On September 3, 2025, the steps of the U.S. Capitol became the stage for a powerful and emotional demand for transparency. Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse—many speaking publicly for the first time—gathered alongside a bipartisan group of lawmakers to urge Congress to release all government files related to the late financier’s decades-long crimes. Their call, echoing off the marble columns, was clear: end the secrecy that has shielded abusers and deliver justice to those who suffered in silence for far too long.
The survivors’ press conference came just as Congress returned from its August recess, reigniting a heated debate over how much of the Epstein investigation should be made public. According to ABC News, the group’s appearance on Capitol Hill coincided with renewed legislative efforts—including the proposed Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would compel Attorney General Pam Bondi to publish all unclassified information about the case. The survivors weren’t alone; standing with them were lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, signaling rare bipartisan agreement on the need for answers.
Yet, as the survivors spoke, the political battle lines were already being drawn. Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie pressed ahead with a discharge petition to force a floor vote on releasing more government files—an effort that, as Nebraska Examiner reported, still lacked the necessary support from Republican colleagues. Nebraska’s House delegation, for instance, voted for a largely symbolic resolution supporting continued investigation but declined to back Massie’s more aggressive petition, citing concerns over procedure and control of the House floor. Representative Adrian Smith explained, “Victims of Jeffrey Epstein deserve justice,” but said he would not sign onto a discharge petition “which hands control of the House floor to congressional Democrats.”
Representative Mike Flood echoed these procedural worries, telling CNN, “I support regular order. We have a plan. It’s going to get implemented, and it’s going to happen this week. What Massie and the Democrats are doing is all-out reckless … They do not have victim protection … it was written in a sloppy way.” Don Bacon, Nebraska’s 2nd District representative, stated, “I’m going to vote on the bill that will come to the floor,” and described the House’s symbolic resolution as “more far-reaching than the discharge bill.”
Despite these internal divisions, the survivors’ message on the Capitol steps was anything but ambiguous. Anouska De Georgiou, a model who has spoken out about being groomed and raped by Epstein as a teenager, addressed lawmakers directly: “This is about ending secrecy wherever abuse of power takes root,” she declared. “To be clear, the only motive for opposing this bill would be to conceal wrongdoing. You have a choice. Stand with the truth or with the lies that have protected predators for decades.”
Another survivor, Haley Robson, invited President Trump to meet with her, stressing the nonpartisan nature of their plea: “I am a registered Republican. Not that that matters because this is not political,” she told reporters. She described hearing the case dismissed as a “hoax” as “like being gutted from the inside out. It feels like you just want to explode inside because nobody again is understanding that this is a real situation. These women are real. We’re here in person.”
Actor Chauntae Davies recounted how Epstein flaunted his connections to powerful figures—including Trump and former President Bill Clinton—as a form of intimidation. “Epstein surrounded himself…with the most powerful leaders of our country and the world. He abused not only me but countless others, and everyone seemed to look away,” Davies said. “The truth is, Epstein had a free pass. He bragged about his powerful friends, including our current president, Donald Trump. It was his biggest brag, actually.”
For Marina Lacerda, a Brazilian immigrant, the event marked her first time speaking publicly about her ordeal. She described being lured by Epstein as a struggling 14-year-old and said, “It went from a dream job to the worst nightmare. I had no way out until he finally told me that I was too old.”
Just a day before the press conference, the House oversight committee released more than 33,000 pages of documents from the federal Epstein investigation. Yet, as Al Jazeera noted, most of the material was already publicly available and did little to satisfy those seeking new revelations. The Department of Justice, for its part, released a memo in July denying the existence of any incriminating “client list,” a point Attorney General Bondi had previously contradicted when she told Fox News such a list was “sitting on my desk right now.”
President Donald Trump, who has long been linked socially to Epstein, has become a focal point in the controversy. During his 2024 re-election campaign, Trump promised to release more Epstein files if returned to office. However, since taking office in January 2025, his administration’s document releases have been limited—fueling conspiracy theories and frustration among both survivors and political opponents. On the day of the survivors’ Capitol event, Trump was asked about the push for transparency during an Oval Office meeting with the president of Poland. He responded bluntly: “So this is a Democrat hoax that never ends. You know, it reminds me a little of the Kennedy situation. We gave them everything over and over again, more and more and more, and nobody’s ever satisfied.” He went on to say, “They’re trying to get people to talk about something that’s totally irrelevant to the success that we’ve had as a nation since I’ve been president… it’s enough.”
The White House, according to CNN, views the discharge petition as “a very hostile act,” with officials arguing that supporting Massie and his Democratic allies would undermine the administration’s preferred approach of a more controlled file release. The Trump administration has faced criticism from both its own base and congressional Democrats for what many see as a lack of transparency, especially after earlier promises to fully expose Epstein’s network.
Still, some lawmakers continue to push for full disclosure. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who stood with the survivors, insisted, “The truth needs to come out, and the government holds the truth. The cases that are sealed hold the truth. Jeffrey Epstein’s estate holds the truth. The FBI, the DOJ and the CIA hold the truth.” Representative Ro Khanna added, “A nation that allows rich and powerful men to traffic and abuse young girls without consequence is a nation that has lost its moral and spiritual core.”
Massie, for his part, condemned efforts to downplay the survivors’ suffering: “I think it’s shameful that this has been called a hoax. Hopefully, today we can clear that up. This is not a hoax. This is real. There are real survivors. There are real victims to this criminal enterprise. And the perpetrators are being protected because they’re rich and powerful and political donors to the establishment here in Washington, DC. So today, we’re standing with these survivors.”
As the debate over the Epstein files continues to roil Congress and the White House, the survivors’ message remains undiminished: their stories are real, their demands for justice urgent, and the time for secrecy is over.
