[0:04]Thank you for continuing to speak out,
[0:08]for refusing to be silenced or ignored.
[0:11]Through their courage, we are building a safer future
[0:16]for all of our children.
[0:18]And we will continue to stand with them.
[0:21]All of our elected leaders should be standing with them
[0:26]and fighting alongside them.
[0:29]But what have we seen instead from the President
[0:32]of the United States?
[0:34]He tells us to move on, to get over it,
[0:38]to forget about it, and look away.
[0:41]And tonight, we are prepared to hear more lies,
[0:45]more deflections, more distractions.
[0:48]Everything but the truth that the American people
[0:52]expect and that these brave survivors deserve.
[0:57]Let me be clear to Donald Trump.
[1:01]This is not going away.
[1:05]These survivors and all of us are not going away.
[1:10]This is an issue about who we are as a people,
[1:15]who we are as a country.
[1:17]Is this a place where billionaires can get away
[1:20]with abusing children, or are we a country of laws,
[1:24]of accountability, of basic morality?
[1:28]We reject the rotten corruption at the heart
[1:32]of this broken administration.
[1:35]We will not stand for their lies and for their cover-up.
[1:42]We will stand with these women until they get
[1:46]the justice that they're owed.
[1:49]And I am so proud to be here with all of you
[1:52]and to turn this podium over to a champion for justice,
[1:58]Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.
[2:05]Thank you so much, Whip Clark,
[2:07]for your incredible leadership.
[2:09]Thank you to the DWC and Chairwoman Leisure Fernandez.
[2:13]And most of all, thank you to the survivors
[2:16]who have just continued to push for justice.
[2:20]You are inspiring all of us.
[2:23]And I especially want to thank and recognize my constituent,
[2:30]my constituent and an Epstein survivor, Marika Shartouni.
[2:37]Marika is, first of all, known by the survivors
[2:40]as the sleuth of the survivors.
[2:42]She has looked at all the documents
[2:46]and has been an incredible help to me
[2:48]as I have been looking at them as well.
[2:49]And she was also one of the first to answer
[2:52]the FBI's call in 2019 to talk about what she suffered
[2:59]at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein.
[3:01]And I'm just so grateful to you, Marika,
[3:02]for being here today.
[3:04]When Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared
[3:07]before the House Judiciary Committee two weeks ago,
[3:10]the world saw her turn her back on the survivors
[3:14]rather than apologize for the pain
[3:17]that her Department of Justice has caused them.
[3:19]Today, the world will see Donald Trump
[3:23]have to face these survivors right there in the House gallery
[3:27]and answer for why ambassadors and princes
[3:30]have been arrested in other countries.
[3:32]But here in America, not a single investigation
[3:36]has been announced into the pedophiles
[3:38]and the predators of Epstein's horrific sex trafficking ring.
[3:43]He must answer for why the Department of Justice
[3:46]has still refused to release three million remaining files
[3:50]and why they continue the massive coverup
[3:53]of a depraved Epstein class.
[3:56]He must answer to the people across the country
[3:58]and the world who see the powerful predators
[4:01]in government, academia, finance, and law
[4:04]have all been part of abusing and raping young girls
[4:09]and joking about it with zero accountability.
[4:13]No, Donald Trump.
[4:15]This is not a hoax.
[4:17]We are not moving on from this.
[4:19]You have not been exonerated nor have any of these predators.
[4:24]We are here today, many of us in white,
[4:27]because women know what it means to be silenced,
[4:31]dismissed, and pushed back,
[4:33]and we are not going to stand for it.
[4:36]These survivors, as Lauren said to me,
[4:39]are shaking the earth with their strength,
[4:43]and because of them and the public
[4:45]that is standing up with and for them,
[4:47]we see the cracks emerging.
[4:49]We demand investigations right here at home
[4:53]into predators like Leon Black, Steve Tisch,
[4:57]Jess Staley, and so many more.
[5:00]These courageous survivors are going to show
[5:02]that tonight is about their strength,
[5:05]about the strength of those across the country
[5:08]who understand that without justice,
[5:10]there can be no progress.
[5:12]So tonight is about our movement that will not stop
[5:15]until we get truth, transparency,
[5:18]and real accountability.
[5:20]And now, let me pass it over to our wonderful
[5:25]ranking member of the Judiciary Committee,
[5:28]Jamie Raskin.
[5:36]Good afternoon, everybody.
[5:38]I'm here with my guests to the State of the Union,
[5:41]Skye and Amanda Roberts.
[5:43]Skye is the brother of the late Virginia Joufray.
[5:47]Amanda is his wife, and they have been
[5:51]passionate advocates for the rights and the interests
[5:55]of all of the survivors and victims of sexual abuse
[6:01]and rape and trafficking all over the country.
[6:04]And I know that everyone is glued to the discoveries
[6:09]that are coming out as we read through the 3 million
[6:13]of the 6 million documents that were compelled
[6:16]to be disclosed by the Epstein Transparency Act.
[6:22]And that's all to the good,
[6:23]because we're learning a lot there.
[6:24]But understand that making progress that way
[6:28]is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack.
[6:31]And it's not a haystack that's been arranged
[6:33]to make it easy for us to find
[6:35]the most relevant information.
[6:37]I would encourage everybody, in addition to looking online
[6:41]if you can, going over to the Department of Justice
[6:43]to look at the unredacted files,
[6:45]to read Virginia Joufray's remarkable book,
[6:49]Nobody's Girl, because that book locates
[6:53]this entire controversy within the proper social context.
[6:59]She was a victim of child sex abuse before she got
[7:04]into the hands of Jeffrey Epstein
[7:08]and his sex trafficking ring with Ghislaine Maxwell.
[7:11]She was a victim of trafficking and rape
[7:14]and sexual abuse there.
[7:16]And she continued to wrestle with those issues
[7:20]throughout her life.
[7:22]And if you ask the question why this issue
[7:24]is not going away, it's not going away
[7:27]because there are millions of people across America
[7:30]who have suffered the same kinds of abuse, rape,
[7:34]trafficking, and exploitation that Virginia did
[7:37]and the women who were members
[7:39]of the Epstein Survivor Movement did.
[7:42]And there have been scandals at Michigan State
[7:44]and Ohio State and within many churches,
[7:49]within the Boy Scouts, in all of our hometowns.
[7:53]That is the social basis for this movement
[7:56]and why Donald Trump is not going to be able
[7:59]to sweep under the rug.
[8:00]This is why despite all of her stony, cold indifference,
[8:06]Pam Bondi is not going to be able to make this go away.
[8:10]We have an entire country of survivors
[8:13]and people who are allied with the survivors
[8:17]and we are going to insist that the truth come out,
[8:21]that justice be done, and the perpetrators
[8:23]be held accountable in every single case.
[8:26]That's the importance of us getting
[8:28]through this documentation to the underlying facts.
[8:31]And I want to thank all the survivors here
[8:34]for waking up every day, just like the people
[8:36]of Minneapolis, and going right back
[8:39]to the front lines of this fight.
[8:40]And tonight, that includes the State of the Union address
[8:43]where the President is going to have to see
[8:45]that this is a nation of survivors and their allies.
[8:49]Thank you very much, Pramila.
[8:54]And now I'll ask Skye and Amanda Roberts.
[9:03]Good afternoon, everyone.
[9:06]My name is Amanda Roberts and I am the sister-in-law
[9:10]of Virginia Roberts-Jufre.
[9:13]I stand here for my sister, for my survivor sisters,
[9:20]and for every survivor around the world
[9:23]who has been forced into silence.
[9:26]Today is monumental.
[9:29]Today we say to this administration
[9:32]and to the nation that survivors deserve to be seen.
[9:36]We will not be moved, we will not be silenced,
[9:40]and we will not go away.
[9:42]We are continuing to trail.
[9:45]We are continuing the path that Virginia laid down for us.
[9:50]Today, the President will speak about his agenda.
[9:54]He may say it's time to move on from this Epstein thing.
[10:00]Mr. President, today we are saying we will not move on
[10:05]and the world is not moving on.
[10:13]The world clearly sees the pattern
[10:16]in how this administration has treated survivors
[10:20]with disgrace, contempt, and dismissal.
[10:24]But I want to speak directly to the American people.
[10:29]This moment is about all of us, the state of this union,
[10:33]the state of survivors, and the state of our country.
[10:37]And many of us feel dismayed, disrupted in spirit
[10:42]by the intentional chaos that has been created
[10:45]to distract us and desensitize us to the harsh realities
[10:51]of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell,
[10:53]and the horrific crimes committed
[10:54]by their rich and powerful friends.
[10:57]Today, as Americans, we find ourselves at a crossroads.
[11:02]We have a choice to make.
[11:04]As American people, what do we want for our future
[11:08]and what do we want for our children?
[11:11]We can choose to let the Epstein case remain
[11:13]a stain on American history.
[11:17]Another chapter where the rich and powerful escape
[11:20]accountability and survivors are told to be quiet.
[11:25]Or we, the people, can decide it is time for change.
[11:31]So don't look away from us.
[11:35]Don't look away from Virginia.
[11:40]And do not leave survivors behind once again.
[11:45]Stand with us.
[11:47]Hold space with our stories.
[11:50]Sit with our truths.
[11:52]Let them break you, move you, and reshape you.
[12:00]Together, we can build a nation that is fair and true,
[12:05]a nation where money and power cannot bend the law,
[12:10]where life, where title does not grant innocence,
[12:15]where every voice matters and every survivor matters.
[12:19]I'll end with Virginia's words.
[12:21]I look forward to the days when money and power don't stop
[12:25]the truth from coming out and the righteous prevail.
[12:30]Well, sissy, today is the beginning of that day.
[12:43]Sky Roberts Hey, everyone.
[12:44]My name is Sky Roberts and I am the brother
[12:47]of Virginia Roberts Dufray.
[12:49]There are moments in a nation's life where
[12:52]we are tested, not by our words but by what
[12:55]we are willing to confront.
[12:57]Today we stand at one of these moments.
[13:00]America is at a crossroads.
[13:02]We can choose to let the Epstein case remain
[13:04]a stain on our history, another chapter where
[13:06]the powerful are protected, the truth is buried,
[13:10]and survivors are asked to carry the consequences
[13:12]in silence.
[13:14]Or we can choose something different.
[13:17]We can choose truth.
[13:19]We can choose accountability.
[13:21]And we can choose to build a country where no one,
[13:23]no matter how wealthy, connected,
[13:25]or politically insulated, stands above the law.
[13:29]Today we are here proudly representing our sister,
[13:31]Virginia Roberts Dufray.
[13:34]Standing with members of Congress and with survivors
[13:36]across the nation and across the world.
[13:40]Because Virginia's story is the story so many
[13:42]survivors know too well.
[13:44]A mountain of obstacles that seem impossible to climb.
[13:48]A mountain of pain so deep it doesn't fit into words.
[13:55]And a system that too often makes the survivor
[13:57]carry the burden instead of the perpetrator.
[14:01]But I am here to say proudly and with absolute
[14:04]conviction that what Virginia did for this world
[14:07]will not be in vain.
[14:14]She may have left this earth but her soul is still here.
[14:24]It lives in every survivor who decides to speak.
[14:28]It lives in every victim who is still finding their voice.
[14:32]And it lives in every person who refuses to accept a country
[14:35]where exploitation is met with impunity.
[14:39]Virginia did not just survive, she fought.
[14:42]She pushed back against a culture of silence.
[14:45]She forced the world to look at what it wanted to ignore.
[14:48]And she proved what happens when an ordinary person
[14:51]decides they will not be erased.
[14:57]So today I invite the world into this community.
[15:01]Not as spectators but as participants.
[15:05]Because on days like this we may hear powerful voices try to
[15:10]distract us, to divide us, to turn accountability into
[15:14]politics and truth into a talking point.
[15:18]But I want to speak directly to the families and
[15:20]communities watching.
[15:21]The brothers, the mothers, the sisters, and the fathers.
[15:26]Every person who loves someone who has been harmed.
[15:29]Choose unity, choose love, and choose the courage it takes to
[15:36]stand with survivors not only when it is easy but when it
[15:39]is expensive, when it is uncomfortable,
[15:42]and when it challenges powerful people.
[15:44]Virginia had a deep passion for bringing people together.
[15:48]She had a deep love for her survivor sisters.
[15:51]And she had a deep love for the millions of victims and
[15:53]survivors around the world who may never be known by name
[15:58]and whose lives matter just the same.
[16:01]To say she trailblazed through obstacles is an understatement.
[16:05]Virginia helped build a road for survivors to walk toward
[16:08]truth, toward dignity, toward justice.
[16:11]And we are here today to carry her torch down that road.
[16:15]We are asking Congress, the public,
[16:18]and every institution with the power to act to carry
[16:20]that torch with us.
[16:22]And that brings me to why we are here.
[16:24]Not only to speak but to demand action.
[16:27]If we truly believe survivors deserve more than sympathy,
[16:30]if we truly believe justice should not depend on status,
[16:33]then we must put it into law.
[16:36]That is why we are calling on Congress to advance
[16:38]Virginia's law.
[16:41]Virginia's law is about saying clearly that the rules that
[16:44]protected abusers and traffickers for decades will
[16:46]no longer stand.
[16:48]It is about closing the gaps that powerful people exploit.
[16:51]It is about strengthening accountability survivors are not
[16:54]forced to fight alone for years against the machine
[16:57]built to wear them down.
[16:59]It is not vengeance, it is not protection,
[17:01]it is prevention, and it is justice.
[17:05]And to anyone who thinks this moment can be reduced to a
[17:07]headline or a media cycle or even a Super Bowl moment for
[17:12]political theater, let me be clear.
[17:15]The only thing more powerful than hate is love.
[17:19]And this is not going away.
[17:21]We will not stop until the truth is faced and justice is
[17:24]pursued for Virginia, for her survivor sisters,
[17:27]and for every victim and survivor around the world who
[17:30]deserves to know that their lives are worth more than
[17:33]someone else's reputation.
[17:36]Thank you.
[17:43]Ms. Ski and Amanda, thank you so much.
[17:46]Thank you for bringing Virginia right here with us.
[17:49]And we will see her and carry on her legacy.
[17:53]I now have the great privilege of introducing my friend from
[17:57]across the Capitol complex, leader Chuck Schumer.
[18:11]Well, good afternoon and thank you for accommodating me,
[18:14]everybody.
[18:16]Look, while we're here, the truth must come out.
[18:20]Trump says he's going to give a long speech tonight,
[18:23]but there's one thing he refuses to talk about,
[18:26]the Epstein files.
[18:28]Trump campaigned on releasing the files,
[18:31]but now one year into his presidency,
[18:33]he calls them a hoax.
[18:34]Shame on him.
[18:36]He says the American people need to move on.
[18:39]We're not moving on, are we?
[18:41]That is outrageous to say move on.
[18:44]That's an insult to the victims and the survivors
[18:47]standing behind me.
[18:49]For years, survivors of Epstein's abuse were ignored,
[18:52]they were doubted, they were dismissed.
[18:55]But their presence here at the State of the Union sends
[18:57]a clear, powerful message.
[19:00]Survivors will not be silenced.
[19:05]My partner in our legislation.
[19:08]The powerful will be held accountable.
[19:11]We will not rest until that happens.
[19:14]And no one, not even the President, is above the law.
[19:18]Trump cannot continue to bury the truth.
[19:21]The full Epstein files must be released now.
[19:26]Nearly every single member of both chambers, Democrat,
[19:29]Republican, Independent, work for the Epstein Files
[19:32]Transparency Act.
[19:34]But for three months, Trump's Justice Department has broken
[19:38]the law, blacking out page after page.
[19:42]This is their version of releasing the files.
[19:48]That's it.
[19:49]That's all they do.
[19:54]Shame is left.
[19:57]This is not transparency.
[19:59]It's a cover-up.
[20:02]Survivors deserve justice.
[20:04]That's why I'm proud to have introduced Virginia's law with
[20:09]Democratic Women Caucus Chair, Leger Fernandez, thank you,
[20:13]thank you so much, to eliminate the federal statute
[20:17]of limitations, barriers that have kept too many survivors
[20:22]from pursuing justice.
[20:26]There can be no half measure of justice.
[20:28]The American people and the brave survivors stand behind me,
[20:32]deserve the full truth.
[20:34]And a statute of limitations on something like this,
[20:38]when women go through things that are so painful and have
[20:41]to wrestle and grapple with it for the rest of their
[20:44]lives, it should be up to the victim when there's a
[20:48]prosecution, not up to some law that has no knowledge,
[20:52]really, in a certain sense of what these people
[20:56]have gone through.
[20:58]When President Trump looks into the crowd tonight to give
[21:01]his speech, he will also look into the faces of the
[21:05]survivors behind me.
[21:07]Trump knows he can't keep hiding.
[21:10]Trump knows it's time to end the secrecy and release the
[21:12]full Epstein files.
[21:14]Now, he says he doesn't know it, but he will know it.
[21:19]We're going to make him know it.
[21:21]That's why you're here tonight.
[21:24]The survivors have waited long enough.
[21:26]The time for justice is now.
[21:28]And I truly want to thank the many Epstein survivors standing
[21:32]with us here today.
[21:34]You've undergone an unimaginable pain,
[21:37]unimaginable pain.
[21:39]And I know you live with it constantly.
[21:40]You can't make it go away.
[21:42]It happened.
[21:44]You live with it.
[21:46]But these beautiful people, instead of cursing the
[21:51]darkness that is part of their lives because of what
[21:54]happened to them, are lighting a candle,
[21:57]lighting a candle to make sure this doesn't ever happen again.
[22:02]Thank you for that courage.
[22:04]Thank you for that inspiration.
[22:06]And now I want to turn it over to Dani Bensky.
[22:09]She's a New Yorker and a survivor who I'm so honored
[22:13]as my guest at the State of the Union tonight.
[22:16]Dani.
[22:24]Thank you, Senator Schumer.
[22:27]You guys have to, like, lower this.
[22:30]So I'm an Epstein survivor from 2004, 2005.
[22:35]I was 17 years old when I met Jeffrey Epstein.
[22:38]Back then I was a teenager, but I was really a child.
[22:41]I was looking for an adult to help protect me from what felt
[22:45]like monsters, only to find that the monster was him
[22:49]all along.
[22:51]Now I look to the government for help,
[22:53]and they're no better.
[22:54]They're doing the same thing, gaslighting and manipulating
[22:59]victims, the same tactics as Jeffrey and Gilead.
[23:04]The DOJ assures us that they're focused on our safety,
[23:08]but only to exploit us further.
[23:10]There are two cases happening here, two cases of abuse.
[23:15]The first case is one that we endured while we were
[23:18]ensnared in the largest sex trafficking ring that this
[23:22]country has known to date.
[23:24]They're covering everything up and protecting power,
[23:27]not the young and the vulnerable.
[23:30]As we prepare to attend the State of the Union,
[23:33]survivors and this country have so many questions that
[23:36]need to be answered.
[23:38]The first one is, where are the rest of the files?
[23:42]The truth must come out.
[23:44]Why are there no investigations when there are
[23:51]plenty of people in these files to investigate?
[23:54]Have we read them?
[23:56]Why is the FBI director out there partying like a
[23:58]college kid when he should be investigating the vast
[24:02]criminal enterprise?
[24:03]This administration needs to do better.
[24:08]How can anybody feel safe in this country when our
[24:12]President's sympathies are going to the former Prince
[24:15]Andrew and not to survivors?
[24:19]There are a few things that really need to be done
[24:22]immediately.
[24:23]First is the release of all of the files,
[24:25]which we know.
[24:26]Next is to hold accountable those who
[24:28]continuously exploit.
[24:30]And the third is to pass Virginia's bill.
[24:33]We need to pass Virginia's bill because justice
[24:36]should never, ever expire.
[24:39]Release the damn files.
[24:40]Thank you, everybody.
[24:51]We'll now hear from ranking member Robert Garcia.
[25:03]Hey, everyone.
[25:04]I'm going to just make a few comments.
[25:07]And I just want to start by saying that it is always
[25:10]an honor to just be here with the courage of Annie.
[25:16]For those that don't know, Annie Farmer and her
[25:18]story and the story of her family,
[25:21]we are always in awe of you.
[25:23]And everything that you and your family have gone
[25:25]through, we just want to know that we love you
[25:26]and we support you, always.
[25:28]I also, absolutely, I also just want to thank the
[25:33]WIP for her leadership, also to all of the women
[25:37]in our caucus that are providing so much support
[25:41]to the survivors that are part of our investigation,
[25:45]that are leading on this issue.
[25:48]I know that both of our committees are so grateful.
[25:52]Not Judiciary, Oversight Democrats,
[25:55]our Democratic women are leading the way on this
[25:58]issue, and I just, we are forever grateful to every
[26:00]single one of you for your leadership,
[26:01]your voice, and your courage in uplifting these
[26:04]incredible women.
[26:05]So thank you so much for that.
[26:10]And I just want to, I just want to remind the
[26:12]President and the Attorney General that they are right
[26:16]now in violation of the law.
[26:19]And when the President makes his speech tonight,
[26:21]he is going to know that looking back at him will
[26:26]be numerous survivors of Epstein's abuse.
[26:30]And that he is facilitating the single largest
[26:34]cover-up in modern American history.
[26:37]It's the single largest cover-up in modern
[26:41]American history.
[26:43]And who are we protecting?
[26:45]Why are we protecting powerful, wealthy,
[26:49]connected men?
[26:51]Why are we protecting billionaires from justice?
[26:56]We are always going to center the survivors.
[27:01]The single most important part of our investigation
[27:05]and what we're guided by is justice for Annie.
[27:10]It's justice for Maria.
[27:12]It's justice for so many that have been wronged,
[27:16]harmed, and terrorized by not just Jeffrey Epstein
[27:20]and Ghislaine Maxwell, but by the co-conspirators
[27:24]and all that help them commit their abuse.
[27:28]Let's be clear, over 50 percent of the files have
[27:34]still not been released to the public.
[27:36]And we know as early as just today and yesterday,
[27:40]there are numerous files that we have confirmed
[27:42]that are missing from the DOJ that we know exist,
[27:46]including accusations and serious accusations,
[27:51]not just against the President,
[27:52]but against others.
[27:54]It's time to release the files.
[27:56]It's time to center the survivors.
[27:58]And the President should know that even though he wants
[28:00]to call this a hoax, that our investigation
[28:02]is just getting started.
[28:09]Thank you so much, Congressman Garcia.
[28:12]Your leadership has meant so much to myself
[28:15]and to so many of us.
[28:18]The government's original sin in this case was not
[28:20]following up in any way on my sister Maria Farmer's 1996
[28:25]report to the FBI about Epstein and Maxwell
[28:29]and the powerful circle that surrounded them.
[28:32]Since that time, the girls and women who were abused
[28:35]by these criminals have been repeatedly neglected
[28:39]and re-victimized by our own government.
[28:42]The recent release of materials highlights this,
[28:44]as the names of many powerful individuals remain redacted,
[28:48]while the names, personal data, and even images,
[28:52]nude images, of many victims were released.
[28:56]Rather than apologize for this failure,
[28:59]this DOJ has doubled down on denial and distraction.
[29:04]We are tired of the games.
[29:06]When those we elect to office misuse their positions,
[29:09]it harms us all.
[29:11]We are here to remind our elected leaders
[29:13]and other Americans that there is always a choice.
[29:18]You can sit by and watch the abuse of power
[29:21]as so many wealthy, educated, connected individuals did
[29:25]in the Epstein case.
[29:27]Or you can do the right thing, the courageous thing.
[29:31]You can speak out the way my sister Maria Farmer did
[29:35]because of her concern for her younger sisters.
[29:38]You can speak out the way Virginia Roberts-Jufray did
[29:42]after she looked down and saw her daughter
[29:45]and knew she deserved safety and protection.
[29:49]I know that courage is contagious
[29:51]because these women inspired me to find my voice.
[29:55]And the more I have used it, the more I have heard
[29:57]from others who are speaking out about their own experiences
[30:00]of abuse and standing with us in demanding true transparency,
[30:05]the whole truth that survivors and the American people deserve.
[30:09]Thank you.
[30:15]Now we'll hear from Rep Maxine Dexter.
[30:23]Good afternoon.
[30:24]I am honored to be here.
[30:26]I am Maxine Dexter, a mother, a physician,
[30:29]and the proud U.S. Representative for Oregon's Third.
[30:31]And I'm deeply honored to have Lisa Phillips here
[30:35]as my guest tonight for the State of the Union,
[30:38]a survivor of Epstein's abuse,
[30:40]a powerful voice for justice,
[30:42]and she will attend the State of the Union tonight
[30:44]on my behalf.
[30:46]Tonight, as Epstein survivors like Lisa stare down
[30:49]our government, a government that has failed them
[30:51]for decades, you will all bear witness
[30:55]to an important shift in power in this nation.
[30:58]The wealthy and influential have persistently been shielded
[31:01]from accountability for their actions.
[31:04]This has certainly been true for the Epstein class
[31:06]of abusers.
[31:07]This exclusive, twisted club has gone to great lengths
[31:11]to protect their own, to bury the truth,
[31:14]and to perpetuate harm to young girls and women
[31:17]across the world.
[31:19]Not anymore.
[31:20]Tonight, as Trump tries to spend his first year
[31:22]in office as anything other than a crusade
[31:24]to protect himself and the Epstein club of abusers,
[31:28]Lisa's presence, the survivor's presence,
[31:31]makes clear that the powerful will not be protected.
[31:36]It is due to the persistent courage and resilience
[31:39]of survivors that abusers will be held accountable
[31:42]and brought to justice.
[31:44]Accountability means the Department of Justice
[31:46]fully investigates and prosecutes the crimes
[31:49]disclosed in the Epstein files when we get to see them.
[31:52]I was there just a few hours ago.
[31:54]There's hundreds of papers
[31:56]that are completely blacked out still.
[31:58]The brave women who have persistently advocated
[32:01]for transparency and accountability
[32:03]deserve our deepest respect and gratitude.
[32:06]Thank you, Lisa.
[32:08]Thank you all for being here,
[32:10]for your voice, for your courage.
[32:12]You've helped us protect our girls, my girl,
[32:16]from evil and have sheltered
[32:18]and will help us unshelter the powerful
[32:21]who have been hiding too long.
[32:23]I proudly stand with you,
[32:24]demanding the time of protecting abusers to come to an end.
[32:29]Thank you, and I'm gonna yield to Lisa Phillips now.
[32:46]Good afternoon.
[32:47]I'm Lisa Phillips,
[32:49]and I'm a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein and his world.
[32:52]I wanna thank Congresswoman Dexter of Oregon
[32:54]for inviting me to be here today.
[32:56]It's such an honor.
[32:58]I always get emotional
[32:59]because every time I look at my survivor sisters
[33:02]behind me, I am reminded that they represent
[33:05]at least 200 victims.
[33:07]I don't want you guys to forget that.
[33:09]So when I stand here, I do not stand alone.
[33:12]I represent hundreds of faceless, nameless survivors.
[33:15]Some I have had the honor of knowing
[33:18]and supporting over the last few years,
[33:20]young women and girls who were never given a voice.
[33:23]My survivor sisters and I have come to Capitol Hill
[33:26]many times this past year, as you know,
[33:28]and we will keep coming back again and again
[33:31]until all the Epstein files have been released
[33:34]because accountability is impossible
[33:36]without full transparency.
[33:40]Those of us who live through the horrors of Epstein world
[33:43]have always known this was never just a story
[33:45]about one powerful man.
[33:47]It was never just a crisis of wealth
[33:49]and privilege in America.
[33:51]It is and always has been a global crisis of corruption.
[33:56]We are only beginning to understand the depth
[33:58]and breadth of it, and the question remains
[34:01]how many more powerful figures
[34:03]on the international stage will be named
[34:05]when the remaining files are released.
[34:08]The world deserves to know.
[34:11]That is why it has been an honor to recently speak
[34:13]with elected officials in several European nations,
[34:16]urging each country to land, sorry,
[34:19]urging each country to launch independent investigations
[34:22]into every single person of power named in these files.
[34:27]Every person named.
[34:29]Some may have committed no crimes.
[34:32]Some may have.
[34:34]But every person connected to wrongdoing
[34:36]in Epstein's world and any nation must be investigated
[34:39]and if appropriate, held accountable.
[34:43]Every single one.
[34:45]We're not going away.
[34:47]We're not fading into silence.
[34:49]Thank you.
[34:53]Please.
[35:00]Hi, my name is Laura Bloom McGee.
[35:02]My remarks are very short
[35:03]because my survivor sisters have said a lot.
[35:06]I want to thank Congresswoman,
[35:08]I believe she just stepped out,
[35:09]Julia Brownlee of California
[35:11]that invited graciously invited me here from Arkansas.
[35:14]I have not heard from any of our leaders from Arkansas.
[35:17]So thank you, Congresswoman Brownlee.
[35:20]Speaking out about sex trafficking saved lives.
[35:24]Being here with my sisters has helped save mine.
[35:30]This has never been about politics.
[35:32]It's about little girls and young women
[35:35]who have and continue to be exploited by the powerful.
[35:40]Justice should be non-negotiable.
[35:44]Transparency should be non-negotiable.
[35:47]Integrity should be non-negotiable.
[35:50]No one should escape accountability.
[35:53]We will continue fighting for independent investigations
[35:57]and prosecutions as the evidence warrants.
[36:00]We will not be silenced.
[36:01]Thank you.
[36:06]Melanie and Representative Andrea Romero.
[36:10]Melanie.
[36:11]Senator Melanie Stansberry, my honor.
[36:13]Yes, yes, all right.
[36:18]All right, well good afternoon, everyone.
[36:20]I'm Congresswoman Melanie Stansberry
[36:22]from New Mexico's First Congressional District
[36:24]and I am so deeply honored to introduce to you
[36:28]the original co-sponsor of the Epstein-Files
[36:31]Truth Commission in the state of New Mexico,
[36:33]Andrea Romero, the state house representative.
[36:36]I want to share a few thoughts today
[36:42]as we prepare to enter the chamber tonight
[36:46]to face Donald Trump and to demand justice
[36:49]for not only the survivors standing behind us,
[36:52]but all survivors who have been failed
[36:55]by the U.S. Department of Justice
[36:57]in prosecuting crimes against children and women and boys
[37:02]and people who have been exploited for decades.
[37:05]We are gathered here today to fight for one thing,
[37:09]justice and accountability.
[37:12]And we will not be silenced.
[37:15]We will not move on.
[37:18]And that is why I am grateful to be joined by my guest
[37:21]who will talk about the work that we are doing
[37:23]in New Mexico.
[37:25]But tonight matters more than ever
[37:27]because survivors deserve to be seen,
[37:31]they deserve to be heard,
[37:33]and their presence matters more than ever
[37:35]as the world's eyes are upon us.
[37:38]Because let me remind you that every survivor
[37:40]who is here who raised their hand a couple of weeks ago
[37:44]during Pam Bondi's hearing knows
[37:46]that they have been failed by this administration
[37:49]and many administrations in getting the justice
[37:53]that they so rightly deserve.
[37:55]We refuse to let the powerful hide behind money,
[37:59]power, and influence,
[38:01]and we refuse to remain silent about Donald Trump's hiding
[38:05]about the truth of his own individual investigation.
[38:10]These are the files that the FBI has removed
[38:13]from their public Department of Justice database.
[38:19]The yellow files here are the files
[38:21]that President Trump is hiding.
[38:24]The yellow files here are investigations
[38:26]with a woman who was abused as a minor
[38:28]and who alleged that Donald Trump was her abuser.
[38:32]These are the files that they are hiding
[38:34]among many millions of more.
[38:37]But I wanna just close things out
[38:39]by sharing with you the words of perhaps
[38:41]one of the most important people
[38:43]who cannot be here today,
[38:45]and that is Virginia Dufray.
[38:47]So let me read you just the closing passage from her book.
[38:52]If you've read this far,
[38:54]I hope my story has moved you
[38:56]to seek ways to free yourself from a bad situation,
[39:01]say to stand up for someone else in need,
[39:03]or to simply reframe how you judge victims
[39:06]of sexual abuse.
[39:08]Each one of us can make a positive change.
[39:11]I truly believe that.
[39:12]I hope for a world in which predators
[39:14]are punished, not protected.
[39:16]Victims are treated with compassion, not shamed,
[39:20]and powerful people face the same consequences
[39:23]as anyone else.
[39:25]I yearn too for a world in which perpetrators
[39:28]face more shame than their victims do,
[39:31]and where anyone who's been trafficked
[39:33]can confront their abusers when they're ready,
[39:36]no matter how much time has passed.
[39:39]She then goes on to say,
[39:41]we don't live in this world yet,
[39:43]but tonight, we're here to stand with the survivors
[39:47]to say that we do.
[39:49]And with that, I would like to introduce
[39:51]our amazing State House Representative Andrea Romero.
[39:59]Good afternoon, everyone.
[40:00]Again, I'm House State Representative Andrea Romero
[40:03]from the District of Santa Fe,
[40:06]and I am the Chair of the Epstein Truth Commission.
[40:10]I am honored to stand alongside
[40:12]these courageous survivors today,
[40:15]and I want them to know New Mexico sees you,
[40:18]New Mexico believes you,
[40:20]and New Mexico is taking action.
[40:22]Last week, our New Mexico House voted unanimously
[40:26]to create a Truth Commission,
[40:28]a bipartisan group of state legislators
[40:31]committed to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's crimes
[40:33]in New Mexico, find out what happened at Zorro Ranch,
[40:37]and hold perpetrators and enablers accountable.
[40:41]If merited, we'll turn these files into trials.
[40:45]Yes.
[40:46]Yes.
[40:50]Our commission will pull together the full story
[40:53]of what happened in our state.
[40:55]We will determine whether local and state officers
[40:58]appropriately responded when survivors came forward.
[41:02]We will use our subpoena power
[41:04]to compel witnesses to share what they know,
[41:08]and we will create a safe survivor-centered space
[41:11]for victims to be finally heard.
[41:14]We are already working.
[41:16]We held our first meeting
[41:17]the morning after the commission was approved
[41:20]because we will no longer wait for the answers
[41:23]we should have had years ago.
[41:27]This is about the truth.
[41:29]This is about accountability.
[41:31]This is about making sure that no child,
[41:35]no vulnerable person ever has to go through
[41:38]what the survivors standing here today have endured.
[41:42]New Mexico is stepping up for the survivors,
[41:45]for our communities, and for every future generation
[41:49]that deserves to grow up safe.
[41:51]I want to thank you all,
[41:52]and thank you for this opportunity.
[41:57]So the last survivor that we will hear from tonight,
[42:00]and I want to re-emphasize
[42:03]the point that was made earlier,
[42:05]that each one of these survivors
[42:06]who have come to speak today,
[42:08]each one of the family members
[42:09]who has come to share their tears with us today
[42:13]represents hundreds, represents hundreds.
[42:17]Think about that.
[42:20]Think about the number of girls and women
[42:23]who were abused over the decades.
[42:26]And one of those women is Liz Stein,
[42:28]and I want to thank Mary Gay Scanlon
[42:30]because she is the guest of both me and Mary Gay Scanlon,
[42:34]and she has taken the pain that she endured
[42:38]and turned it into advocacy
[42:40]as she continues to work with survivors
[42:43]and against trafficking.
[42:56]My name is Liz Stein.
[42:58]I met Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
[43:00]when I was a senior in college,
[43:02]just 21 years old, in 1994.
[43:06]My involvement with them lasted approximately three years.
[43:11]Before the State of the Union,
[43:13]it is worth asking ourselves
[43:15]what our state of moral courage is.
[43:20]Human trafficking persists,
[43:21]largely due to our cultural discomfort
[43:24]with directly naming sexual violence.
[43:28]Talking about sexual assault
[43:30]not only makes us uncomfortable,
[43:33]it exposes failure.
[43:36]It reveals where power has been protected
[43:39]at the expense of the vulnerable.
[43:42]It forces us to confront
[43:43]who is protected in this country and who is not.
[43:48]The crimes of Jeffrey Epstein
[43:50]were not committed in isolation.
[43:53]They were enabled by social,
[43:55]financial, political systems that looked the other way.
[44:00]Survivors have been telling the truth
[44:03]for decades since Maria Farmer
[44:05]first came forward in 1996.
[44:09]The late Virginia Joufray
[44:11]endured public scrutiny and character assassination,
[44:14]but the release of the files
[44:16]confirmed that what she was saying all along
[44:19]was the truth.
[44:21]For more than 30 years,
[44:23]survivors have pushed, fought, testified, and organized
[44:27]to bring attention to the crimes
[44:29]of Epstein and his associates.
[44:33]Trauma does not operate on a legislative timeline.
[44:37]Justice delayed by law is justice denied by design.
[44:43]Around the world, investigations have reached the powerful,
[44:47]but our Department of Justice and this administration
[44:50]have handled the release of information
[44:52]in a way that leaves survivors and the public
[44:56]asking why the United States
[44:59]appears reluctant to lead on accountability
[45:03]in a case that happened largely on our soil.
[45:07]The world is watching.
[45:10]Survivors are watching.
[45:13]And it is embarrassing that we are not setting the standard.
[45:18]Courage is contagious, but so is impunity.
[45:22]We the people was never meant to mean we the powerful.
[45:28]Accountability is not vengeance.
[45:30]It is fidelity to the rule of law,
[45:33]which is the baseline requirement
[45:36]of a functioning democracy.
[45:39]History will not remember how carefully
[45:42]we avoided discomfort.
[45:45]It will remember whether we demanded the truth.
[45:50]Thank you.
[45:55]So as we heard today from my colleagues
[45:58]and from the survivors,
[46:01]you know it strikes me that there were two
[46:03]incredible themes.
[46:05]One is that the courage and the persistence
[46:07]of the survivors to expose the horror
[46:11]of the sexual crimes and abuses
[46:16]that happened during the Epstein ring
[46:18]was not only to decry the idea
[46:24]that women can be used, abused, and then discarded.
[46:28]It wasn't only to talk about that pain
[46:32]that I think Americans feel when we see this
[46:35]and why this has rung such a tune.
[46:38]Because we don't want that to happen to ourselves.
[46:41]Even though one in four women suffers sexual assault,
[46:45]we don't want it to happen to our children,
[46:48]to our sister, to our wives.
[46:50]But we also are seeing in this moment
[46:54]that these women are some of the most powerful
[46:58]and consequential women of generations.
[47:01]Of generations.
[47:03]Because they have brought us to a moment
[47:06]where they are saying it is not okay
[47:10]for us to live in a society
[47:13]where the rich and the powerful
[47:15]and the well-connected get away with anything
[47:18]and everything and that is what has happened
[47:21]until today and until you all started
[47:27]and did stop because it was your persistence.
[47:31]It was your courage that is contagious
[47:35]that has brought us here.
[47:38]And it has brought us to a point
[47:39]where three million files have been released,
[47:43]three million have not.
[47:46]Three million have not.
[47:48]And it has brought us to a point
[47:49]where we know that even as those files are released,
[47:54]that the Epstein survivors,
[47:56]the up to a thousand girls and young women
[48:01]don't have recourse.
[48:03]Because when the Department of Justice
[48:05]refuses to criminally investigate,
[48:08]they cannot sue civilly.
[48:12]So that is why Virginia's law is so important
[48:15]and it is important that we pass Virginia's law
[48:18]because the abusers should not have time
[48:21]as one of their weapons.
[48:23]And right now they do.
[48:25]Because right now the statute of limitations
[48:27]is 10 years and what can you do in 10 years?
[48:30]You are simply recovering from the trauma
[48:34]that you have gone through.
[48:36]And so that is why we are hoping that everybody,
[48:39]everybody, and that it is a bipartisan effort
[48:43]to pass Virginia's law.
[48:45]Not only to honor your sister and your sister,
[48:49]but to honor all the women and men
[48:53]and boys and girls that get abused.
[48:57]Because what the Epstein survivors have taught us
[49:02]and what this moment is about is that we matter.
[49:07]That we matter.
[49:09]That people who are not powerful matter.
[49:12]That as Liz said, we the people is not we the powerful.
[49:17]That we the people in this moment
[49:19]is what this Constitution was made for.
[49:22]This Constitution that we are celebrating
[49:24]was made for this moment where we will say no.
[49:29]It is not okay to always favor the rich and powerful
[49:33]and well-connected, but it is important that we stand up
[49:38]for those who are scared and vulnerable and weakened
[49:43]and preyed upon.
[49:45]Whether that is because you are hungry
[49:47]or you need healthcare or you need protection
[49:49]or you need somebody to be investigated criminally.
[49:54]Which I think we need to have a whole lot more
[49:56]of that happening.
[49:57]And with that, I just want to thank the Epstein survivors
[50:00]and tell you that our votes are with you
[50:06]and we will always be with you.
[50:07]As Chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus,
[50:09]I thank you for coming today.
[50:11]And we have a little bit of time.
[50:13]I don't know how much time we have before.
[50:15]We don't have any time.
[50:17]But because we have to go vote.
[50:22]So is that right?
[50:24]We're all going to go just go vote.
[50:25]Votes have been called.
[50:26]So thank you so very much.
[50:37]Nice to meet you.
[50:38]How are you?
[50:39]Yes.
[50:41]Yes.
[50:42]Yeah.
[50:42]Let's drink a little right here.
[50:46]That would be helpful.
[51:00]Thank you.
[51:38]Thank you.
[52:08]I'm Grace, by the way.
[52:11]Nice to meet you.
[52:12]And thank you both so much for your time.
[52:15]I was asked if I should put that in front of me
[52:17]when I vote for you.
[52:20]I'm not sure why.
[52:21]It was out of the blue.
[52:23]Thank you.
[52:24]Thank you.
[52:25]Thank you.
[52:26]Thank you.
[52:27]Thank you.
[52:28]Thank you.
[52:29]Thank you.
[52:30]Thank you.
[52:31]Thank you.
[52:32]Thank you.
[52:33]Thank you.
[52:34]Thank you.
[52:35]Thank you.
[52:36]Thank you.
[52:37]Thank you.
[52:39]Thank you.
[52:41]Thank you.
[52:42]Hold onto your vote.
[52:44]Five years ago, you were asking me for the release of the evidence in files.
[53:29]And the fourth class is Missing and Missing.
[53:32]Jordy, and that's not her.
[53:34]She's a girl named Summer.
[53:36]So, you know, I'm a girl that I've been interested in.
[53:40]It's been a long time.
[53:41]I've been interested in Missing and Missing.
[53:43]And I was interested in Missing and Missing.
[53:46]I'm a girl that I've been interested in.
[53:48]That name is a reference to Missing and Missing.
[53:51]I've heard that name before.
[53:53]So I'm interested in Missing and Missing.
[53:56]We are all interested in Missing and Missing.
[53:59]And I'm interested in Missing and Missing.
[54:02]So I'm interested in Missing and Missing.
[54:05]And I'm interested in Missing and Missing.
[54:12]Why was it so rare for Missing and Missing?
[54:19]Essentially, eventually, the state of Missing
[54:21]will move up the question.
[54:23]Those voices and those faces that are talking about
[54:27]what's important in this country.
[54:29]And addressing the F.C. files, not the F.C. files,
[54:34]the F.C. terminology from the week that happened.
[54:40]We want to move forward.
[54:42]And we know that Trump wants to move on to politics.
[54:45]And we're not going to move on to politics.
[54:47]And we want to make sure that the survivors
[54:50]that we're talking about,
[54:52]so that we can focus on what we have got.