Epstein survivors say they felt ‘degraded’ and a ‘lack of empathy’ from AG Pam Bondi

Six survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse and two family members of another accuser said they felt “degraded” during Wednesday’s contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing, during which Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to confront them and apologize.

Several Epstein survivors and relatives were at the Capitol, where lawmakers questioned Bondi for more than five hours on several topics, including the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein case. He was specifically asked why the released records were heavily redacted and why the names of several survivors were not.

“There was such a lack of empathy today. There was such a lack, honestly, of humanity today,” Dani Bensky said on NBC’s “Hallie Jackson NOW.”

At one point, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Democrat of Washington, asked Epstein survivors in the room to stand and raise their hands if they had not had the opportunity to meet with the Justice Department. Everyone raised their hands.

Jayapal then asked Bondi to turn to the survivors and apologize. She didn’t do any of those things.

“I think something that devastated us all a little bit was that she had three opportunities to address the survivors. We stood up, and all she had to do was turn around, and she couldn’t even turn around and face us,” Bensky said.

Bensky said she was 17 and an aspiring ballerina in 2004 when Epstein sexually assaulted her in his New York mansion.

“I felt like a ghost walking through Epstein’s mansion. I felt like there were so many people seeing me. There were so many people who should have spoken up,” Bensky said.

“Now, not letting AG Bondi turn around and recognize us is exactly the same type of victimization,” she continued.

Teresa Helm, who alleges that Ghislaine Maxwell groomed her and that Epstein sexually assaulted her in 2002, when she was 22, said of the hearing: “It seems like there was no integrity in this room today when it came to Epstein and Maxwell.” »

Epstein, a politically connected convicted sex offender, committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking of minors. Maxwell, his co-conspirator, was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking charges and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Sharlene Rochard said Wednesday that she felt “really degraded” and that Bondi “took no responsibility” for the survivors. Rochard said she met Epstein when she was a teenager while working as a model in New York.

In her opening remarks, Bondi referred to Epstein’s victims, saying: “I am deeply sorry for what any victim, no matter who they are, has gone through, especially because of this monster. »

Jess Michaels, another accuser, said that while Bondi apologized for Epstein’s crimes, she did not apologize for “the crimes of the cover-up.” Michaels accused Bondi of participating in the alleged cover-up.

Marina Lacerda criticized Bondi and the Justice Department for allowing the names of survivors in the latest files to be released.

“At first she sat there, she apologized for what Jeffrey Epstein did to us, but she couldn’t apologize for what she did to us, what her department did to us,” Lacerda said. “You had one job – it was to redact our names, to respect our privacy – but yet you carefully took the time to redact all these rich and powerful men.” (The Justice Department on Tuesday released the names of three people the FBI once called Epstein co-conspirators after lawmakers complained the names had been improperly withheld.)

Lacerda said she was 14 when she met Epstein, lured to her mansion under the guise of being paid to give massages.

Asked Wednesday why the names of survivors were in the released files, Bondi said: “We did our best, immediately. »

When asked whether any of Epstein’s co-conspirators would be prosecuted, Bondi said the Justice Department had ongoing investigations. She did not specify who or what was the subject of the investigation.

“Who, what, where, why, when? We have no information,” Bensky said. “I think they would come to us for that information.”

Bensky, Helm, Rochard, Lacerda, Michaels and Epstein accuser Liz Stein all indicated that none of them had heard from the Justice Department. Sky Roberts — the brother of Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Guiffre, who died by suicide last year — and his wife, Amanda Roberts, said they, too, have not heard from the Justice Department.

All said they wanted more prosecutions.

Amanda Roberts said her late sister-in-law “named more than 40 names in sealed depositions and open depositions.” However, she said, the Justice Department has still not recognized or investigated these people.

Guiffre claimed Epstein and Maxwell trafficked her to former Prince Andrew in the early 2000s, when she was 17. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles last year, reached a legal settlement with Guiffre in 2022 for an undisclosed amount, but has denied having sex with her, as well as any wrongdoing linked to Epstein. He was never charged.

Guiffre’s brother called Wednesday’s hearing “gaslighting.”

“You know, she’s [Bondi] like, “Any survivor can come forward and talk to us. “Well, first of all, you don’t really have an open door policy,” he said.

“I hope the American people can continue to support us,” he added. “I hope they can demand justice, because in reality, justice needs to happen.”