. legislative fixes. These files demand. further examination. Assertions that there are no cred. credible investigative leads are deeply.

concerning. From my perspective, both as. the CEO of World Wii and a former. prosecutor, that conclusion is not only. premature, it is inconsistent with the. available record. There there is an. abundance of potential investigative. leads that warrant serious independent. review. For three decades, countless men. operated with complete impunity. Sex. trafficking does not happen in a vacuum.

It is driven by the demand for. commercial sex and it is enabled by. systems and people who are willing to. look the other way. That is exactly what. we're looking at here. likely the. largest sex trafficking operation the. United States has ever seen. The files. are clear and the files names. When individuals and institutions. surface repeatedly in the files, it's a.

pretty strong indicator that there's. some there there. when there are millions and millions of. dollars flowing between an individual. and Epstein and there doesn't seem to be. a business relationship, but instead. allegations of sexual abuse, that's not. noise to ignore. That is an. investigative lead. And this is just one. of many examples. And the examples are not just limited to. individuals. Major hospitals took money.

from Epstein and provided questionable. care. And that's putting it nicely. Hospital systems, academic institutions, modeling agencies, and the list goes on. They all require careful independent. examination of investigative leads. The burden should not fall on the. survivors to name names or drive. investigations. Survivors should be. given safe, voluntary spaces to speak,

but they should not be compelled. The. responsibility lies with investigative. bodies, prosecutors, the DOJ, on. relevant authorities to do their jobs. thoroughly, transparently, and with. integrity. Survivors have already carried too far. too much of the burden. They should not. have to carry the failures of our. institutions as well. What is needed now. is not defensiveness.

but accountability. And finally, for survivors and for world. without exploitation, this is not and has never been. political. I'm sure that it will be. twisted into us entering the political. fray by being here today, but we have. been absolutely clear. We will and have. worked with anyone who is serious about. getting to the truth. The era of silence.

and inaction must end here. Thank you. [applause]. Thank you. Um, obviously just thank you. to all of our witnesses for those. opening statements. We're going to be. moving on to uh questions and and um. some comments from uh the members of. this committee. Uh I do want to uplift. and recognize particularly the survivors. and your courage again and how we got to.

this moment. Uh, I want to start just by. again just commenting that we're here. because of the horrific crimes of. Jeffrey Epstein, Galain Maxwell, and. numerous others and the failure caused. by our own government. And I want to in. in my line of questioning, I just want. to hone down on one thing which I think. is really important. Last July, the administration's FBI and DOJ. released a two-page document saying, and.

I and I quote, "We did not uncover. evidence that could predicate an. investigation. against uncharged third parties.". In other words, the current administration. through its DOJ believed that this. investigation was over, that no one else. could be investigated for perhaps the. worst sex trafficking ring in American.

history, that no other person could be. held accountable or there could be. further convictions of the horrors made. and against 1,200. women and girls. Now, we here and some of our colleagues. on the Republican side of the aisle have. worked together to file motions, to file. laws, and to push this investigation.

forward. And I want to be very clear. The DOJ, this administration, the president, and the attorney general. made it clear that this investigation, in their opinion, was a hoax, was a lie, and there was nothing else to do Oh, to. move forward. The DOJ tried to close. this case. Through our investigation, we have. learned that many of the witnesses that.

we have been going through through. deposition, through transcribed. interviews were never questioned by law. enforcement. And this is something that. we learned only by forcing these. interviews. >> and by sitting asking these questions. How could Less Wexner have never been. interviewed by our own government, who. was the source of most of Jeffrey. Epstein's wealth and was never.

questioned? How can some of the folks. on this document the FBI had in their. possession not ever have been questioned. by our own government or law. enforcement? How could Darren Indk and. Richard Khan, who you can see in this. chart, and were essentially the brain. trust of Jeffrey Epstein's organization, how could they never have been. questioned?

That is not a mistake. That is a cover up. And what I think we want to make very. clear is this is not just about the. mistakes and the ongoing harm of the. Trump administration. This has been harm posed by numerous. administrations led by both Republicans. and Democrats. And when folks come and ask, well, why wasn't the former.

administration attorney general Garlic. more engaged on this issue? I ask the. same question. Why wasn't Merrick Garland more engaged. and focused on prosecutions and more. focused on getting out the truth? This. is not just about. partisan politics. This is a continued pattern of abuse. and not seeking justice. But we're here. now at this moment in this Congress with.

this administration and this coverup. must end. I want to briefly ask the. survivors. if you believe that this investigation. should continue if if your government. should continue this investigation. Miss. Pensky. >> Yes. >> Rosa. >> Absolutely. Yes. >> Miss Wild. Yes, >> Miss Jones. >> Yes. >> Thank you. And we agree.

it's unacceptable that folks have been. not questioned, that there haven't been. criminal prosecutions, and that our own former attorney general. continues to be engaged in this cover. up. They want to end this investigation. But what we are saying today is we need. to come together with our bipartisan. allies on the other side and especially. some Republican women who have stood and.

continue to push for truth and justice. We welcome their support in this. investigation. At a hearing back in. March, former Attorney General Bondi. told one of my colleagues, quote, "I'm. stunned that you want to continue. talking about Epstein.". That was her quote. Miss Benky, you were. there. So was Sky Roberts on behalf of. Virginia. Attorney General Bondi didn't.

spend one minute talking to you, but. instead wanted to end the Epstein. investigation. Today, we're here to tell. the former attorney general that we are. demanding that she come in for her date. with the subpoena, that she testify. under oath, and that it's videotaped and. released to the American public. And the. survivors deserve nothing less. [applause].

And I want to again ask the survivors. We know that approximately 2.5 million. documents are still hidden. And we also. understand that anything that's released. in the future needs to be redacted with. care and properly. Do you all support this Congress in the. continued release of the files if. redactions are done properly and with. care? Miss Pensky, >> of course. Yeah,

>> Rosa. >> Yes. >> Miss Wild? >> Yes. >> Miss Jones? >> Yes. >> Thank you. I I think it's important for. the attorney general, for Mr. Blanch and. for others to hear directly that the. survivors don't think this is a hoax or. that the investigation is over. Everyone in this room is committed to. making the truth and justice a part of. our legislative work. We have to pass. laws and do the right thing.

What we're facing right now is a. systemic. a systemic government. agencies and administration that is. trying to end this work and we have to. push back on it. We have sworn testimony. We've seen emails. from the Epstein estate, from many. others even about the relationship and. the friendship between.

the current president and Jeffrey. Epstein. We continue. to demand that the president. force his DOJ to do the right thing by. their survivors. and to ensure that we get truth and. justice. We're just a few miles away from Mara. Lago where we know Galain recruited and. harmed and abused women where Virginia. herself was recruited.

And we also know that the president. or his residence is just a few miles. from here is the one man in America that. has the power to do the right thing. and force the DOJ to release the files, protect the survivors. and demand and ensure that the American. public get the truth. And that's why. we're here today. And with that, I yield. and I want to turn it over to. Representative Christian Morphy. Thank. you.

Thank you, Mr. Ranking Member. Thank you. to all the witnesses. Thank you for your. bravery, um, your conviction, and your. determination. Today, I want to ask you. first about Gla Maxwell. Miss Wild, in a. written victim impact statement that was. filed in court, uh you said that the. abuse you suffered was quote deliberate. and systematic designed by Epstein and. facilitated by his staff and associates, including Glain Maxwell. Correct. >> Um I don't I don't I never I don't think.

that's my I never had any relationship. with Gain Maxwell. Can you repeat that? >> Uh in a victim impact statement in Jane. Do one and Jane Do versus the United. States. Oh, yes. Yes. Okay. Against the. I'm sorry, I've never met Gla Maxwell, but yes, that's what the other Jane do. >> Miss Bensky, at Maxwell's trial, survivors testified that Maxwell. participated in the sexual abuse of. girls. Maxwell recruited victims for.

Epstein in including at schools and that. Maxwell once told a 14-year-old girl. that she quote had a great body for. Epstein and his friends. Isn't that what. was testified to? >> Yeah. I also my experience was not with. with Maxwell, but I am sure that that is. true. Miss Jones. After Maxwell was. found guilty of unconscionable acts, Politico reported that Maxwell's lawyer,

this guy right here, said that there's a. good chance and for good reason that. Maxwell would get a pardon. >> You have publicly stated that quote. clemency would be a slap in the face to. all survivors, right? >> I agree with that wholeheartedly. I. think everyone on this panel agrees. probably. Maxwell hasn't shown any. guilt, hasn't shown any remorse, hasn't. shown any ounce of accountability for. what she did. I've introduced the House.

resolution condemning clemency for. Maxwell. I hope everyone here will join. me because we have to do everything in. our power to block a pardon for Gla. Maxwell. [applause]. Miss Hirs, I want to turn to another. topic. following the money. You're aware. of Epstein related financial records. called suspicious activity reports, SARS. reports that have not been produced. Correct. >> Yeah. >> And just to level set, a suspicious. activity report is a report produced by.

a bank anytime a customer performs a. questionable transaction. It turns out. there were numerous such reports filed. by banks with the Treasury Department. for Jeffrey Epstein, including large. cash withdrawals and even requests that. Epstein made for the creation of bank. accounts and credit cards for teenagers. and people who had nothing to do with. his family. Isn't that right? >> It is. The Senate Finance Committee has. found Epstein made wire transfers that.

are detailed in these suspicious. activity reports, SARS reports, to the. tune of $1.5 billion with a B, and. include the names of women and girls he. may have trafficked as well as the names. of his potential clients. I believe that. this is paramount to the investigation. of this sex trafficking ring. Would you. agree with that? >> I do agree with that. If we're serious, if we're serious about following the. money, I believe that these STARS. reports must be disclosed by the US.

Treasury Department now, immediately. today. [applause]. Last topic. Last topic, Miss Hirs. Um, can can you give me this? These one, two, three, four, five, six. people, they must be disclosed today. What do you think about that? >> Yes, >> I I absolutely agree with you. >> They may be among us today. >> Wow.

>> Perpetrating a continuation of a sex. trafficking ring. >> Now, Mr. Coven, DOJ has not released all. of the raw interviews and transcripts. from the more more than 40 victims of. the DOJ's that were investigated in the. DOJ's 2008 investigation. Right. >> Correct. And DOJ has not released all of. the video footage collected at Epstein's. properties. Correct. >> Absolutely. Not only that, I've actually. walked through the home of Jeffrey. Epstein after the incidents occurred and.

saw where the video cameras were located. and no longer existed. >> Wow. [sighs and gasps]. >> Epstein tried to maintain his power over. those he abused by taking away their. chance at justice. We cannot let that. happen. Donald Trump, I'm calling on you. to listen to survivors, release all of. the documents, unredact all these. people, prosecute the rest of these. people and the investigate the. remaining. In addition, Glaine Maxwell. should never ever ever receive clemency.

That monster should not be given pardon. and ensure every enabler of Epstein. faces consequences no matter who they. are or their political affiliation. Thank you and I yield back. >> [applause]. >> Thank you. Now we'll have Representative. Stanbury. >> All right. Well, good morning everyone. And I just want to start out by. acknowledging our survivors who are here. with us and to those of you who spoke.

People tell you all the time that you're. brave and you are, but I know that it. comes at great cost to yourself, great. cost to your families. But I want you to. know and part of why I asked the staff. to hold up this picture is because you. are literally changing the face of the. planet by standing up and telling your. stories. And even though the system is. failing you again right now in Congress, you are changing the world by helping.

people who are survivors, who are. victims, who have never had their. stories told publicly to know that. they're not alone. So, I want to say. thank you for everything that you are. doing. And I know that it's hard, but. what you're doing is changing the planet. right now. So, thank you for holding. that up. I came I got in early yesterday and um I. went for a walk. I walked to downtown.

here in West Palm Beach and then I. walked across the bridge. I think like millions of people across. the country, I've seen, of course, the. documentary that documents what happened. here in West Palm Beach. And I wanted to. walk across the bridge that survivors. had told this story themselves of. literally having been driven across. But. I don't think that I truly understood. the power, the wealth, the abuse that.

has happened in this community until I. saw the mansions and the estates, the. private clubs and how inequality is. literally written into the landscape. here. And the reason why I wanted to start. there is because there has been a lot. said about the system of abuse that. Epstein and Maxwell perpetrated. There. has been a lot said about how grooming.

occurred, how recruitment happened, and. how he psychologically. threatened, abused, and used all these. different tactics to abuse girls and. women. But I want to make one thing. clear here today and I want to ask some. questions about this is we talk about. the system failing. The system didn't. fail. The system was designed to protect. the wealthy. >> The system was rigged from the beginning. when those mansions were built. The.

system was built on inequality. The. system was built on exploiting people. It's written into the landscape here in. West Palm Bay Beach. It's written into. the landscape in New Mexico where. Jeffrey Epstein went to Santa Fe with. his rich friends and recruited girls. that he exploited and then trafficked to. other rich friends that he flew to New. Mexico. This wasn't failure. This was a. system. It was a system of exploitation.

It was a system of abuse. And it was a. system of power. And that's one of the. things that I want to really dive into. here with my short time today. Because. the officials, the federal, the state, the local, the attorney generals didn't. just fail to investigate these cases. They chose not to investigate them. They. chose to take bribes and kickbacks and. campaign donations.

The police department here in West Palm. Beach chose to take a donation from. Jeffrey Epstein. The police and sheriffs. and others in other cities and states. chose to take take donations. And right now, while this is not a. partisan issue, this administration is. choosing to not investigate the crimes. that are in these files. This. administration is choosing to release.

the names of survivors and not. perpetrators. This administration is. choosing. to not investigate or indict a single. man who committed rape of a child or. woman that is in the files. And this. administration is choosing. to gaslight the American people. While. all over the world, foreign officials. are arresting, investigating, a prince.

has been taken down. And here in the. United States, our Department of. Justice, which is sitting on millions of. files, is refusing to act. That is not a. failure. That is a choice. That is a. system built on wealth, inequality and. exploitation of women, of girls, of. children, and a system built to protect. the powerful. That is a system. And it. is a system that Jeffrey Epstein.

developed here in West Palm Beach. And. then it is a system that he he exported. to places like the Virgin Islands, to. New Mexico, and to all of the places. that he operated. And so I want us to think about as we're. moving forward with this investigation, we can investigate all the hundreds or. even thousands of micro decisions that. were made by local police, by sheriffs,

by state police, by the department of. justice, by AGs who chose to turn a. blind eye and not prosecute these. crimes. But the only way we are actually. going to get justice in this case is by. changing the system itself. And that's. exactly what you guys are doing. And. it's powerful. You're literally taking. on the entire world right now and a. system of wealth and inequality. So I want to ask the survivors.

because I feel like you get asked all. the time to retell your stories and I've. read your stories. Anyone can go in the. files and read your stories, but I want. to hear from you what justice would look. like in this case. So maybe starting. here in the end. It's always a sore sore subject because. I'm just like at at this point honestly. I don't think justice will ever be. served in this case. And and.

that's just my experience of the past 20. years that I've dealt with it. Um, if I. were really optimistic and it did, I. think it would be for one, the Crime. Victim's Rights Act, we have to fix that. law. Um, also education in the school. systems. Uh, maybe like with the sex ed. or just there has to be more education. on what grooming is, on what sex.

trafficking is. It's not, you know, I. think a lot of people have a picture in. their head that is just not. reality. Um, and for me being that this happened in. Palm Beach County, I think there needs. to be like a building. And I think that. the f the first 72 hours that a survivor. tells their story and comes forward and. says, "Okay, I'm ready. I'm ready to. tell this." And there it's such a. crucial time. I think there needs to be.

something dedicated in Palm Beach County. to all of our childhoods that were lost. and taken. You know, when we came. forward and we told our stories, man, I. was treated like a criminal from the by. the federal government. And I I just think I guess justice would. be change. I. don't know what justice looks like.

anymore. It's I'm just. blown away that this is our government. that uh is handling this. But justice. would be. like Courtney said, um accountability. These people that did wrong should be. held accountable for what they did to. us. Of course, we know that. But do we. think do I think that is going to truly. happen? Probably not. Look at how this. has gone on. Um but education is so very.

important. Our kids are listening. They're watching this. They're hearing. And for the first time for a lot of. children, this is the first time they. are even hearing about something like. this. And so education is important. If. we [snorts] can't take these bad guys. off the streets, let's teach our kids. how to protect themselves in this. And. so, but I hope the government gets it. together. Maybe we get some justice. >> I think justice starts with passing.

Virginia's law. I think that's a really. great place to start because justice. shouldn't have a time limit, right? I. know at almost 40, like I'm about to. turn 40 this year and uh I'm just able. to look at my abuse. I'm just able to. sit and write it and read it. And so, um, I think there are a lot of survivors. who have never come forward. So, that. would be a start passing Virginia's law, changing the statute of limitations. Um, there's a culture shift that really. needs to happen where the blame needs to.

be placed on the perpetrator and not on. the victim. Similar to Courtney's. experience, my in my experience with law. enforcement, um, I was so terrified and. I did feel like I was being interrogated. the entire time that I was there. I. thought that I was going to go to jail. that day. I was like, my life is over. um it didn't really make me want to talk. to anybody, but the FBI came back to my. home in 2019. Anyway, all to say it was. very threatening feeling. So, having um. an advocate in those spaces would also.

be really important. But, um yeah, just. elevating survivor rights and making. sure that we start with that baseline of. Virginia's law. Yeah. So I come from a different country. and uh I have a job and if you come to. me and you ask me what should I do and. ask question about my job I'll give you. an answer. I appreciate you asking that. question but I don't know that's your. job.

You guys have to figure out how to make. justice, not me. And um you can't give me justice like. this. I when I came to this country, I. thought. something is going to be different and I. am shocked that this is happening here. in United States. You keep on saying. this is the worst case in United States.

but it's not. It's the worst case in the. world. This never happened to me in. other places and I traveled as a model. all over the world. This didn't happen. to me there. It happened to me here. You need to figure it out and I hope you. do. And I hope this never happens again. to any anybody. Keep [clears throat] it. in the history books. Don't stop. fighting. Don't let it go away. I don't. I I wish one day we all can sit there.

and never hear the name, but I also hope. that we will forever so this never. happens again. Good luck. [laughter]. >> Thank you, [applause]. >> Mr. Chairman. I think that says it all. It's our job. So, thank you. >> Thank you so much. Uh, Representative. Frost, >> thank you so much. Um, I want I want to. talk about something very specific. As. we know, Jeffrey Epsteed and abused. women and girls, not just in Florida and.

New York, but internationally, across. the globe. This case [clears throat]. shines a light on the truth of sex. trafficking, and it informs us as. members of Congress, of the changes and. the reforms we need to pursue in many. different areas that sometimes seem. different, but are all connected. I want. to first thank you all for coming here. today, especially the survivors, and. sharing your stories. In many instances, we have seen that traffickers and sexual. predators control employment. opportunities for the people that they. abuse. This happens everywhere from.

working communities to the wealthiest. and the most powerful pockets of. society. Right here, this is from. documents produced to the committee. It. appears to show copies of passports in. Epstein's possession belonging to young. women. We believe many of these are. survivors. Epstein's network is bigger. than what many people understand. and it. stretched across the entire globe. And. we know that Epstein did not act alone. Him and his associates exploited. financial and immigration systems,

broken immigration systems to traffic. women and girls. Epstein helped women. enroll in English language schools, facilitated their admission into. American universities to help them get. uh visas, and help them secure jobs, all. as a premise to get for getting the. women into the United States. We. questioned Epstein's lawyer about this. and his accountant about the sham. marriages which they helped arrange for. immigration purposes. And many of these. women sadly became survivors of.

Epstein's abuse. Thank you. Um Rosa, thank you so much for your very powerful. testimony. Um. why did you why did you come to the. United States? You spoke a little bit. about this. >> I was a model. I came here thinking that. my modeling career is going to be. continued here. I traveled before United. States and I was very successful. When I. was able to escape the ring of Jeffrey.

Epstein, I was a successful model. afterwards. but only after during it I couldn't. >> So you came for opportunity. >> Yes. And and we we told you, right? We. told the entire world, we've told the. entire world, come to the United States. for opportunity. This is a land of. opportunity, where you can be anyone, where you can do anything, right? >> Yes. New York City was a top of a list. for any model traveling and getting a.

contract. >> Rosie, can you help us understand how. Epstein uh Brunell and their associates. use the promises of modeling jobs to. recruit you and other women? >> [sighs]. >> When you enter a modeling, you have a. dream of ending up in walking Victoria's. Secret show or in a cover of Vogue. magazines. So when you're a teenager and. somebody approaches you saying that they. can be there to help you and be your.

word ally, I hate that word really. because that was used many many times in. trying to make me believe that they are. my ally in order to get those jobs. So. naturally. it comes across like these people care. >> and you believe them. Why? Because you. were just a teenager. You It doesn't. look really scary to begin with. So they.

gain your trust and then they put you in. a situation where financially. you can't leave. The the ticket back. home cost $1,300 round trip. I was. giving a $100 a week in New York City to. survive. And if any of you go to New. York City today and try to live of $100, good luck. >> Oh yeah. >> Um Rosa, we also know that EP, you're an.

immigrant and we know that Epstein and. his network also manipulated and. threatened women using their visas or. immigration status. Can you talk about. your experience with this? Every time I. came to my agency or Epstein, which I. didn't know why I came to him, I beg. them to let me go back to other places I. used to model before. On which they. said, why? You're not going to do well. there. So stay here. What do you need? I.

would say job. And then they offered me. job. Um, they didn't give me money to. purchase a ticket and I didn't have a. credit card. I didn't have my parents. sending me money. I couldn't afford a. ticket back. So, they used my dreams. against me saying that it's just the. time and everything is going to be okay. And if I trust them, all my dreams going. to come true.

>> We know that he weaponized. um people's immigration status, right? and the fact that they were immigrants. against them to manipulate them to force. them into um his horrible crimes and and. the horrible things he did to them. There are so many changes that need to. come from this investigation. And I. think it's important that we also. remember immigrant women are. disproportionately impacted by sex. trafficking in the United States. Epstein exploited this broken. immigration system to do these crimes.

Um and I think your story and your. testimony shows that and many of the. other stories and testimonies that we've. heard. This investigation shows us that. we have to fix this system, not just. demonize immigrants. And in a moment. where the same people that are. obstructing this investigation, the same. people who are engaged in the cover up. of this investigation are also the one. demonizing immigrants across this. country, shows us the real truth. that. if we spent a modocum of the money and. energy that this government is using to. go terrorize our communities and round. up innocent people to go after the.

billionaire pedophiles and sex. traffickers and people who have. exploited this broken immigration. system, maybe we'd had some justice. here. And so just thank you so much for. being here and sharing your testimony. I. yield back. [applause]. And now I'll recognize Miss Lee from. Pennsylvania. >> Thank you, ranking member. Um, I want to. start like many by just grounding us in. the people who have uh too often been.

ignored. Survivors like Danny Binsky, who was just 17 when she was lured to. work for Jeffrey Epstein with false. promises that uh and then threatened. with her mother's illness. Rosa who was. trafficked across borders and abused for. years, Courtney Wild who not only. survived abuse but then had to lead a. legal fight for recognition by a. Department of Justice that was supposed. to protect her. And General Lisa Jones. who has sounded the alarm that a poulry.

release of DOJ fouls hints at a possible. probable cover up. I just want to thank. you all for being here, for continuing. to show up, for your continued courage. and your commitment to justice. We. recognize that you are fortunately four. of very very many many more survivors. and I hope you know that your presence. today means us uh means to survivors. across this country how important it is. to them. For decades survivors have. worked in good faith with law. enforcement to try to expose Epstein and. his co-conspirators only to have their.

interests and their needs ignored. from. a bogus nonprosecu uh prosecution. agreement way back in 2008 to the. inexcusable release of personal. identifying information from Pam Bondi. and Todd Blanch's DOJ. The DOJ seems. perfectly capable of concealing the. names of these rich and these powerful. folks in the fouls that have been. released. But they did not give that. same level of care to the actual. survivors. And here in Florida, Alex. Aosta spent more time cutting the deal.

with Kenneth Star, Alan Darowitz, and. other well-connected lawyers working for. Epstein and with Epstein, >> then he did actually listening to. survivors. This sweetheart deal enabled. Epste to continue abusing survivors. while he was out on work release, as. we've heard. The DOJ has failed to. indict any other perpetrator of sex. trafficking beyond Epstein and Maxwell. despite all the complaints and the. reports that other individuals were. implicated involved including from. survivors themselves who have named.

these people. They seem to have no plans. to do so. So s top blanch stating that. the Epstein vows quote should not be a. part of anything going forward unquote. is where we need uh to spend a little. time. This is a glaring proof of a. two-tier justice uh system of justice in. this country. Mr. Cuban, the saga began. with a failure at the state level when. prosecutors declined to fully pursue. justice against Jeffrey Epste. Right. >> Correct. >> You represented one of the first. survivors in Florida. We saw a. nonprosecution agreement that showed at.

Epste and protected his associates. Can. you explain why that agreement was so. unusual and how harmful it was? So, first of all, as I said before, it. was unusual because ordinarily the US. attorney's office would consult with. counsel for the victims and talk about. the potential charges that they're going. to bring. And they never did that. They. kept it secret. They would not answer. phone calls. When I was able to get. through to the US attorney at the time, who was Maria Vilifa, uh she said, "I can't talk to you.". Second, it was so unusual because it not.

only gave immunity to Jeffrey Epste, who. is the target of their investigation, but it gave immunity to co-conspirators. without prosecution of those. co-conspirators or even a hint of. prosecution of four specifically named. co-conspirators. Lastly, the most unusual part of that. deal was that they added the phrase. unnamed co-conspirators. I have never in. 30 years doing this ever seen a. nonprosecution agreement so broad as to. say that they're giving immunity to.

unnamed individuals. It was a gift. >> Miss Wow, really quickly. You can you. tell us more about those emails between. Epstein lawyers and the prosecutors and. what made them seem different from what. you would think a typical plea uh. negotiation would look like? >> Yes, ma'am. when we when me and Brad. Edwards uh were able to we got the. emails, it was literally friends there. Hey, they were meeting at Starbucks. They were meeting off the record, wherever they wanted. Um these were. friends literally negotiating.

how much time, what it would look like, what the charges were going to look. like, what they were going to say during. the grand jury. It was it was all. scripted. It was all set up. Cover up. I. just want to say really quickly, does. any survivor feel have have you felt. protected or seen or heard by the. government? >> No, ma'am. Just know my none of my the. redactions none of my information had. been redacted. >> This is about a system that asks.

survivors to carry the burden of proof, the burden of patience, the burden of. pain. While people with wealth and power. are given time and protection and. silence. Well, we're here today because. of Jeffrey Epste. Sexual abuse survivors. across this country know all too well. that he is not an anomaly. But he's a. high-profile example of a system that. too often works exactly as designed to. shield abusers and silence those that. they harm. So, to all of the survivors, the fierce attorney advocates who are. with us here today, I just want to thank. you for coming forward. Despite the many. frustrations, the threats, the dangers, and the setbacks that you've.

experienced, we have a responsibility to. all survivors who are still waiting, to. the ones who have never gotten justice, and to the ones watching right now to. say that this ends here. And we take. that very seriously. I thank you all so. much and I yield back. Thank you so much. [applause]. Thank you so much, Miss Lee. And now I. am going to recognize myself for five. minutes. Um, I've been smiling probably more than I. am supposed to as I've sat here because.

y'all bring me so much joy. And let me. tell you why. The reason is this. It's. because in spite or despite this. incompetent government, y'all have not. backed down. For some people, it is the. very first time that they're seeing your. faces. But you have been there when no. cameras are rolling. You have been there. for decades and you are still showing. up. The reality is that you are not a.

child in this moment, but you know that. other children. are potentially being subjected to. something similar in this exact moment. And it is your courage that is. contagious. We don't have that. unfortunately in Congress. We got a. bunch of cowards. [laughter]. But your courage is contagious. Think about it this way. One of the. things that I really want to clarify. because I have had an opportunity to. hear some of your stories and meet with. some of you in person and behind closed.

doors. A lot of people who potentially are not. on the right side of history right now. One of the common questions that they. ask is how is it that this could have. happened to so many people yet when you. were going through your experience you. failed to see anybody else or know. anything else and you thought that you. were all alone and I know that that is. something you have told me directly. So. for the people that are watching and.

they're hearing numbers like man. thousands of girls but at the same time. they're hearing you know what I never. saw anything else. whoever feels most comfortable if you. will because for me I don't think that I. have that much confidence in the. government overall doing what's right. for the right reason but it is the. pressure from outside. >> It is you going out there and being.

courageous that has made the people rise. up. That is why we were able to get some. kind of movement. And so I want to build. more allies for this movement right now. So, if any of you would like to answer. that question, >> um, [clears throat] thank you for that. first of all, but I think it starts with. our young people knowing that they need. to speak up because for me, I think, um,

I was pit against a friend of mine that. went together to Jeffrey the first time. and he was very good at using the. manipulation to hold us there. Um, and. so I felt like I couldn't tell anybody. and I didn't tell anybody. So, I think. it starts with the youngest. You know, if if an experience feels off to have a. young person speak out and talk to even. just a friend about that and then say to. that friend, "Hey, is this happening to. you?" Then the two of them can talk to. an adult and then we're we're already. making change because we're already.

taking it out of the dark. I think the. secrecy was the hardest part in my own. abuse. Um, and meeting all of the. survivor sisters in September absolutely. changed my whole life. And so I do think. if you can find community and if you can. find the people who boost you um it's. really important but it starts with our. youngest survivors. >> Thank you so much for that. And and in. fact you brought up young survivors. You. know a quick question that I have for. each of you is do you believe that a.

child has the ability to consent to sex? >> No. No. >> Okay. [clears throat]. >> Interestingly enough most of the time. our laws whether they're state or. federal acknowledge that as well. But I. have a transcript and I won't go through. it, but um it relates to the case that. stemmed out of here where they were. trying to make it seem as if a child's. victim was a criminal. >> That was the focus of their questioning. So it is so frustrating because. literally when I was in the state house. in Texas, this is one of the things that.

I actually worked on was making sure we. changed the actual language in the code. specifically as we talked about child. victims. Um, so that brings me to kind of where we. are on the federal level and I'm gonna. wrap up because the time I want to make. sure we stay on time. Um, my colleagues. have been so my colleagues are nicer. than I am. I'm going to be real. [laughter]. They've used words like cover up. choice.

For me, it's obstruction of justice. It's real clear. And that's just the. lawyer in me. This is pure obstruction. Anyone else that would engage in this. type of behavior would be charged with. obstruction of justice. Yet somehow. because it's the Department of Justice, the ones that are supposed to enforce. justice and law in this country, we're. not calling it a thing a thing, but. that's what it is. And so it is my hope. that we understand that while these. survivors have taken the time to come.

out and some of them were out it. unlawfully. and absolutely need to have some. semblance of justice because of that. illegal outing because our law was very. clear. >> to be clear about that. Um I need people. to understand that we all have a role to. play. People in this moment keep asking, "What is it that I can do?" Well, I'mma. be partisan as well because they not.

being partisan. The Republicans could. have shown up today, too. They didn't. So, let me be clear. I am going to be. full on partisan. You have to vote. If. you care about this, you have to vote. and you have to understand who is. fighting for you. There are certain. things that were always a basic kind of. standard in this country for what was. right. We protected the most vulnerable. amongst us. We're not doing that. nowadays. We made sure that we believed in quote. unquote law and order, but we're not.

doing that nowadays. It is time to wake up. It is time for us. all to do our part because again, I'mma. be partisan because only the Democrats. decided to show up today. So, with that, I will yield. And my next. >> Okay, they're making me skip down. That's what you need to. >> Okay. Well, we going to head to. Virginia. [laughter]. It's your turn. >> And thank you. I want to thank you all.

for being here today and thank all the. people in the audience here today. And I. will just say that it's because of you. that we had the Epstein Files. Transparency Act passed and the. president himself had to sign it into. law begrudgingly while in the background. trying to figure out how to break it. later on. And uh it's because of you. that we were able to issue an August. subpoena led by Representative Lee and. they still haven't complied with that. subpoena, but it's because of you we got. that far. It's because of you that they. won't even hold hearings, real hearings. in the oversight committee on anything.

anymore because they're afraid we will. subpoena more people about Epstein files. and Epstein transparency act. So just. think about where you've gotten us. I. know it's not enough. It may never be. enough. someone mentioned before, but I. just want to thank you for getting us. this far. And I know there are a lot of. girls and women around the country and. around the world who thank you as well. Uh, one of the things that has driven me. crazy is that there's millions of files. that have still not been released. And. so this question really is for anyone,

but one of the things that I I remember. hearing from many of the survivors last. year was you'd at least like your own. files files, your own witness. statements. Has anyone received your own. files? >> No. >> So, no one has received your own files. And has the Trump administration talked. to you about potentially giving you. those files? I'm seeing everyone say no. And um did they ever talk to you about. uh which files they were withholding and.

why they would withhold them or consult. with you about that? I'm seeing everyone. shake their heads as well in the. audience and and all the witnesses we. have today. And uh so I guess I would. ask then, you know, we're going to be. talking to uh someone next week, Pam. Bondi. And so um do you have any. suggestions on what we should ask her. tomorrow? [laughter]. >> We can start on Miss Wild or anyone. who'd like to answer that. >> I think there's a lot to ask her, right? But um.

[sighs]. do we believe anything that's just going. to come out of her mouth? >> Let's pretend. Yes. >> Yeah. Okay. Um I I definitely Why? Who. are who are we covering for? Like you. were willing to lose your job. to cover up for these people. What do. they have on you? >> Because I'd like to know. You're a. woman. You're a mother. and you look at us and couldn't even.

look at the survivors. So, what's your. part in this? >> Can I add to that? Um, process. What was. the process? And we would ask the same. of Todd Blanch. What was the process for. moving Kean Maxwell? >> I could actually speak to three very. specific things that you should ask her. Number one, there was hours of video. surveillance taken by the lead. investigator at the time outside of the. home watching people go in and out of.

the house that has yet to be released. and we know it exists from the probable. cause affidavit. Secondly, back in. October of 2003, there is record. evidence that there were surveillance. inside the home because cash was stolen. from Mr. Epstein by one of his workers. and Sarah Kellen showed police that. video from inside the home. That means. surveillance cameras in fact existed in. the home. Where is that video? And then. lastly, Maxwell photographed everything. She loved taking photographs of people.

That was her passion. They have not. released even a fraction of the. photographs that Maxwell took. >> Um, so I'm just going to add on to. Danny's point about process and be a. little more specific. So what transpired. um in advance of the files being. released were a number of the lawyers. who are in this room provided DOJ with. lists of names. I think one lawyer.

provided about 300 names and those names. got released in the first batch. Many of. those names got released in the first. batch of um of files when they were. dumped. They the lawyer went back and. said, "These names need to be redacted.". I'm just going to use Danny's as an. example. I hope that's okay, Danny. Um, so the her lawyer went back and said, "Redact Danny Benky's name.". >> There there's a lot that this.

investigation needs to do to do just. that. And so what I can say with. certainty is that. what the inspiration for this work looks. like and I'm looking at it. I'm looking. at all of you. I'm looking at every. single survivor known and unknown. that continues to inspire us to do this. work. And I thank you. for being here. We do not take that. lightly that you've agreed to be here.

today and share your stories and being. honest about why this matters because as. my colleague said, this administration. has made it harder, not easier, for you. to be here, but you are in our. inspiration and we appreciate you. Thank. you. >> Thank you, Congressman. Uh, next up is. Representative Min. >> Uh, thank you to the survivors for. appearing here today. Uh, Miss Wild, uh, Miss Jones, Miss Benky, Rosa, uh, Mr. Roberts, Miss Roberts, uh, your.

testimonies are powerful and extremely. heart-wrenching. And we're sitting right. now just 2.8 miles from the Epstein. estate where so much of this took place, four miles from Mara Lago, where Jeffrey. Epstein spent so much of his time. And I. don't think it's lost on any of us up. here uh how much courage you all are. showing in being here today in sharing. your stories because as we begin to. unravel the threads of the Epstein files. uh we are seeing just how broad and deep. this conspiracy goes and and you number.

of you have talked about the threats you. face and that must be incredibly. frightening. Uh many of the world's. richest and most powerful men are. implicated and they have directly. perpetrated a decadesl long cover up. Even after we were able to pass the. Epstein Files Transparency Act over the. maneuvering and objections, I'd add of. President Trump, then Attorney General. Pam Bondi, and Speaker Mike Johnson, uh. the rich and at powerful were still able. to pervert justice with the DOJ refusing. to turn over 50% of the documents in. their possession, redacting the names of.

the perpetrators while releasing. personal information about many of you. uh revictimizing the survivors and. that's outrageous and we damn for damn. sure need to ask Pam Bondi what the hell. happened here and why she chose to. revictimize survivors when she appears. before us next week. Mr. Hirsh, I want. to start Miss Hersh, I want to start. with you real quickly. Are you aware of. any instance where the DOJ contacted. survivors before they released personal. identifying information about the. survivors last year? Um, the DOJ did not contact survivors.

directly, but we at World Without. Exploitation did reach out to DOJ and. reach out. >> They did return a phone call, but when. we asked them to speak with survivors, that never happened. And that's. outrageous because the DOJ is supposed. to represent justice for people who are. victims of crime, not revictimizing. them, not protecting the perpetrators of. crime. And what's at stake today for you. all and the hundreds of other women who.

were trafficked and abused by Jeffrey. Epstein, Gain Maxwell, and their. associates is justice for you, but also. the idea that there's one rule of law. for everybody. Uh that we don't have one. set of rules for the rich and powerful, the Epstein elites, and another that. applies to the rest of us. Uh, as I've. said before, I spent my career fighting. for the rule of law. This is very. important to me. Uh, I also started my. career at the Securities and Exchange. Commission proceeding corporate fraud. Uh, then taught banking law at UC. Irvine. And I also know that following. the money is the first rule of tracking.

down any kind of major criminal. conspiracy. Uh, and as I just want to. reiterate the points that were made. earlier by Rep. Christian Murthy by you, Miss Roberts. Uh that we need to follow. the money that uh Epstein survivors have. sued and won settlements from a number. of large financial institutions. including Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Deutsche Bank uh hundreds of. millions of dollars. Uh we need to get. the SARS reports from Treasury. We need. the SEC, Treasury, and the banking. regulators uh to investigate and. potentially prosecute uh anyone or any.

institution that was complicit in. covering up or help helping facilitate. the Epstein trafficking ring. Now, Mr. Kovven, you've stated previously that. Epstein would never have been able to. get away with this horrendous crimes uh. without the complexity of banks, the big. banks, and and back in 2023, you stated, "I've always said that he would never be. able to molest these young girls without. the banks and the money behind it." Uh. could you briefly elaborate on what you. meant when you said that? >> Correct. Um so we found during our. original litigation back at the.

inception that he was pulling out large. amounts of cash and transferring funds. back and forth and large amounts of cash. were coming out of the banks. There were. never any questions that were being. asked of him at the time. And in fact, as I alluded to before, even back in. 2003, he had envelopes filled with cash. that he even reported to police that had. been stolen from his home. and the banks. appeared to be working with him, not. questioning him because of all of the. money he was moving through those. institutions. >> It is a damn shame that the Department.

of Justice and the FBI have never. followed this thread, even though it's. something that is very, very important. I will just add that House Oversight. Democrats have worked with Chairman Comr. to issue subpoenas for Deutsche Bank and. JP Morgan. Uh, but we're seeking. subpoenas for an additional 21 banks. Uh, I think this is going to be really, really important. Another important. piece of evidence that has not been. followed up on is the camera evidence, the computer files as uh the lead. attorney at the time, Maria Vilfuena, had referred to. Uh now, you had. mentioned, Mr. Kovven, that you saw a. number of cameras uh in the estate. Uh.

that would potentially have a lot of. damning footage. Can you describe what. cameras you saw and how how many where. they were located in the estate? >> Right. So, uh, after we originally filed. the first case here in Palm Beach for. one of the victims, um, I was granted an. opportunity by the court to go on. property at Epstein's home and do a site. inspection. There were spots within the. home, both in the bedrooms and the. massage area and other areas of the. home, where you could see mounting. brackets where cameras used to be. And.

then there were CPU or computer units. that have been taken away. And then I. was able to verify back in 2003, as I. said, that Sarah Kellen had actually. shown internal footage to the police. department back then of someone that was. had allegedly taken money. So there was. verifiable evidence that cameras were in. fact in the home. Lastly, I represented. a client in Manhattan who when she was. brought to the home in Manhattan saw the. entire network of cameras that was being.

utilized in the Manhattan mansion. None. of that video has been released today. >> And in fact, lead attorney, I'll just. close with this. Maria Vilfuena, had. said that that was a smoking gun, this. evidence. They knew exactly where it. was. And Alex Aosta, who was then the US. attorney, refused to investigate this or. actually seek to have this turned over. I want to thank you all again. Uh thank. you for your courage and being here. today. >> That I yield back. >> Thank Thank you, Congressman. Uh next is. Representative Randall. >> Thank you, Mr. Ranking Member, and thank. you to each of you for being here today.

I especially want to thank those of you. who shared your stories about surviving. unimaginable abuse. We thank you for. your immense bravery, which we do over. and over again, but also for your. willingness to relive your trauma in. pursuit of justice. I know you've waited far too long and. are still waiting. You are seen and. heard by every member of Congress in.

this room. And we will make sure that. your stories are not ignored. Former Attorney General Bondi literally. kept her back turned away from a room. full of survivors. We've seen the photo. We are here to do the opposite. We are. here. to walk alongside you and to shine a. light on the stories that you have. shared over and over. We'll keep. fighting for truth, for transparency,

and an end to this shameless DOJ cover. up of all the information relating to. the heinous crimes of this Epstein case. DOJ's document productions to date have. released very little new information. about Epstein's co-conspirators. In. fact, we know that there are more than. 2.5 million documents still hidden. But. unfortunately, as we have heard today, recent releases have exposed private and. personal identifying information of.

survivors. DOJ has created serious risk to safety. for survivors and published names and. photographs, some of them very explicit. Survivors. have also shared with the committee that. in multiple instances, as we heard again. today, loved ones didn't know that you. had been abused by Epstein until that. information was released publicly.

Every oversight Democrat sent Pom Pam. Bondi a letter back in February to. express alarm at DOJ for publishing. survivor names and photographs thousands. of times while taking special care to. redact information that could be crucial. for bringing justice and holding. perpetrators of abuse accountable. The. sheer amount of personal identifiable. information released after survivors got. assurances from DOJ that they would be. protected raises the question of whether.

this is just incompetence. or far more likely. deliberate witness intimidation. Miss Benky, you have spoken about this. about the harm of DOJ's sloppy Epstein. file release that has caused you and. other survivors. You spoke about your. own name being released despite repeated. requests to redact it. Will you share. again for us for the record what that. experience meant to you and other.

survivors to have your information be. exposed? >> Yeah, I mean I I am public. That's a. choice that I made. Um but never in my. life did I expect for anybody to read. intimate details of abuse. Um to me it's. always been about protecting others and. um you know unfortunately I have friends. in this story and to see somebody's name. out there who has worked so hard to move. past this in life um is something it.

sends a shock wave through your body. It. hits you like reading your own name in. the file first just like I, you know, I. went into the files thinking I would. have to look pretty hard to find things, type my last name in and everything came. up, right? >> And it's like there's like a hot flash. moment, right? It hits you sort of like. a bullet to the chest where you're like, "Oh my god, it's that feeling of like. that PTSD is real, right?" So the PTSD. of um the trauma that I endured. definitely came back and then you're.

reading on and then you see more and you. see survivors being outed a survivor. that I had said you know don't ever. worry you've always been a Jane Doe. So. um and to feel the impact of that is. something that I will carry forever. >> I um I'm sorry. I ju I feel like you. deserve an apology from your government. and you know as Democratic members of. Congress we are here to continue to work.

with you but I also know that we. absolutely have to fight for better. we. have to fight to pass Virginia's law. And um I know Congresswoman Frankle. wanted us to share that she's also been. working on the um Courtney Wild. Reinforcing Crime Victim's Rights Act to. ensure that those rights that you are. owed are actually upheld. that we work. with survivors. um to inform you about any prosecutorial.

agreements to ensure that folks know. what rights you are awarded and. deserved. And we will continue to. investigate and to fight for all of you, but also for every survivor and every. young person who is being victimized. around the world. Thank you. I yield. back. >> Thank you, Congresswoman. Uh Rep. Representative Ansari. >> Thank you, Ranking Member. President. Trump, former Attorney General Pam. Bondi, and acting attorney general Todd.

Blanch promised truth and transparency. regarding the Epstein files. They have. instead led the most egregious coverup. in American history. Despite their. public assurances, Pam Bondi released. Epstein files at an excruciatingly slow. pace. And when she did, as we heard in. powerful testimony today, protected the. names of rich and powerful men who. committed the crimes while revealing the. identities of survivors. In March of.

2026, the DOJ admitted that it withheld. almost 48,000 files from public release, including allegations against President. Trump. The Trump Epstein administration. continues to try to cover it up to this. day. President Trump has said most. recently that we should stop wasting. time and energy on the Epstein files. He's called the fight for the release of. the files and transparency and I quote, "a hoax.". Abuse and trafficking of thousands of. minors is not a hoax. Abuse and sexual.

exploitation of women is not a hoax. Survivors deserve the truth and the. American public deserves the truth. Miss Jones, you have said that you, and. I quote, put your hope in President. Donald Trump and that you believe that. he would do right by the survivors. Now, do you believe that he has broken. his promise? >> He's broken many promises. >> Thank you. I want to remind everyone.

that former Congresswoman Marjorie. Taylor Green alleges that during a phone. call, President Trump told her that if. he was to release the Epstein files, and. I quote, "My friends are going to get. hurt." And now the Trump Department of. Justice that is responsible for. overseeing the release of the Epstein. files claims that there is nothing more. to investigate in the Epstein case. Todd. Blanch met with Galileain Maxwell, Epstein's accomplice, before moving her.

to a cushy, minimal security prison. It. is so ridiculous and insulting. So far, only Epstein and Maxwell have. been prosecuted for sex trafficking, and. there has never been a full accounting. of Epstein's financial crimes or. additional prosecutions of suspected. co-conspirators. Last month, acting attorney general Todd. Blanch said, and I quote, "From the. information that we have within the. Epstein files, we do not have a case. against anybody.".

Miss Jones, based on your experience or. based on what you have seen in the. files, do you believe the statement to. be true? >> Absolutely not. >> Miss Benky, based on your own. experiences or what you have seen in the. files, do you believe the statement to. be true? >> No. Miss Wild, I'd like to ask you the. same question. >> No. >> And Rosa, lastly, I'd like to ask you. the same. >> No. >> Thank you. I yield back.

>> Thank you, Congresswoman. I'd like to. now have uh Representative Walkenshaw. >> Thank you, Ranking Member, and thank you. all for being here. uh walking into this. room and telling your stories again. takes tremendous courage and I've I've. heard a lot of the stories from. survivors and like everybody I'm struck. by the courage the commitment to justice. for Epstein Maxwell and everyone.

involved in these crimes but I'm most. struck by your commitment to protecting. every child and every potential victim. of sexual abuse or assault. Epstein. Maxwell and their co-conspirators. shattered lives. They targeted. vulnerable women and girls, objectifying. and attempting to silence them. They. were protected by their wealth, their. power, their privilege. We can see it. here in Palm Beach. And as we've heard. today, their ability to commit these.

crimes reflects a systemic and. intentional failure by the very. institutions meant to protect you. Our. government lets you down when you. deserve protection and justice for the. crimes that were committed against you. And we're here today to try to do our. part to correct some of these failures. And we're not going to stop until the. truth comes out, the extent of the. crimes, the involvement of all of the.

co-conspirators is revealed. I want to. focus on two patterns that have emerged. today. First, Epstein and Maxwell. weaponizing immigration status and. travel documents against survivors, confiscating passports, holding visas. hostage to trap women and girls in their. orbit. And then when survivors like. yourselves were brave enough to speak. up, our justice system ignoring you, reinforcing the sense that there was.

nowhere safe for you to turn. Rosa, Miss Wild, thank you for being here. today. I want to ask you both just a. couple questions related to these. patterns. Rosa, can you tell us again. how Epstein used your visa status as. leverage to keep you under his control? >> 01 visa is a visa for an individual with. extraordinary abilities and it takes a.

lot of documents to obtain that visa. I. have helped um one individual to obtain. similar visa and I learned the amount of. documents needed to be gathered. Looking. back at my case now, I did not have s. like documents to obtain that visa. I am. 100% sure of that. Um my agency being. able to obtain that visa for me in such. a short time which is was less than 6. months. It's a miracle. You try to do. that right now, you won't be able to. M.

>> I want to know. how. >> and I it's impossible. So I knew that my. visa was linked to him and if he is. unpleased I would be sent back. >> And are you aware of Epstein using. similar tactics against other women or. girls? I have personally met a foreigner girl. at his mansion in West Palm Beach and I.

have personally have not seen a. foreigner come forward to tell the story. and I hope my case will bring more. people out in front because there are. many other people who speak broken. English or don't speak English at all. who can take tell their stories. >> Thank you Miss Wild. You were 14 as you. testified when you first encountered Mr. Epste. Is this you? >> Yes. >> A child?

>> Yes. >> I just want to go back to the DOJ. investigation and the sweetheart deal. for Epstein and ask you, were you told. by the Department of Justice that your. case was still being investigated. even after Alex Aosta signed off on. Epstein's plea deal? >> Yes. Uh they sent me a paper in the. mail, my attorneys have it, um that. saying it was going to be a lengthy. process and that, you know, they were.

doing everything that they could um to. put him away. But at that time when the. letter was uh dated, it had already been. signed, the non-prosecution agreement, >> you learned later that they had already. signed the deal. >> Yes. >> So that letter they sent you was a lie. They lied to you. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Thank you. Thank you both. I yield. back. Thank you, Congressman. Uh, next up is. Representative Presley. >> Uh, thank you to Congresswoman Lois.

Frankle. Uh, thank you to Ranking Member. Garcia, to Congresswoman Summer Lee. Your efforts have made today possible. And of course, uh, thanks to our. courageous survivors. Uh, I've been on this committee since I. was a freshman and Elijah Cummings, the. great Elijah Cummings, our chair at the. time, would often remind us that the. role of the committee on oversight, our. mandate is to be an efficient and. effective pursuit of the truth. Now, that pursuit.

is what brings House Democrats here. today because instead of Epstein's. victims being met with efficiency, they've been met with obstruction and. delays. by law enforcement and by the Department. of Justice. Instead of Epstein's uh. victims uh being met with effectiveness, they've been met with systemic coverup. and I would add cowardice of those who. were intimidated um by the power and the.

privilege of Jeffrey Epstein, Gelain. Maxwell and their co-conspirators. So today we are here to shine a light. because sunlight is the best. disinfectant. We are here to shine a light on the. corruption. uh on the failures of this. investigation. But most of all, we are. here to center the survivors,

to center the courageous. Survivors who are grown women before. you, but who were children. Children. whose innocence was corrupted, whose bodies were violated, whose dreams. were destroyed, whose lives were. irrevocably changed. Maria, Courtourtney, Jenna, Lisa, Danny, Rosa,

and Sky and Amanda. here for Virginia. We thank you. Congress enacted the Crime Victim's. Rights Act in 2004. to mandate specific obligations for the. Department of Justice to ensure that. survivors are protected, informed, and. able to heal. Now, Mr. Kubin, you've. spent decades representing survivors and. fighting for transparency around the. federal government's handling of their. cases. Can you speak to how the federal.

government violated. [snorts] after their bodies were. violated? After their dreams, their. dignity, their lives were violated, how. were their rights violated? It was our understanding after the. release of documents and the bravery of. Miss Wild here at the end and her case. that was brought and the final. disclosure of all those documents, it. showed that the federal government and. the state attorney's office colluded. together to not bring an indictment.

because they knew that if they did then. the Crime Victim's Rights Act would then. be triggered and they would have to. inform the victims of what they were. doing. So what we learned was they. intentionally kept it out of the hands. of victims so that the victims couldn't. uh object or have any say in the process. by secretly doing this deal that they. did. Uh and the federal judge uh very. brave federal judge me found that there.

was a violation of the act here in the. southern district and unfortunately. because the way the law was written. there was absolutely no way to get them. any justice or any remedy as a result. >> That's right. So they weren't notified, they were not consulted. They were not. given the opportunity to participate in. proceedings that directly affected their. lives and their safety. These rights are. supposed to be guaranteed by the Crime. Victim's Rights Act. Now, would any. survivors like to speak to any examples. uh to share about how the federal. government ignored or neglected your.

case? I see the clock is ticking here. Would anyone else like to speak to that? Um h how about this? Let me just say. this. As a survivor myself, I know that. this is not only about your safety that. you were robbed of, your innocence, and. your dreams. Survivors are also forced. to carry the financial burden of abuse, lost wages, housing instability, medical. expenses, legal fees, security costs, trauma that impacts your daily life. Could any of you speak to that? >> Everybody. [laughter].

>> We have put ourselves on the front line. and spoke out and put our face to the. public when we should have never had to. And that comes with a huge toll. Now. every job that we apply for, they Google. us. They know our most. personal information of things that. happened to us as children. That is forever, forever going to follow.

us. We don't get that back. We don't get. that luxury. So that is just the one one. of the most important things that comes. with the weight of this all because the. government couldn't do their job. >> May I like I heard this before from the. survivors. I'm a really cool person if. you meet me outside of here. I have a. life stories.

but these um release of documents made. me. something else and I I can't do task. daily task without certain help and I. have a support system and I'm grateful. for it but if I didn't I don't think I. would be here today alive. So it's. really hard. I I want to tell the world. like it's hard to be here today. I'm.

very uncomfortable. I'm trying to look like I'm okay, but. I'm not okay. >> Yes. Would anyone else like to speak to. the financial burden of abuse? Lost. wages, housing instability, medical. expenses, legal fees, security costs? Um, [clears throat] so I I was gonna. when I was younger, when I we met I met. Jeffrey, I w I experienced a lot of. [clears throat] homelessness. So I think. I misunderstood your question, but I was.

>> You can say whatever you would like. >> Yes, ma'am. I was just going to say. that, you know, just like you were. walking over the bridge, you know, a. 14-year-old going to Palm Beach. It was. like as soon as you go over that bridge, you just feel the money and power. And. it's just such a contrast. If you go. down Okachobee to Okachobee in the. turnpike, there's a call a road called. Drexel and it's a mobile home street. There's a lot of That's where I came. That's where I was from. So to go from.

here to there, it is just, you know, it's so confusing. I was homeless. My. parents had addiction problems. You. know, he prayed. He knew what he was. doing. It was all very calculated, you. know. And then later on, the fact that. he used those things against me, we had. the feds pulling up our MySpaces, treating us like criminals because we. were at a party at 16 and 17 drinking,

you know, rather than going out. They. had So for me, it's just it's a it's so. sad that he pray he knew who he prayed. on. He prayed on young, especially in. Palm Beach County. He pa he prayed on us. kids who came from troubled backgrounds. and everything else and they portrayed. us as these underage prostitutes which. is that is that a real charge [laughter].

>> is is it like what was the statue number. um um on his charge that he took Spence. Spencer should right is [laughter] that. a real charge. >> it was bizarre to us even at the time. But um you know it made absolutely no. sense and the statutory guidance was. very questionable given that they were. minors. But speaking to representatives. question specifically and representing. survivors over the last 30 years now um.

you know it affects not just the. survivor, it affects their family. It. affects the way they raise their own. children if they have daughters. Um it. affects their mental stability and. ability to maintain employment. um you. know, try telling a survivor they've got. to pay a lawyer for 20 years straight if. they want to get justice. It's. impossible, especially with a law that. doesn't provide any remedy. So, they've. got to seek out victims advocates that. are willing to do it for free. And there. aren't many of those, especially none.

that want to do it for 20 plus years to. fight. So, the financial ramifications. of of being a victim, especially of. somebody with unlimited resources, is. dramatic. >> Can I add to that? I think also to. continue this fight. Like we're all here. right now and this isn't the only thing. I'm sure we're all doing this week to. talk about getting the messaging out. Advocacy is expensive. Therapy and. healing is expensive, you know, and we. there's no time to work because honestly.

we got to change it for our kids because. I don't want to raise my kid in a world. like this right now. So. >> yeah, I'll just close out with one one. point to Courtney to to your question. about these prostitution charges. We. need to eliminate the prostitution. charges from the books altogether. We. absolutely should be holding sex buyers. accountable for the harm they cause. But. people in prostitution should not be. criminalized for being in prostitution.

because the vast majority of them are. not there by choice. They're there. because of lack of circumstances, poverty, other vulnerabilities. And what. we see so often is that traffickers. deliberately use that notion that the. women and girls will be arrested for. prose prostitution as a tactic. It is. the number one tactic in order to make. sure that survivors, victims are too.

terrified and too traumatized to talk. So, we've got a lot of work to do. >> and and I just want to again I thank you. all and thank you for being prescriptive. with a number of the the legislative uh. responses to address uh these systemic. harms. I I'll just say that there is no. amount of compensation that could ever. fully account uh for what. was stolen, but every single survivor certainly. deserves much more than sympathy. And. that is the work that I'm committed to. doing alongside of you uh legislatively.

Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Congresswoman. I'd like to. turn over now to Representative Frankl. >> Thank you. [clears throat] Thank you. again for being here. And let me just. start with Courtney. You and I met many, many years ago. And uh just to let you. know, I took for heart what you said and. myself and colleagues, Democratic. Women's Caucus, we f have filed a billy. years in a row named after you to make.

sure we can get uh the these rights that. you talked about. And the the uh the. Courtney Wild Bill. would assert that the victims of federal. crimes are entitled to all the rights. guaranteed under the original crime. victim rights act regardless of if the. charges are filed in court and then it. lists out a whole set of criteria. So I. want to thank you for your bravery. We're still trying to get that bill. passed. It's a little difficult under.

the circumstances, but we're going to. keep trying and and thank you so much. for your persistence. Yes. [applause]. Now, I want to tell everybody, I don't. think I was able to tell you exactly why. it took so long to have this hearing in. Palm Beach County because I think many. of us al always believe there are three. witnesses who have been missing who must. be asked the question. Why did Jeffrey Epstein get the deal.

that he got? And why were the survivors. so mistreated in the grand jury room? And those people are Barry Krish. >> who was a state attorney, Lana Bev. Levik, I don't know if I'm saying that. name right, she was one of the. prosecutors in that grand jury, and Mary. Anne Dugan, who was one of the. prosecutors. I've requested for many. years that those people be subpoenaed. Uh we almost had an opportunity uh in. 2019. Karen Maloney was the chair before.

uh of our oversight committee when. Democrats were in charge. We actually. scheduled to have a this hearing here. Uh and what happened was the justice uh. uh department had engaged the Maxwell. prosecution and they said they would not. allow survivors to testify. So that's. why this and that's was correct. actually. So that that's what happened. and then uh political circumstances.

changed but uh we we need to get to the. bottom of this and I really my next. question really was for you Mr. Couan. Thank you so much for all you've done. for the justice system. Can you give us. any insight opinion. why these charges were so watered down? Was it power? Were the attorneys. was the state attorney here? Let's start. with Barry Krisher because he could have. stopped it right away, right? Could have. stopped it right away. Was he. overpowered? Was he sweet? What.

happened? >> I think all of the above. Unfortunately, the system is political here and he was. an elected representative. And after my. client went forward to police and the. investigation began, we saw a fullcourt. press, meaning that Epstein hired his. lawyer from Miami, Roy Black. He hired. Alan Dersowitz. He hired Mr. Lewitz from. New York. And they all swarmed into Palm. Beach County and they met with Barry.

Krisher with all kinds of information. that was just an attempt to smear. victims. Uh they called them liars. They. called them young uh you know. prostitutes. As um Courtney stated, they. were pulling up MySpace pages of these. girls and then they were talking about. the parade of horribles that could. happen to Mr. Krisher and they were. doing this in the history unfortunately. of this county. Many may forget that.

there was a failed prosecution of a rape. here in Palm Beach County from one of. the um Kennedys. >> Yes. And there was a huge publicity um. problem associated with that on a. political basis. And I know that Barry. Krisher was aware of that. And I think. he saw his career going up in flames if. he were to prosecute these. So I think. he was looking for an out. And as a. result, I think that's why he tanked the. grand jury investigation. >> Well, what a bad excuse. I think perhaps.

his uh career should have gone up in. flames. Really? I mean, look, I'm taking. the personalities out of this. Uh, I I. would suggest not only did the lawyers. put pressure on him, but I would assume. that he got many phone calls. Is that. correct from you want to add to that? >> We have no doubt that um a number of. phone calls were made politically. In. fact, chief writer at the time who I. spoke with and in sworn deposition.

testimony stated that he in fact was so. concerned that he asked Mr. Aosta. directly is he a protected informant. So. just you mentioned Chief Ryder because I. think it's always good to identify the. good guys and Chief Ryder who originally. brought this case was appalled with what. Krish was doing here and ironically he. ended up taking the case to the US. attorney. who didn't do much better. What happened.

there? Was it the same type of pressure? Yeah, it was even higher pressure at. that point because then Kenar got. involved as well on Epstein's team and. we all know that name from history. Um, and there were huge uh amounts of. political pressure that were being. exerted on in the US attorney's office. in the Southern District at that time. But you're absolutely right, Chief Ryder. um fought the good fight and he was so. angry at Barry Krisher that he wrote a. scathing letter that's in the record now. to him just astounded at the failure of.

his office to prosecute these claims and. they were looking at the US attorney's. office to save them to save the case and. unfortunately uh they were just appalled. at what they did as well. And one more. comment which is to really to uh really. salute the power of the press because it. was a Miami Herald article in November. 2018 called pervasion of pervasision. perversion of justice that finally.

really start to bring a lot of this to. light. And then it was the Palm Beach. Post going to court to get the grand. jury uh proceedings of Palm Beach County. open. And that that was in uh a couple. years later. So we thank them and I want. to I'm going to uh yield back in a. minute just to say again thank you so. much to the survivors to our witnesses. So for you are an inspiration of courage. and pers perseverance and give us really.

the uh the intuition to continue for. this fight. And again, let's make sure. that we subpoena and have all the. relevant witnesses testify and we find. out who else should be accountable. because Jeffrey Epstein did not act. alone. And with that, thank you so much. for holding this hearing. I yield back. >> Thank you. Thank you, Representative. And I I want to again just as I close. this out, um I want to thank first and.

foremost Representative Frankle for. hosting us today. This would not have. been possible without her leadership, her team, uh her insistence um on why. Palm Beach, Palm Beach County is so. important to this broader investigation. And of course, I want to thank Mayor. James and his team for their support in. putting this hearing together. Uh most. importantly, I want to thank the. survivors that are here and our. witnesses. uh your testimony on the. record is so important and I know so. many of you have had to continue to. speak out, but having um having your.

stories and your answers in the record. is really important to our. investigation. I want to thank you for. your courage. Uh and I also just want to. for the public to understand that for. those of us on the committee, uh we are. focused on truth, accountability, and. justice. Clearly, Palm Beach, the US Attorney's. Office, so many of the prosecutors that. were involved in in in this case, law.

enforcement officials, these are all. individuals that we have a lot of. questions for. For us to really move. this investigation forward, we need to. understand why the prosecutors. that went forward to the US attorney to. other courts and demanded and asked for. prosecutions. and asked for actions to be taken why. those were denied. We have yet to get. responses from Alex Aosta, but it's.

clear that we have additional questions. for the former labor secretary, and we. certainly have numerous questions for. the line prosecutors that were involved. in making those recommendations. Palm Beach County will continue to be an. important place for our investigation. As we continue to explore and. investigate the links between what was. happening at Mara Lago. and of course Jeffrey Epstein. And to. close, we will say we look forward to. hearing from Attorney General Bondi here.

in a few weeks. and that we continue to. ask the majority to partner with us in. additional subpoenas as this. investigation moves forward and as we. work to protect the survivors. And with. that, again, thank you all to our. witnesses and this meeting is adjourned. >> Thank you. [applause].

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We're going to start in just uh just a. minute.

Okay. Well, thank you. Uh my name is. Robert Garcia. I'm the ranking member uh. of the oversight committee of of course. I'm here with members of the oversight. committee on on Democrats that are. clearly focused today on the survivors. and accountability, truth and justice. Uh we're going to hear from some of our. committee members here in just a second. I want to just give uh some thoughts and. then answer uh any questions. Now, we're.

here in Palm Beach County because so. much of this investigation brings us. back to this location. We know that the. crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and Galain. Maxwell, the horrible things that happened to so. many women and girls totaling 1,200. could have been stopped and halted. had authorities here been listened to. had prosecutors who made recommendations.

to the US attorney. had been listened to, had survivors been. listened to. But time and time again, whether it was at at the law enforcement. level or whether it was at the US. attorney's office by Alex Aassa and. others, that justice was denied. and survivors did not receive justice. We know that that led to the additional. abuse and trafficking of women and. girls, including of Rosa, who you heard. from today, and you heard her horrific.

story. And had folks listened, that would not have happened to her and. to so many others. We also want to be clear that especially. after today, we want to hear and are. demanding to hear from the line. prosecutors and law enforcement. officials. that made some recommendations. to prosecute additional names to go. after co-conspirators.

and yet were denied those charges and. that evidence was pushed back because of. decisions made by the US attorney at the. I'm Alex Acasta. Now, we've talked to. Mr. Acasta in the past. We have. additional questions and I think it's. important for anyone that was involved. in the case here in Palm Beach to know. that while we have reached out to some. folks to speak to us voluntarily, you will be compelled to answer.

questions. when Democrats are in the majority. If you were involved in this case and. tried to do the right thing and made. recommendations to the US attorney to. bring prosecutions, we encourage you. to testify and to bring your information. to the committee. But if you're. unwilling to do so, we are going to.

compel that testimony because those. survivors deserve to understand who and. why decisions were made to not move. forward with prosecutions that then led. to the abuse of so many more women and. girls. I'll also say that I want to reiterate. to the attorney general that we expect. to see her in front of our committee in. just a couple of weeks and that we. expect Republicans and James Comr.

because it's his decision alone. to ensure that that testimony is. recorded under oath and released to the. American public. The survivors deserve. nothing less and I want again thank them. for their courage today to provide. testimony under oath. With that, I'm. going to turn this over to. Representative Frankl, who of course. hosted us here today. >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to Mr. Garcia and my colleagues. Uh I I've been. trying to get this hearing here for many. years, and I thank you so much for.

finally bringing folks here because. folks, so much of the truth lies here, hidden in Palm Beach County. And we. still have yet under oath heard from. some of the key players. Barry Krisher, who was state attorney at the time, the. two prosecutors he sent in to a grand. jury room to debase uh our survivors. Uh. we need to hear from them and I can give. you another list of associates, law.

enforcement, state attorney employees. who have some of the answers to the big. question is why did Epstein get such a. slap on the wrist? Secondly, uh to. Courtney Wild, a bill has been filed. actually numerous times to deal with her. concern that the survivors were not. given notice of the plea and had any. opportunity to weigh into that. And uh. I'm just going to end by saying this.

because what makes this so tragic and. sad is how many lives how many lives how. could have been spared the agony of. abuse. had. the prosecutors in Palm Beach County. acted properly or had they not been. overpowered I should say overpowered. by Jeffrey Epstein and his his team of. lawyers, politicians, business people, whoever who who. obviously overpowered our our justice.

system. And with that, again, thank. thank you. Where are you? Thank you so. much for for bringing us here and all of. you for your attention. I yield back. >> So, um you know, we're here at at ground. zero for where Epstein's crimes. occurred. uh crimes that were uh moral. crimes, uh civil crimes,

criminal crimes, uh crimes that I would consider uh. really against uh humanity. uh given the systemic. harm caused by really what was a global. enterprise of trafficking girls. Impossible for me to not think about my. own. 17-year-old. daughter Again, you see grown women. before you who are courageous in their.

refusal to be silent, but they were mere. girls. 14, 15, 16, 17, talented artists, dancers, aspiring teachers, lawyers, models. Their bodies were violated, their dreams devastated, their lives. irreparably harmed. Uh when you are violated in such a way.

as a child, it changes uh on a very. foundational and deep level who you are. forever. Your ability to love, to. receive love. But it's not only an emotional toll and. certainly the cost of trauma is a high. one, but there are also. economic expenses,

an inability to pursue a job, to keep a. job. Uh 20 years of 30 years, three. decades of legal fees that no one was. counting on. And not only uh was their innocence. corrupted and their bodies violated and. their lives changed, their very rights. were violated. The Crime Victim's Rights Act grants. individuals who are victims of federal. crimes specific enforcable rights,

including protection from the accused, reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of public. proceedings, and the right to be heard. It ensures victims are treated with. fairness, dignity, and respect. Well, that did not happen. their rights were violated. And I'm. working closely uh with survivors for a. legislative fix of restorative justice.

That's what brings us here today to. learn from the survivors, to identify. failures, to hold predators. and abusers accountable. And although I commend the survivors for. their courage, I look forward to a day where survivors. do not have to relive their trauma in. order to compel action from their. government. And finally, although this is a fight.

specifically for justice, accountability, and healing for our. survivors who deserve so much more than. sympathy, which is why seeking to. advance a legislative restorative. justice fix to acknowledge the economic. abuse and financial hardship that many. of them still carry today. But this is a. fight for all survivors that are victims. of sexual assault and human trafficking. And so for that, to ensure that there is. no eraser, I want to acknowledge the. incredible work of Toronto Burke of the.

Me Too movement, um, Amber Tamblin and many more. And in. my own, uh, district of the. Massachusetts 7th, uh, my life, my. choice, and the Boston area rape crisis. center. This is a fight for all. survivors. [cough and clears throat]. >> Good afternoon. I'm Melanie Stanbury and. I am very deeply proud to represent New. Mexico's first congressional district.

and to be part of a state delegation in. New Mexico that is seeking to turn the. Epstein files into Epstein trials. As we. stand here today, New Mexico is the. first and only state to pass a state law. to investigate this case. And what I think is extraordinary about. today, and I want to acknowledge. Congresswoman Frankle, is that this is. the first congressional hearing on this.

case to ever be held in West Palm Beach. Think about that. The first criminal allegation against. Jeffrey Epstein happened more than 25. years ago in this community. Police look the other way. Your state. attorney general look the other way. Our. national and federal attorney generals. and investigatory bodies look the other. way. The FBI had gobs of evidence that.

there were criminal enterprises going on. here in this community that included the. exploitation of children, the. trafficking of children across state. lines, international trafficking of. children and women, and financial. crimes. >> That's right. And over the last two and. a half decades, not a single. congressional hearing has been held on. this case here in this community where. it all started. And so I want to say.

thank you to Congresswoman Frankle. and to our soontobe chair of the. oversight committee because we would not. be here if it were not for them and for. the survivors who were brave enough to. show up today and to tell their stories. on camera for the world to hear. Now I. just want to say this as I close out my. comments. There are lots of discussions. about the failure of the system to hold. Jeffrey Epstein, Galileain Maxwell, and.

the potentially dozens of men who. exploited young girls and trafficked and. participated in the sexual exploitation. of survivors. But this was not an isolated incident of. failures of a system. This is a system. that was designed to exploit children. It was a system that protected the. wealthy and powerful. And it was a. system that intentionally chose not to.

prosecute Jeffrey Epstein under federal. law, which enabled him to commit. potentially hundreds of other cases of. rape, abuse, grooming, and transnational. sex trafficking. That is not just system failure. That is. a system that was designed to enable. rich and powerful people to get away. with anything that they wanted. >> That's right. >> And so we're here today to make sure. that the voices of survivors, that the.

stories of survivors are heard, not just. in this community, but across the world. and to make sure that we take on that. system directly. to say we are not going to stand for. this one more moment and to end the. injustices that have allowed this to. happen in this community and communities. all across the country. And so we demand. accountability. We demand action. We.

demand that Pam Bondi show up for her. deposition. We demand that Donald Trump. release the Epstein files. We demand. that Todd Blanch actually prosecute. these crimes and we demand. accountability for every single. perpetrator that is still out there. >> We are coming for you. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. I'm Emily Randall. I represent. Washington state's sixth district and I.

have been moved over and over and over. by the stories of such brave women. Brave women who are forced by a system. of power to relive their trauma over and. over and over in pursuit of justice. And. what I hear from my neighbors, and I. know that my colleagues hear from the. American people across the country, is. that this case isn't only about. survivors of Epstein's trafficking and. sexual crimes, but it is about survivors.

everywhere. who finally feel a little bit of hope. that their stories will be listened to. and that they will be able to imagine a. future in which there is justice. But we're not there yet because we still. are experiencing a Department of Justice. that is engaging in a massive cover up. 2.5 million documents.

still unreleased in this Epstein. investigation. And yet the release over and over and. over again thousands of times. of the names and personally identifying. information of survivors. There's nothing else to call that but. witness intimidation because it cannot. be accidental the number of times that. co-conspirators. and powerful men have their names.

redacted in the files and survivors. names are unredacted. No matter how many. times they have asked for that privacy. and protection. No matter how many women. testified under the understanding that. they would be identified as Jane Doe, we. are seeing information about survivors. who have already been traumatized over. and over and over again be released as. part of this cover up and part of this. intimidation strategy.

We are going to continue to fight so. that those who are actually culpable, the dozens, hundreds of people who are. actually culpable. have their day in the sunlight, that we. record their testimony, that we. investigate this to the full extent, and. we are committed every day to working. alongside the survivors to ensure that. they are protected to the best of our. abilities. Thank you.

>> Hi everyone. Yasman Andsari, Congresswoman from Arizona's third. district. I was a child just a few years. younger than many of the women who. testified today when Jeffrey Epstein was. carrying out his heinous crimes right. here in West Palm Beach. These women. were girls at the time. Over 1,000. girls. girls who should have been. protected, but girls who were failed by. adults, by institutions, and by their.

government. And what happened here in. West Palm Beach and across the country. and across the world was not simply just. about the evil of one man. It was a. systemic failure that was shaped by. inequality, by influence, and by. impunity. All of this has been exacerbated by the. most corrupt administration in American. history, carrying out the most egregious. coverup in American history. And this.

systemic failure requires systemic. solutions. In the minority, oversight. Democrats led by ranking member Garcia. have forced everything that has gotten. us to this point today. We would not be. here if it were not for Democrats on the. oversight committee pushing every. subpoena pushing for these depositions, pushing for these transcribed. interviews, pushing for Pam Bondi to. come before the oversight committee. This has been an egregious cover up by.

the Trump administration, but also a. complete abdication of responsibility by. Republicans on the oversight committee, barring a few, and by Republican. chairman James Comr. And we will. continue whether now or when we are in. the majority to make sure that every. single person who enabled, who. perpetrated or who covered up these. heinous crimes will be held accountable. And we know from what we heard from the.

women today, and we've known this, it's. in the files that there are rich and. powerful men out there right now. continuing to live their lives without. any consequences. and we assure you that. day will end. >> All right. >> Good afternoon. I'm James Wenshaw from. Virginia's 11th district. We're here. today in Palm Beach County, ground zero, the center, the place where Jeffrey.

Epstein and Galain Maxwell's massive. child sex trafficking ring started. We're just miles from Mara Lago, the. place where the close friendship between. Epstein and Donald Trump grew, where. Virginia Dufrey was trafficked and later. raped by Jeffrey Epstein. And we heard. today powerful stories from survivors. including Rosa from Usuzbekiststan who. was recruited and held hostage.

by the visa that Epstein controlled. powerful stories and I hope the world. was watching. I specifically hope that. Alexa Acasta was watching because we. learned today from Rosa that she was. raped time after time after time by. Jeffrey Epstein. while he was serving the sweetheart deal. sentence that Ale Alex Aosta gave him.

While he was on unsupervised, very. unsupervised release, he was continuing. to commit the very crimes that women. like Maria Farmer and others brought to. the attention of the FBI decades ago. I. hope another person was watching today. I hope Pam Bondi was watching. And I. hope she saw the courage of the. survivors here today who told their. stories in most cases again.

in front of all the cameras with all of. the bright lights for the world to see. And I hope Pam Bonnie will feel some. shame for the fact that she has tried. time after time after time. >> to avoid public accountability. She wants to answer questions behind. closed doors in private where the world. can't see it with no video. Well, Pam. Bonnie, that is not good enough. [snorts]. That is not good enough. You need to.

show one ounce of the courage that the. women here today showed. They deserve. your public testimony on video. The. American people deserve it, too. I'll go. back to the ranking member. >> Thank you. And we're going to open up. for a couple questions. Before I do, I. want to say a couple important things as. we close. Number one, I hope to today. reminds the public that this. investigation is not a hoax and that. it's not over and that unlike Todd.

Blanch, the acting AG who just a week. ago said that the DOJ was moving on from. the Epson investigation, we understand that it is alive and well. and moving forward and we have a lot of. work to do ahead of us. And the second. thing is for this community. It's. important for the folks of Palm Beach. County, Palm Beach, West Palm Beach to. understand and to know that there's a. lot of folks that worked for law. enforcement that were lawyers involved. in this case that were investigators or.

that have heard stories or know. information or evidence that we want to. access. So, I encourage anyone from the. Palm Beach community that we have. information about Jeffrey Epste and. Galain Maxwell, the crimes or the. coverups that happened to please contact. the oversight committee. We have a. protected. system, a whistleblower system that we. encourage you to please access if you. have information that could help us in. our investigation. And with that, I'll.

open it up for any questions. >> Your last interview now is scheduled for. July 15th. Do you expect there will be. more before the election. How many and. who by name if you can do each of you. most want to hear from as your. investigation continues? >> Look, we're working right now through a. list of additional subpoenas that we. want to get through. Some we're we're. communicating directly with the majority. on so we're waiting to see if they move. on those or not. But I think it's e it's. safe to say that we are interested in.

speaking to anyone that was involved, particularly prosecutors that were. involved in making recommendations about. the sweetheart deal, what happened here. in Palm Beach, and more broadly in some. of the other cases that were brought. forward to the government. That's one. piece of folks we want to speak to. We. also have additional questions for other. folks that we believe were involved in. assisting Jeffrey Epson and Galain. Maxwell. Uh some of those you and I. discussed earlier, but we're not at this. moment ready to release additional. names. letter. If you win back the house in.

November, will you bring back the people. that were already called in to testify. since they testified behind closed. doors? There were no cameras, there's no. transparency. Uh will you bring the. survivors back so that they can actually. be reported into the congressional. library on the record? And um who else. do you plan to call? And will you call. anyone from your own party? Uh so let me. just let me let me add um one is. obviously on as rel survivors. We're. never going to force a survivor to to be.

compelled to speak in front of the. committee but any survivor that wants to. speak and have the opportunity. Absolutely. And we definitely have. additional questions for folks that. we've talked to. I'll take Alex Aosta as. a very good example. We will definitely. have additional questions. As far as. members from our party, we have been a. nonpartisan in our approach. We don't. care if you're a Republican or a. Democrat. We'll talk to you. And I think. we said earlier that we have additional. questions. I want to understand why. Merrick Garland in the former Justice. Department under the Biden. administration did little to nothing to. bring justice for the survivors or have. additional prosecutions. And so Merrick.

Garland for me is at the top of that. list of folks that we need to speak to. and ask questions of and and there I. think there a variety of other folks and. if anyone else wants to add to that. there's a variety of other folks that we. want to speak with. Yes. >> Yes. Representative Garcia Dave WPTV. It. was hailed as a victory when the bill. passed the house where the files were. going to be released and yet you heard. today that while. individuals people abroad have been.

investigated that the names of the. survivors came. What do you do moving. forward to try to prevent that and to. get names of the perpetrators released. when your own survivors today. don't have a lot of confidence. that. >> yeah I mean I I put the blame squarely. on former attorney general Pam Bondi for. that she has had a direct hand in this. cover up from the beginning. Not only.

did they move slowly but they were. sloppy. We heard from survivors as you. mentioned that you know their lives have. been destroyed while names of men and. co-conspirators who committed the crimes. were not were redacted. So I think that. there needs to be a nor that's why we. need to hear from Pam Bondi at the end. of this month under oath on camera in. front of the American people because she. is to blame for this and there should be. I believe. accountability for her and for what she.

did here. She has ruined lives. I mean, we heard such devastating stories today. about people's children hearing these, you know, these stories for the first. time. You know, women whose details of. their sexual assault and abuse was. revealed because of the botching of this. files. The law was very clear that any. personally identifiable information as. it pertains to survivors should have. been redacted. This is not an accident. The Department of Justice chose to do. this because they want to silence. people. They want this to go away.

Donald Trump has made that abundantly. clear. He's directed his staff to make. sure that happens. And I believe that. the reason these mistakes were made was. again not an accident and and at the. direction of of Pam Bondi. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Go ahead. >> And moreover, I would just say that what. this proves um the fact that um you. know, none of our Republican colleagues. are here today. Uh for Democrats, this. is not a a midterm campaign strategy. This is not about political gamesmanship. or or upsmanship. Um, but clearly for.

them fighting for the uh naming the. Epstein files in their campaigning, the. Epstein files, by the way, are real. people. These are real people's lives, right? um that was just purely political. for them, you know, as get as proven by. their obstruction and by their uh. defiance and their unwillingness to. comply with uh legally binding. subpoenas. And then finally, I would. just say something that really just.

stayed with me today. There have been so. many instances of insult to injury. Not. only were vile acts committed by this. vermin in their predator. pedophile ponzi scheme that is a. lifetime sentence for these survivors. This trauma is showing up and. manifesting in in in their way in their. in their lives in so many ways. But it. is insult to injury that there was an. institutional betrayal by law.

enforcement, by the Department of. Justice, and now today by House. Republicans, and their rights were not. honored in the Crime Victim's Rights. Act, and the fact as as Congresswoman. Randall speaks to that their names have. been unredacted. That was some of the most devastating. testimony here today. It is insult to. injury. And in the words of Virginia. Juy, we need to know who the monsters. are. We need to follow every single.

road. We don't care if they're Democrat, Republican, independent, what state they. live in, what their job is, if they're a. politician, if they're a president, or. if even they are a prince. We will. follow all roads because this is not. political for us. This is deeply. personal. This is about these survivors. and their families. And every monster, in the words of Virginia Dupra, needs to. be named and shamed because they could. still be out there committing these.

evil, vile acts. >> Okay, last question. >> I want to know former state attorney if. he's been invited to testify and what. his testimony. Uh what I can say is that we have. invited uh some former uh Florida. officials um to testify uh voluntarily. Uh that has yet to happen and so we are. prepared uh to compel testimony uh in. the future. That's something that we're. looking at right now. Thank you very.

much.