The victims’ attorney said that Epstein did not maintain a ‘client list’ and that his ‘primary purpose’ was abusing girls personally.
Victims of Jeffrey Epstein are demanding transparency from the Trump administration and Congress, urging lawmakers to support legislation that would compel the Department of Justice to release all of the government’s files related to the deceased sexual predator’s sordid activities.
A group of victims spoke with lawmakers from both parties at a press conference Wednesday to support a discharge petition from Representative Thomas Massie (R., Ky.) to force the House to vote for compelling the government to release all the Epstein files.
“Make no mistake, my polished exterior is a shield hiding a wound that still bleeds,” said Anouska De Georgiou, a former model and Epstein victim.
“To be clear, the only motive for opposing this bill would be to conceal wrongdoing. You have a choice: Stand with the truth or with the lies that have protected predators like Epstein for decades,” De Georgiou continued. “I am no longer weak, I am no longer powerless, and I’m no longer alone. And with your vote, neither will the next generation be.”
De Georgiou urged President Trump to use his power to assist the Epstein victims and spoke out against a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s imprisoned accomplice.
The White House is opposed to the discharge petition, arguing that it is unnecessary given that the Department of Justice is already being transparent. The Justice Department did release thousands of Epstein legal documents and police videos on Tuesday, though the vast majority of the files had already been made public.
In addition to Massie, the discharge petition is supported by Republican Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, and Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Given the White House’s opposition, Massie and his co-sponsor, Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California, face an uphill battle in securing the two additional Republican votes needed to advance the bill.
Maxwell is serving a 20 year federal prison sentence for her role in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. She praised Trump effusively in an interview she gave to the Justice Department in July as she seeks a pardon.
“She was a major architect of the scheme and the fact that she’s painted herself as a victim, I think is disgusting,” Epstein victim Annie Farmer said of Maxwell. Farmer said Maxwell participated in Epstein’s activities and victims found out from the media that Maxwell had been transferred to a lower security prison.
Several victims became emotional in recalling the sexual abuse they suffered because of Epstein and the lack of accountability he faced during his lifetime. Each of them described how they were introduced to Epstein as minors and were soon coerced into performing sexual acts for him. Epstein’s victims were upfront about the long term emotional problems they have experienced because they were sexually abused as minors and felt like nobody understood them for many years.
Virginia Guiffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, committed suicide in April 2025. She had family members speak at the press conference and call for accountability.
All of the victims felt like government officials went out of their way to protect Epstein and spent many years ignoring them. Epstein signed a non-prosecution agreement with the federal government in 2008 to avoid federal charges and end an FBI investigation into his behavior in Florida. Alex Acosta, the former federal prosecutor who negotiated the agreement, is set to testify later this month for the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the Epstein files.
Khanna and Greene both spoke at the press conference to advocate for Massie’s discharge petition. The Epstein victims emphasized the need to put aside partisan politics to hold powerful people accountable for sexual abuse and promote government transparency.
Epstein died in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide but many skeptics dismiss the official determination because of the timing of Epstein’s death.
The Trump administration decided in July not to release the federal government’s files on Epstein and concluded that Epstein committed suicide. The administration also said Epstein did not have a “client list” of close associates and did not use his sex trafficking to blackmail powerful people.
Bradley Edwards, an attorney for the victims, said the “primary purpose” of Epstein’s scheme was for himself to abuse women, seemingly ruling out an extensive blackmail scheme, though he did acknowledge that Epstein “farmed out” some the women he was exploiting to friends. Edwards also dismissed the idea that Epstein wrote down the names of people he sent women to on a “client list.”
One of the victims, who said she is a registered Republican, invited Trump to meet her at the Capitol to discuss Epstein’s abuse. Trump has called the Epstein files a “hoax” created by Democrats and dismissed their significance. Edward recalled meeting with Trump several times and said Trump helped with his investigation. He called for Trump to revert to his position and take a cooperative approach to releasing the Epstein files.
Trump and Epstein were friends for 15 years in the 1990s early 2000s. The president has never been accused of wrongdoing in connecting with his relationship with Epstein. Trump is one of many powerful figures named in the Epstein files but is not implicated in any misconduct, the Wall Street Journal reported. Former Attorney General Bill Barr, who worked under Trump for part of his first term, testified last month that he saw no evidence Trump committed criminal acts when he was friends with Epstein, as NR previously reported.
The House Oversight Committee released a batch of Epstein files Tuesday as part of its investigation into Epstein’s sexual abuse and the government’s records on him. Many of the files were already public and partially redacted. The victims spoke to lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday and Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) told reporters that he learned of “additional names” to bring in for interviews.