“Be Brave”: Epstein Victims Beg Congress to Release the Files
Victims of Jeffrey Epstein implore Congress to release Epstein files.
In a haunting letter, family members of deceased abuse survivor Virginia Giuffre, along with several victims who have accused Donald Trump of participating in Epstein’s child sex trafficking ring, asked lawmakers to “be courageous” in the coming days as they vote to potentially make the records public.
“There is no middle ground here. There is no reason to hide behind party affiliation,” they said in a statement. letter addressed jointly to members of the House and Senate.
“Epstein and [Ghislaine] Maxwell’s crimes revealed a double standard of justice, in which rich and powerful men and women escape retaliation. Despite years of work to bring them to justice, most of Epstein and Maxwell’s co-conspirators remain completely free, continuing to accumulate power and prestige, living without apparent shame.
“As you gather as a family this season, remember that your primary duty is to your constituents,” the writers continued. “Look into the eyes of your children, your sisters, your mothers and your aunts. Imagine if they had been preyed upon. Imagine if you yourself were a survivor. What would you want for them? What would you want for yourself? When you vote, we will remember your decision at the ballot box.”
Pressure on lawmakers increased significantly this week after the success of a petition to force a vote on releasing the records. Just before the petition was passed, the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday released more than 20,000 documents it had obtained from Epstein’s estate, revealing that Trump was a frequent topic in correspondence between Epstein and his correspondents.
In a 2011 email, Epstein expressed gratitude to Trump for remaining silent about the details of his life. The “dog that didn’t bark is Trump,” Epstein wrote, despite the fact that Trump spent hours at one of Epstein’s properties with a known victim.
In a 2017 exchange with former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, Epstein said Trump was the worst person he had known.
“I have met some very bad people, none as bad as Trump,” Epstein wrote. “Not a single decent cell in his body.”
Asked by Trump biographer Michael Wolff in 2019 about the extent of the president’s knowledge about the kidnappings of young girls, Epstein said: “Of course he knew the girls he asked Ghislaine to arrest. »
The White House immediately swept away reports, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisting the emails prove nothing. Trump, in turn, accused Democrats of invent the Trump-Epstein connection, repeatedly calling it a “hoax.”
In the halls of Congress, conservative lawmakers are turning against Trump. Privately, senior Republican officials expect dozens of members of their party — “maybe 100 or more” — to vote in favor of a bill that would make public the federal government’s trove of Epstein files. Policy reported Wednesday. A handful have already expressed their intention to support the next bill, including Reps. Eli Crane, Don Bacon and Warren Davidson.
