Jeffrey Epstein survivors call for full files to be released: "We matter now"

Lisa Phillips outlined that some of the survivors "have been discussing creating our own list" of people within Epstein's orbit.

"We know the names, many of us were abused by them," Phillips said.

Though she said "we're not quite sure how we're going to release that or even if we're going to," she said survivors would "confidentially compile the names we all know, who were regularly in the Epstein world, and it will be done by survivors and for survivors — no one else is involved."

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office during a visit from Poland's president, President Trump was asked about the Epstein press conference and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie's suggestion that the Department of Justice is protecting allies of the president. Mr. Trump was asked if the Justice Department is protecting any Trump friends or donors. 

"So this is a Democrat hoax that never ends," the president said. "You know, it reminds me a little of the Kennedy situation [assassination], we gave them everything. Over and over again. More and more and more. And nobody's ever satisfied."

The president said "thousands" of pages of documents have been given, insisting Democrats are trying to distract from his successes as president. 

"I know that no matter what you do, it's going to keep going," the president said of the focus on the Epstein files. 

"I think we're probably having, according to what I read, even from two people in this room, we're having the most successful eight months of any president ever," he said. "And that's what I want to talk about. That's what we should be talking about. Not the Epstein hoax."

Haley Robson said the passage of the bill, requiring the Justice Department to release the Epstein files, would be "a huge component of healing for me" and others, saying, "we, and the rest of the world, need answers."

"Why was he so protected? And why didn't anyone ever care to stop him?" Robson asked. 

Robson urged lawmakers to "lift the curtain on these files and be transparent."

Jena-Lisa Jones described how she was afraid to speak out about the abuse, noting that she didn't come forward until 2019, "and even then, it was like I was afraid of a ghost."

"Together, we can finally make a change," Jones said, urging Congress to pass the legislation to make the Epstein files public. 

"Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, this does not matter," Jones said. "This is not about sides."

Marina Lacerda spoke about being "one of dozens of girls that I personally know who was forced into Jeffrey mansion … when we were just kids."

"Today is the first time that I ever speak publicly about what happened to me," she said. "I never thought that I would find myself here."

Lacerda said she was 14 when she met Epstein, after being told she could earn $300 "to give an older guy a massage." 

"It went from a dream job, to the worst nightmare," Lacerda said. 

Lacerda said she had "no way out … until he finally told me that I was too old."

She outlined that the administration is in possession of documents and information that could "help me remember and get over this maybe, and help me heal."

Lacerda urged that the survivors' identifying information must be redacted should the documents be released to the public, but she said the unredacted documents should be provided to the survivors themselves. 

Lacerda questioned why Epstein was able to "go on with the abuse," saying she could have testified earlier on to "help stop him."

"Our government could have saved so many women, but Jeffrey Epstein was too important and those women didn't matter," Lacerda said. "Why? Well we matter now. We are here today, and we are speaking, and we are not going to stop speaking."

Annie Farmer, one of the survivors who testified at Ghislane Maxwell's 2021 trial, spoke about the abuse that she and her sister experienced. She urged that "a thorough public review" of the Epstein files is "an important step" toward "healing for those involved," and for prevention against "systemic failures that have occurred in this case."

Farmer said "we are not going away, we are not going to be quiet, and we are not going to give up," adding that "I ask the American public to stand with us and not give up."

"At a time with record high levels of distrust in our institutions, and a perception that there are two Americas — one for those with power and privilege and one for everyone else, passing this Epstein Transparency Bill is one important step that can be taken to prove to Americans that the government does not side with sexual perpetrators," Farmer said. 

Anouska De Georgiou spoke about the "trauma inflicted by Maxwell and Epstein," advocating for transparency surrounding the Epstein files and the passage of the bill forcing their release. 

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

She called the bill at the heart of the discharge petition "so essential," saying it's "about ending secrecy wherever abuse of power takes root."

"The only motive for opposing this bill would be to conceal wrongdoing," she said.

Brittany Henderson, an attorney who represents many of the survivors, spoke at the news conference and urged that while the women are seeking transparency, they're also seeking protections. 

"The women here represent hundreds of other women who we have spoken to, many of whom were trafficked from other countries — from eastern European countries — where women don't have the rights that we have here, women don't have the protections that we have here," Henderson said. "And those women are terrified that their names will be released in those files."

Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene urged that "the truth needs to come out," advocating for transparency on behalf of the survivors and saying "this should never be a political issue that divides us."

"Today, we are coming forward and we are going to fight like hell for these women, because we have to fight like hell for those that are enduring sexual abuse and are living in a prison of shame," Greene said. 

"This is the most important fight we can wage here in Congress, is fighting for innocent people who never received justice," Greene said. "And the women behind me have never received justice."

Greene said she was "honored" to sign the discharge petition, and she called on her GOP colleagues to "choose every path for justice and accountability and transparency."

Rep. Thomas Massie urged his Republican colleagues to show their support for the survivors by backing his petition to force a vote to release the Epstein files on the House floor. 

"I hope my colleagues are watching this press conference," Massie said.

The Kentucky Republican said he appreciated the effort of the House Oversight Committee, which has been reviewing some of the files and released a portion Tuesday night, but he claimed "they're allowing the DOJ to curate all of the information that the DOJ is giving them."

He called on his GOP colleagues to join his discharge petition, which needs the support of 218 members to force a vote on the House floor. The bulk of Democrats are expected to sign the petition, making support of only a handful of Republicans necessary.

"Hopefully today we'll get two more signatures on the discharge petition, that's all we need," Massie said. 

Rep. Ro Khanna thanked the survivors for their "courage and strength as he kicked off the news conference.

Flanked by Massie and GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, the California Democrat said "we're united in restoring trust in government."

"We're here not as partisans, we're here as patriots," he said.

"A nation that allows rich and powerful men to traffic and abuse young girls without consequence, is a nation that has lost its moral and spiritual core," Khanna said.

Khanna claimed there are "corrupt, special interest forces" preventing the release of the full Epstein files, saying "there is something that is rotten in Washington."

"We are demanding today, on the discharge petition, that all of the files be released," Khanna added. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday met with the survivors of Epstein's abuse, calling them "some of the bravest women I have ever met." 

"Some of the ladies have shared these stories publicly before, but at least two of the women had never told their stories before, one for the very first time in the room," Johnson said. "And so there were tears in the room. There was outrage. It was both. I would describe it as heartbreaking and infuriating that justice has been delayed so long."

A group of survivors, attorneys and family members are speaking at a rally ahead of the news conference Wednesday.

"We come together in the nation's capital at this watershed moment for survivors," said attorney Sigrid McCawley, who represents some of the survivors. "They're demanding justice, they're demanding accountability, and they're demanding action."

McCawley said "it's time to hold those that facilitated" Epstein's crimes, and the actions of his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, accountable.

"We've heard a lot of words for many, many, far too many years. It's time, finally, for action," McCawley said.