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