This video captures a tense and highly controversial moment from April 28, 2026, where individuals identified as alleged victims connected to the wider Jeffrey Epstein scandal publicly confront U.S. President Donald Trump.
During the confrontation, serious accusations are raised, sparking intense reactions both on the ground and across social media. The clip has quickly gone viral, fueling debate, outrage, and deep political polarization. While the claims made in the video are extremely grave, it is important to note that they remain allegations and have not been independently verified in a court of law.
#Trump #EpsteinCase #BreakingNews #USPolitics #TrumpNews #EpsteinFiles #ViralVideo #PoliticalScandal #WhiteHouse #USNews #GlobalNews #TrendingNow #NewsUpdate #Controversy #LegalBattle #MediaStorm #ViralClip #Investigation #PoliticsToday #HeadlineNews
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During the confrontation, serious accusations are raised, sparking intense reactions both on the ground and across social media. The clip has quickly gone viral, fueling debate, outrage, and deep political polarization. While the claims made in the video are extremely grave, it is important to note that they remain allegations and have not been independently verified in a court of law.
#Trump #EpsteinCase #BreakingNews #USPolitics #TrumpNews #EpsteinFiles #ViralVideo #PoliticalScandal #WhiteHouse #USNews #GlobalNews #TrendingNow #NewsUpdate #Controversy #LegalBattle #MediaStorm #ViralClip #Investigation #PoliticsToday #HeadlineNews
~HT.318~ED.420~PR.460~GR.538~VG.HM~
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NewsTranscript
00:00And to the survivors, I want to say, and I know I say this to everyone here, thank you.
00:05Thank you for your strength. Thank you for your resilience. And thank you for your determination
00:10to tell the truth, even when the system failed you. This hearing is long overdue. Myself and
00:18Debbie Wasserman-Sheltson, we have been asking for a hearing for many years here, for many reasons
00:24I won't go into, but we're here today. Because it is right here, folks, right here in Palm
00:31Beach County, more than 20 years ago, that the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's horrific
00:37crimes were first denied justice, with devastating results. In 2005, the Palm Beach Police Department,
00:46led by then-Chief Michael Ryder, I'm giving him a shout-out, a good guy, he uncovered a
00:53deeply disturbing pattern of predatory sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates,
01:00targeting women, of course, and young girls, many recruited from our local high schools right
01:06here in Palm Beach County. The police did their job. They listened to the survivors. They built
01:12a serious case. Then they brought it to then State Attorney Barry Krischer. I call his name
01:17because his succeeding prosecutors are not involved. But instead of filing charges, was it overwhelmed
01:27by the power, by the wealth? He sent the case to a grand jury where prosecutors shockingly
01:35minimized the abuse, limited the witnesses, and treated vulnerable young girls as if they were criminals.
01:42And you can read that grand jury testimony yourself. At the urging of Krischer's prosecutors, the grand jury
01:51returned just one count against Epstein, and it is jaw-dropping solicitation of prostitution, punishable
01:59by up to 60 days in jail. How crazy and wrong, an abomination if you ask me. Disappointed and alarmed,
02:10the chief writer took the case to federal authorities, and what followed was more shock and awe to the
02:16justice system. In 2008, as we've heard, Acosta approved the secret shameful non-prosecution deal
02:23without notifying the survivors, and then sent the case back to Palm Beach County. Epstein was allowed to
02:29plead guilty to solicitation of prostitution, solicitation for a minor for prostitution. Really? That was that?
02:38And then he got an 18-month sentence, which he served about 13 months, federal immunity
02:44from prosecution here in South Florida, immunity for unnamed co-conspirators, and work relief
02:53privileges. Listen to this. He had work relief privileges that allowed him to leave the jail
03:00each day to continue his systematic sexual exploitation of women and girls. And the most
03:07troubling also, a deal was hidden from the public. And the full extent didn't come to light until
03:14reporting from the Miami Herald and the Palm Beach Post, who brought the fight to bring the grand jury
03:19records into the open. Justice was denied without explanation. And listen, I'm hoping as we move forward,
03:26these local prosecutors must be subpoenaed and they must be questioned under oath, because they
03:34I think they know the secret. So these survivors were abused first by a predator and then failed by
03:42a justice system that too often protected wealth and power over vulnerable women and children. And let's
03:48be clear, folks, had prosecutors in Florida done their jobs, most likely hundreds of young women might have
03:55been spared unimaginable harm. So we're here again. We're going to continue to ask the questions,
04:02questions that should have been answered years ago. Why was Jeffrey Epstein, a serial predator who
04:08uses wealth and influence to exploit underage girls, given little more than a slap of the wrist?
04:17Who else should be held accountable? And what must we continue to do to make sure this never happens
04:23again? We owe the survivors and the public the answers and more. And with that, I thank you,
04:30and I yield back. Thank you. Thank you, Congresswoman. We're going to, of course,
04:35hear some opening testimony from survivors and advocates who will speak about the failure of our
04:41justice system to protect them, others, and certainly to hold Epstein and so many others accountable.
04:47I want to, they're going to each provide some opening remarks. I do want to introduce them
04:51briefly. We're going to hear from Dani Benski, who is an advocate, dance, teaching artist,
04:57choreographer, and Epstein survivor. As an educator of the arts, Dani's advocacy derives from
05:03creating a safer world for her students and future generations. She is a public speaker and hopes that by
05:09sharing her story, we can get an insight perspective into grooming and how abuse can happen and how systems
05:15fail people. Dani was abused by Jeffrey Epstein in 2004 and 2005 when she was just 17 years old
05:25and working as a dancer in New York City. She has since spoken out about the government's handling of
05:31the case and has pursued legal action. And, of course, the amount of courage is incredible,
05:38and I want to thank, of course, Dani for being here. We'll also hear from Rosa. Rosa is testifying
05:43under her first name and under that name only just for her own safety. She was recruited in Uzbekistan
05:50by a modeling agent, co-conspirator, and brought to the U.S. with promises of a career. She met Jeffrey
05:58Epstein in 2009 and was abused over several years. With her immigration status used to keep her from
06:05leaving, Rosa is a fighter, a coach, a wife, and a stepmother. And her courage, of course, is immense,
06:17and we want to thank Rosa for being here. We're going to hear from Courtney Wilde, who was abused by
06:23Jeffrey Epstein in Palm Beach beginning at the age of 14. Courtney is a mom, advocate, and survivor.
06:32She later brought a lawsuit against the federal government over the non-prosecution agreement
06:37that allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges. And she will speak about its lasting impact
06:44on survivors. We're also going to hear from Jenna Lisa Jones, who was abused by Jeffrey Epstein in
06:51Florida when she was 14 years old. She has spoken publicly about her experience and about her
06:58disappointment with the failure to fully release information related to this case. She is a mom,
07:04a wife, and a founding survivor of Survivors, Inc. We're going to also hear from Spencer Kuvin,
07:11who is an attorney who represented some of the earliest survivors to come forward against Epstein,
07:16and he's spent years advocating on behalf of victims. He will speak about the failures in the
07:21original prosecution and the impact those failures have had on survivors. We'll also hear from Lauren,
07:28Hirsch, who is a former prosecutor and an advocate working to combat trafficking and exploitation.
07:34She will discuss the ongoing efforts by survivors and advocates to seek accountability and justice.
07:39We will also hear from Maria Farmer by video, who is the first person to report Jeffrey Epstein's
07:46abuse to authorities in 1996. She will be providing video testimony. Finally, Skye and Amanda Roberts
07:55are here. We all, of course, know their incredible courage, and they'll be reading a brief statement
08:01as well. We will continue, of course, to honor Virginia's memory, her legacy, and her tireless fight
08:08for justice. I want to especially thank the witnesses for being here and for your enormous courage.
08:16You are doing, obviously, a service, not just to all of the women and girls that have suffered,
08:24but to every single American woman and American girl in this country who need to be believed
08:32and who need to know that when they report a horror against them, that their government is going to
08:40believe them and is going to stand up for them. And so thank you for your courage today.
08:46And now we're going to hear a video that Maria Farmer wanted to, she wanted folks to hear about,
08:54and so we're going to go ahead and play that. My name is Maria Farmer. I am the whistleblower
09:01who reported Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, Les Wexner, and others to the FBI 30 years ago in 1996.
09:10Today, I apologize for my appearance. I was not well enough to attend this hearing in person
09:15and have recently been released from the hospital. That's the result of 30 years of fighting.
09:22For three decades, I've carried a weight that no survivor should ever have to bear.
09:26I reported what I believed were heinous crimes against children, and these individuals responsible
09:31were involved in an international pedophile ring. I reported their crimes in real time,
09:36and the government continues to ignore me to this day. In 1996, I reported Epstein and his co-conspirators
09:43to my local New York City 6th Precinct. The commanding officer told me local police could only
09:49address the local arson crimes, and he instructed me to immediately report the whole story spanning
09:55several states to the FBI. He told me that it was vitally important that I tell the whole story to
10:00the FBI, which I did. The FBI asked me questions, said they were familiar with some of the perpetrators
10:06I identified, and gave me every reason to believe they would respond. That failure, that single moment when
10:12law enforcement refused to take action set off a cascade of injustice and grave repercussions to my sisters,
10:19my family, and so many others, and to me personally, including my health and well-being.
10:25The FBI's decades of failure and inaction led to countless more girls and young women suffering abuse
10:31trauma that could have been prevented. Individuals like Virginia Giuffre, Anushka DiGiorgio, Shantae Davies,
10:40Marika Chartoni, Danny Bensky, Jenna Lisa Jones, Ashley Rubright, and Jennifer Rose, among others.
10:48Each survivor represents a life change forever, suffering that could have been spared if the FBI had done
10:55their job in 1996. The failures did not stop there. In 2006, the FBI tracked me down, stating that they
11:03searched for me because they knew I had reported Epstein 10 years earlier, and no one else had.
11:08They urged me to testify in a federal criminal trial against Epstein and his co-conspirators,
11:14and they promised that they would get him this time. I trusted them again, relied upon them again,
11:20and they betrayed me again. Rather than following through with their promises,
11:24the government offered Epstein a sweetheart deal and shielded powerful individuals from accountability,
11:29and they persist in granting special treatment to certain people to this day.
11:34I have received death threats from Maxwell and her associates, including one instance where they
11:39threatened to burn my apartment down, and those threats have not stopped. I have been subjected to
11:46more than three decades of ongoing harassment, vicious challenges to my truthfulness,
11:53and real danger from internet instigators, trolls, and more. Meanwhile, my numerous efforts to obtain
12:01my 1996 report from the FBI have been rejected time and again. In 2023, I wrote a letter to the
12:09government
12:09asking for an investigation of the government's actions or inactions in response to my 1996 report.
12:16The inspector general replied, saying they were busy with other things, would get back to me,
12:21and they never did. I sent multiple FOIA requests for my FBI report records. In January 2025,
12:27in response to my most recent request, the government said that they would get back to me in November of
12:342027,
12:34a delay of three years. I finally received a letter saying they looked at my complaint, took some kind of
12:41action,
12:41and the matter was addressed, but what they did was a secret. With no other choice,
12:47I filed an administrative claim against the government, and then a lawsuit. Since then,
12:53virtually nothing has happened, and I'm left waiting and wondering what is next. With the passage of the
12:59Epstein Files Transparency Act, after years of efforts to get my records, an FD-71 form was released for
13:06the first time, confirming just a small part of my 1996 whistleblower report and vindicating some of
13:13what I had said for years. However, the full extent of what I told the FBI was not in that
13:19document, so the
13:20release of the Epstein files provides only partial relief for me. Where is the evidence I provided of my
13:28sexual assault? And that of my sister Annie? Why won't the FBI release my full report? The failures of those
13:35sworn to protect us have overwhelmed me. Doing my civic duty has caused me dearly. The stress of this
13:43trauma, the government hiding and refusing to turn over written confirmation of my 96 report, along with
13:49the ongoing harassment and death threats, have contributed to me, developing serious health issues,
13:55including Hodgkin's lymphoma, a brain tumor, and, recently, Addison's disease. In the last month,
14:03I have spent 23 nights in hospitals, including multiple nights in the ICU. Along with my health,
14:12it has robbed me of my career. In 1996, I was fresh out of graduate school and living a life
14:17that I had
14:17always dreamed, creating and selling art in New York City. When I was assaulted, threatened, held captive,
14:25my career was halted, and the trajectory of my life was thrown off course. So many others had their
14:30dreams shattered by these crimes, and they could have been prevented. Individuals like Virginia Giffray,
14:36who is the backbone of this case and remains the inspiration behind this fight,
14:41she's the reason my sister and I came forward publicly, so we could stand together. She faced,
14:46also, relentless attacks to her credibility online, yet she fought. While Virginia may no longer be
14:53physically beside us, she's been our shining star and guiding light, and remains so today. The rest of
14:58humanity owes it to her legacy to continue this quest. We are still walking down the trail that Virginia
15:04blaze for us, so let me be direct about what we need. The federal government owes us explanations,
15:12accountability for injuries caused, and a promise of systemic change when crimes against children are
15:18reported. Accountability should start with the government's acknowledgement and responsibility
15:23for their repeated failures to act in response to my 1996 report. The government needs to take
15:30responsibility for endangering and injuring girls and young women. The government needs to start
15:35telling the truth, face my lawsuit, and be held to account to me and to all others who have been
15:41harmed.
15:42Had the FBI done their job, 30 years of child sex abuse and trauma could have been avoided.
15:49I want my full FBI file, including the 96 and 2006 reports, including my art. We also need the FBI
16:01and the Department of Justice to fully investigate every lead in this case. We need investigation and
16:06prosecution of everyone responsible, both men and women. This includes the officials who enabled the 2008
16:13sweetheart deal, the other perpetrators and the many co-conspirators, and anyone who is currently
16:19shielding powerful individuals from justice. No more protection for the guilty. There must be no
16:25pardoning or commuting the sentence of Maxwell, who sexually abused me, my minor sister,
16:32hurt so many girls and other young women, and personally threatened to kill me, has shown no remorse,
16:38and has demonstrated no basis on which to believe she would ever be truthful. As the Epstein case
16:46whistleblower, I have waited three decades for justice. It's a miracle I'm still fighting, especially
16:52considering what the stress of three decades of this case has done to my health and well-being.
16:58I will keep fighting for justice and transparency for a better, safer future for the next generation. Thank you.
17:06Well, thank you. Obviously, I know we don't often get to hear from Ms. Farmer, and we're just very
17:12grateful that she chose to address, obviously, us and the country. I also want to thank her sister,
17:19Annie Farmer, who has been an incredible advocate, a survivor, of course, herself,
17:24and has really worked to share her sister's story and her own story whenever possible. We're going to
17:31hear some opening remarks also from Skye and Amanda Roberts, and so I would ask them to join us here
17:38at the podium, and I want to thank them also for their courage and for being here.
17:52Thank you, Representative Garcia and all members here today. We deeply appreciate the opportunity to be
17:57here. Obviously wish Virginia was here to do this herself, but I will do my best to keep it together
18:04and to get through this. My name is Skye Roberts, and I am the younger brother of Virginia Roberts
18:11Dufresne. I'm here today because without Virginia's courage and her story, we would not be having this
18:17conversation about accountability. In the summer of 2000, just steps away from this courtroom at Mar-a-Lago,
18:24Virginia was recruited by convicted trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. She was only 16 years old,
18:33a child who had just finished 10th grade when she began being trafficked. Before her passing,
18:40Virginia gave sworn testimony, exposing this for what it truly was, a global sex trafficking operation
18:47enabled, protected, and funded by powerful people. For years, survivors have been asked the same
18:54question. Who were the names? The truth is, many survivors stay silent because many of these
19:01individuals still hold power, wealth, and influence in our society. Point blank period. That is dangerous.
19:11No survivor should have to risk their own safety just to be believed. But Virginia,
19:19she did it anyway. She stood up when others were afraid, told the truth under oath, and faced people
19:26she knew were powerful. Today, we lean on her courage once again, because she believed accountability
19:34should reach everyone involved, no matter their status or influence. If Virginia were here today,
19:40she would say these words herself. Since she cannot,
19:49I will say them for her as her little brother. And with that, I'd like to share Virginia's own words
19:57words from her sworn deposition dated May 3rd, 2016.
20:07They trafficked me to many people.
20:10Okay, please name a person that Glenn Maxwell directed you to have sex with.
20:16Prince Andrew.
20:17Prince Andrew.
20:18Okay, who else?
20:23As a whole, they both trafficked me to many people.
20:28Okay, so can you please tell me when Glenn Maxwell asked you to have sex with another person?
20:33Glenn Dubin.
20:35Who else?
20:37Who else? Well, redacted is another one.
20:40Glenn Maxwell asked you to have sex with redacted.
20:47And Glenn Dubin and Steve Kaufman were, like I said, the first people I was sent to after my training.
20:55And where does Alan Dershowitz fit into this group of people?
20:59Same.
21:00I can't tell you piece by piece by piece who I know Glenn Dubin was first.
21:06Okay.
21:07And I know Stephen Kaufman was the one of the first that I was sent to.
21:11Alan Dershowitz could have been between there, between, sorry, between Glenn and Stephen.
21:20This is only a small sample of the thousands of stories that still remain untold.
21:26But the question today is no longer whether names exist.
21:29The question is, what will Congress and the Department of Justice do about it?
21:34Even if only a handful of names are publicly known, will there finally be investigations and accountability?
21:41With that, I'd like to turn it over to my wife, Amanda Roberts.
21:50First, I want to thank this committee and Representative Garcia and everyone here,
21:54who continues to fight with us for accountability, but most importantly, standing with the survivors.
22:01Virginia's story was harrowing.
22:03And as you heard my husband speak, she wasn't afraid to say the names.
22:08We are talking about millions of files, sworn testimony, depositions, emails, flight records,
22:14bank records, photographs, videos, and evidence collected over decades.
22:18Evidence that points to a network, not just two people who trafficked and abused over 1,200 victims.
22:28Girls, children, women, and boys.
22:33Epstein and Maxwell did not act alone, and Palm Beach was the blueprint.
22:38It was the center for expansion.
22:42So when this Department of Justice says, there is nothing to see here, survivors know exactly what that sounds like,
22:49a cover-up.
22:51Virginia wrote in Nobody's Girl, don't be fooled by those in Epstein's circle who said they didn't know what Epstein
22:58was doing.
22:59That sentence should guide this committee's work.
23:04Because I don't recall is not enough.
23:06When people like Les Wexner are asked about Epstein's finances and alleged connections to his network, the public deserves real
23:14answers and investigations.
23:17When Howard Lutnick has given changing accounts about his association with Epstein, that deserves scrutiny, resignations, and investigations.
23:26When former Prince Andrew denied knowing Virginia, despite evidence and testimony surrounding that encounter, that deserves scrutiny and investigation.
23:37And when Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex traffer, accused of perjury, and shortly
23:47after was moved to a minimum security prison, that demands answers and investigations.
23:54So today we ask for four things.
23:56First, Congress must hold this Department of Justice accountable, including contempt proceedings, as the record has shown that this DOJ
24:04has violated the law.
24:06Second, state investigations must continue and expand in New Mexico, New York, Florida, the Virgin Islands, and everywhere this network
24:16operated.
24:17Third, this committee must issue further subpoenas and required alleged co-conspirators, enablers, financers, and witnesses to testify under oath.
24:30Fourth, follow the money.
24:33Finally, financial records are not secondary.
24:36They may be the key to exposing the full network.
24:40Suspicious payments, shell entities, possible tax violations, money laundering, and transactions connected to trafficking and abuse must be investigated aggressively.
24:49Because financial crimes can open the door and lead to real prosecutions.
24:55And finally, the Epstein and Maxwell investigations must be reopened, not partially, not quietly, but fully.
25:05Survivors and the public deserve the truth, and enablers must no longer hide behind wealth, power, or silence.
25:15Thank you both very much for those words.
25:19We are going to begin and hear some opening statements from our witnesses.
25:26So I want to just start by thanking Ms. Wild, who's going to be recognized now for her opening five
25:32-minute statement.
25:33Ms. Wild.
25:35Hello, my name is Courtney Wild.
25:40When I was 14 years old, I was abused by Jeffrey Epstein.
25:44He abused me until I was 17 years old.
25:47What happened to me was terrible, but what happened after that, by our own government, changed my life just as
25:53much.
25:54I came here today to ask for one simple thing, to make sure this never happens again.
26:00I filed a case under the Crime Victims' Rights Act because government secretly made a deal with Jeffrey Epstein.
26:07They signed a non-prosecution agreement.
26:09They made the deal behind closed doors.
26:12They never told me, and they never told any of us.
26:16Instead, they sent letters telling me to be patient, even though they knew the case was already over.
26:22For years, I believed there was an investigation happening.
26:26There wasn't.
26:28When I found out the truth, I went to my lawyer, Brad Edwards.
26:32He took my case in 2008, and he fought for me against the government for over a decade.
26:39We wanted to do the right thing for all victims.
26:42Together, we wanted answers to a simple question.
26:45How could this happen?
26:47We had to fight all the way to the 11th Circuit, which took years to get the emails between the
26:53government and Jeffrey's lawyers to help us understand what happened.
26:57When we finally got them, they showed something I will never forget.
27:02The government wasn't trying to negotiate with Epstein's lawyers.
27:06It looked like the government was trying to make him happy.
27:09They were trying to make sure that the punishment they were going to give him was okay with him.
27:14It seemed like they had forgotten that there were 40 of us kids who had been abused by him.
27:26I was so confused because where I come from, if you commit a crime, you go to jail.
27:31I have never heard the feds of letting you help them decide which crimes they were going to charge you
27:37with or if you're cool with how long you're going to spend in jail.
27:41But I thought, what do I know?
27:44Maybe that's how it works for rich guys.
27:46That's how it did work for Jeffrey Epstein.
27:50Finally, after 10 years of fighting, in 2019, a federal judge finally ruled that my rights and that the rights
27:58of other victims were violated by the non-prosecution agreement.
28:04But there was nothing that could be done about it.
28:07There was no remedy.
28:11I just want to say it again.
28:13I'm sorry.
28:14The court found that the government violated the law and nothing happened.
28:20That means the law, the Crime Victims' Rights Act, 1-8-USC-3771, does not matter.
28:29And if the law has no consequences, it doesn't protect anybody.
28:35I was lucky to have a lawyer willing to fight for me for almost a decade.
28:39A lot of victims won't find that, especially in this case where everybody made us feel like we were crazy.
28:47So I'm asking you to fix that.
28:50Please fix the Crime Victims' Rights Act so it could actually help victims in the future.
28:55I have my own ideas and my lawyers have more ideas, but I really hope that if nothing comes with
29:02this, we can finally get the legislation right.
29:06There needs to be a clear definition of what it means to meaningly confer with victims.
29:13I'm still not sure what that actually means, but I know it never happened for me.
29:19There must be real consequences and penalties in the statute that apply automatically when a court determines that a victim's
29:26rights have been violated.
29:28The answer after years and years of litigation cannot be, nothing happens when you finally win and prove that your
29:35rights have been violated.
29:38If prosecutors choose to ignore victims, those victims' voices must be put on the record, memorialized, and preserved, especially when
29:48a deal is made behind closed doors.
29:51There needs to be attorneys, fees, provisions, so victims can find lawyers who will stand up for them.
29:58If those changes had existed back then, maybe what had happened to me and so many others would have not
30:03happened.
30:05My case against the government for violating the rights of at least 40 of us Palm Beach kids was happening
30:11from 2008 to 2019.
30:15Do you know how many other girls Jeffrey abused in that time period?
30:20I bet the FBI knows.
30:22But the point is that Epstein continued to abuse other girls in New York, New Mexico, around the world, and
30:29even still here in Florida,
30:31well, after he was released in 2019, or I'm sorry, in 2009, and everybody knew it.
30:37There were lawsuits.
30:39There were so many new articles.
30:41He was a registered sex offender, and still nothing was done by the government, not until 2019 when he was
30:48finally arrested.
30:51None of the girls, none of those girls should have ever been abused.
30:54Jeffrey Epstein should have been in jail.
30:56If he had been in jail like any other man who did the same thing as him, he would have
31:02been,
31:02and there wouldn't have been a single victim after 2009.
31:06But he wasn't, and he did.
31:09He abused so many girls after 2009 at the same exact time that I was asking the government why he
31:15got the deal and why they violated my rights.
31:19That is the real injustice here.
31:23That is the real thing we need to prevent from ever happening again in this country.
31:30I was there for his bail hearing in 2019, and I spoke to the judge right in front of him
31:36about how dangerous he was.
31:38The bail was denied, and for the first time, I thought we might finally get justice.
31:43A month later, he was dead.
31:46Once again, the system failed us.
31:48Someone let him die in a secure prison, ensuring that he would never be held accountable for what he did
31:54to me as a kid.
31:56Since then, there have been prosecutions.
31:59There have been civil cases.
32:01There have been settlements.
32:02But none of that changes what was lost, and none of that fixes what was allowed to happen in the
32:08first place.
32:09We fought for years to get Jeffrey Epstein arrested.
32:12We fought to hold people accountable.
32:14We did not fight so that this could turn into something political, or so that our rights would be violated
32:23once again.
32:25I lost years of my life fighting this, and so did many others.
32:29We did that so the next victim wouldn't have to.
32:34So don't let this work be in vain.
32:37Make the Crime Victims' Rights Act matter.
32:40Thank you so much.
32:42Thank you very much, Ms. Wilde.
32:48Ms. Jones, you are now recognized for your opening statement.
32:51Ranking member and members of Congress, my name is Jenna Lisa Jones.
32:55I was 14 years old when I was abused by Jeffrey Epstein in Palm Beach.
33:00It has taken me many years to find my voice.
33:03For a long time, I stayed silent because I was afraid, and because I did not understand why this happened
33:09to me.
33:09When I finally came forward, I made a commitment to use my voice responsibly.
33:15I am here today to do exactly that.
33:17Last September, I went to Washington, D.C., along with the other survivors, with a simple request.
33:24Transparency and accountability.
33:26We asked you to help us understand how Jeffrey Epstein was given a non-prosecution agreement,
33:32even though the government had evidence that he had sexually abused dozens of children, including me.
33:39We asked how he was allowed to leave jail in 2009 and continue harming young girls.
33:46We asked for answers, answers that would hold our government accountable for its actions.
33:51We still do not have those answers.
33:54Instead, what we received caused harm all over again, including too many of our survivor sisters
34:01who had never come forward before and who never wanted their names or abuse to become public.
34:07The Department of Justice released documents that exposed our names, our social security numbers,
34:13and deeply personal information.
34:17Survivors' identities were made public.
34:20Husbands learned about their wives' abuse for the first time.
34:25Children learned about the abuse of their mothers from reporters, from strangers on the Internet,
34:34and in some cases, from other kids at school.
34:39Some survivors learned that friends had also been abused only because they saw their names.
34:50In those documents, others saw the most intimate details of their own trauma publicly exposed.
35:00Our privacy was violated.
35:02The government promised us over and over again that our information would be protected
35:10and properly redacted.
35:12Those promises were broken again.
35:17We came to you seeking answers for why our rights were violated in 2007.
35:24And in the process of asking for those answers, our rights were violated again.
35:30I want to believe that each of you in this room is listening because you truly care.
35:35Not just about us, but about every child in this country who survived sexual abuse.
35:42If Congress and the Department of Justice truly want to do right by the survivors,
35:48the path forward is not complicated.
35:50Acknowledge the failures.
35:52When Jeffrey Epstein was set free in 2009,
35:55and again when our privacy was shattered earlier this year,
35:58take responsibility and provide meaningful remedies to the women who have been harmed over and over again.
36:07Please do not force us to relive this through more litigation.
36:11Pass a law requiring the Department of Justice to compensate victims for the harm
36:16that they had caused by releasing the names and information.
36:18That would show that this is truly about helping victims.
36:23Second, with respect to our ongoing investigations,
36:27please remember this.
36:28Jeffrey Epstein is dead.
36:31Ghislaine Maxwell is in prison.
36:35Do not pardon Maxwell.
36:37If there are other men who hurt women, hold them accountable.
36:42But please leave the survivors alone.
36:45If you subpoenaed someone to testify before your committees
36:48and she tells you she is a victim, listen to her.
36:52Believe her.
36:54Respect her trauma.
36:56Jeffrey tried to paint his victims as bad guys
36:59To avoid responsibility for himself, please learn and understand that.
37:04Sharing our stories should be a choice, the choice I was able to make today.
37:08It should never be something survivors are forced to do.
37:11The girls who were groomed by Ghislaine Maxwell and abused by Jeffrey Epstein
37:15should not be treated like criminals.
37:18Please learn the stories of the women who have been harmed
37:20before you force them to testify in a room full of strangers
37:23about the worst moments of their lives.
37:26Jeffrey Epstein destroyed so many of our lives
37:29and Ghislaine Maxwell helped him do it.
37:31Do not blame their survivors for the crimes of the abusers.
37:35That is not how the story should end.
37:37Find a way to bring closure to the story of Jeffrey Epstein
37:39to allow survivors and this country to finally begin to move forward
37:43so that one day, and I pray soon,
37:46Jeffrey Epstein's name is no longer something we are forced to hear every single day.
37:52And my last point, I am not here today only to talk about the past.
37:56I am here for the children who are sitting in the classroom today,
38:00children who may be vulnerable, confused, and unsure of what is happening to them.
38:05When I was a teenager, I did not have the language to understand what was happening to me.
38:09I did not know who to tell.
38:10I did not know where to go.
38:12Many of us didn't.
38:14We were young, and we were manipulated.
38:16We were left without the tools or the support we needed.
38:19That is something Congress can change.
38:22Every middle school and high school student in this country
38:25should receive education on the signs of sexual abuse and exploitation.
38:31What it looks like, how to recognize it, and how to safely report it.
38:36Schools should have trained adults accessible resources
38:39so that no child feels as lost or as alone as we did.
38:43I have worked with other survivors to start a nonprofit called the Survivors, Inc.,
38:48because not everyone who has been abused
38:51has access to strong legal representation, therapy, or support systems.
38:57I became a certified life coach.
38:59I believe in giving others the support I wish I had.
39:03Though the survivors, we are able to provide these services to people who have been abused
39:10so they can begin their healing journey, too.
39:13I'm proud of that work, but individual efforts are not enough.
39:16Real change requires leadership at a national level.
39:19You have the power to make sure that happens to us does not happen again on this scale.
39:24I believe one of the most important places to begin is in our schools.
39:29Trained teachers, educate students, give children a place to turn
39:32when they feel they have nowhere else to go.
39:35Together we can do better for the next generation.
39:40Thank you so much.
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39:50See you soon.