Victims of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell convened on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. They shared their experiences of sexual abuse, urging Republicans to support a measure that would compel the Justice Department to disclose all related files.
This heartfelt plea coincided with a bipartisan initiative by two lawmakers. They are attempting to gather sufficient signatures to bypass House leadership and mandate a floor vote on the issue, an action that has revealed divisions and provoked strong opposition from the White House.
Marina Lacerda, in her first public statement regarding her abuse by Epstein, asserted that she and other survivors would persist until the documents were made public.
“I wish for them to provide all victims with transparency regarding what occurred and to release the records,” she stated. “It is unacceptable for us to be kept silent.”
Lacerda recounted being enticed to Epstein’s Manhattan residence at age 14, offered $300 for a massage. Her voice faltering, she remarked, “It transformed from a dream opportunity into the most horrific ordeal.”
Representatives Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) and Ro Khanna (D-California) orchestrated the press conference. They are leading a bipartisan discharge petition aimed at forcing the disclosure of all Justice Department files pertinent to the case. Should all Democrats sign, as anticipated, Massie would then need merely two additional Republican signatures to attain the 218 required to bring the matter to a House floor vote.
To date, only four Republican members—Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia), Lauren Boebert (Colorado), and Nancy Mace (South Carolina)—have endorsed this endeavor. This disparity highlights the political predicament facing the majority of the Republican caucus, who are torn between increasing calls for openness and allegiance to President Donald Trump, whose administration has denounced the initiative.
“This is an unending Democratic fabrication,” Trump informed reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday. “They are attempting to divert attention to an issue entirely unrelated to our nation’s achievements during my presidency.”
When questioned about the Administration’s message for Congressional Republicans backing the discharge petition, a White House official communicated to TIME that such support would be considered “a highly adversarial action.”
This directive places many ordinary Republicans in a difficult position: supporting the White House implies defending the Justice Department’s non-disclosure of documents without explanation, and by extension, potentially endorsing a future pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell, Epstein’s long-term associate, is presently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and was relocated following a meeting with Trump’s . Survivors and their supporters cautioned that a pardon for Maxwell would have catastrophic implications.
“A pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell would invalidate all the sacrifices I made to testify and would mock my suffering and that of all survivors,” stated Anouska de Georgiou, an actress who has openly discussed her abuse. “Therefore, the Epstein Files Transparency Act is critically important.”
The Trump Administration has drawn criticism from both Democratic and Republican factions due to its unwillingness to fully release the “Epstein Files”—documents maintained by the Department of Justice concerning various law enforcement probes into Epstein’s criminal activities.
This refusal to disclose the records has also generated opposition from the President’s own base, many of whom anticipated significant revelations following his repeated statements during the campaign, and whose appointees now hold key positions within his Administration.
For some, this has sparked inquiries into Trump’s long-standing, documented association with Epstein, who was apprehended in 2019 on federal sex trafficking accusations. Trump claims their friendship ended before Epstein’s arrest, yet recent months have seen new information surface about their connection, including a report alleging Trump penned a “risqué” letter for Epstein’s 2003 birthday album, a claim Trump has disavowed. No proof of Trump’s involvement in any misconduct pertaining to the Epstein case has ever been substantiated.
Speaker Johnson has voiced opposition to the discharge petition, deeming it “poorly formulated” and contending that it risks revealing the identities of victims who have remained anonymous. Following a private meeting with survivors on Tuesday, Johnson described them as “the most courageous women I have ever encountered” but dismissed Massie’s method as “essentially irrelevant.” He asserted that the House Oversight Committee is already working to acquire the relevant documents.
Massie retorted that the 33,000 documents the Oversight panel released on Tuesday were “extensively censored” and selected by the Justice Department to shield reputations, not to safeguard survivors. “They expect you to accept that two people alone victimized hundreds of individuals,” he stated. “The American public understands that is false.”
The survivors’ testimonies added weight to his assertion. Annie Farmer recounted being 16 years old when she was transported to Epstein’s New Mexico ranch, where she and her sister were allegedly assaulted. “Three decades on, we still lack understanding as to why that report was not thoroughly investigated,” she commented. “Beyond many others participating in the abuse, it is evident that numerous individuals were cognizant of his predatory interest in young girls and opted to disregard it.”
Khanna, the California Democrat co-leading this effort with Massie, characterized the matter as a moral challenge for Congress. “We are present not as political factions, but as patriots,” he declared. “A country that permits wealthy and influential men to traffic and exploit young girls with impunity is a nation that has forfeited its ethical and spiritual foundation.”
