As Congress passes the Epstein bill, survivors of his abuse want more to be done

Ahead of Tuesday’s House vote, survivors pushing for the release of the Epstein files criticized the chamber’s slow progress and announced a survivor-led, non-partisan movement to help rewrite laws and build protections for victims like themselves. It’s been decades since Jeffrey Epstein laid his hands on these women or allowed other men to do so. On Capitol Hill Tuesday, his survivors spoke with force about his abuse, and against a government they say allowed him to live unscathed for so long. “We are exhausted from surviving the trauma and then surviving the politics that swirl around it,” said survivor Wendy Avis. “This is not an issue of a few corrupt Democrats or a few corrupt Republicans. This is a case of institutional betrayal,” said survivor Annie Farmer. More than a dozen women detailed the ways in which five presidential administrations ignored their voices. RELATED STORY | Senate unanimously passes bill to compel release of the Epstein files After four months of pressure, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to compel the Department of Justice to release all files related to Jeffrey Epstein. The Senate unanimously passed the bill just hours later. President Trump, who campaigned on releasing the files himself and could legally do so at any time if he chose, calls the effort a Democratic hoax. “They’re afraid for people to be embarrassed. That’s the whole point here,” said Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). Trump has turned on one of his most vocal supporters in Congress for signing onto the petition and refusing to get off. “I fought for him for the policies and for American first, and he called me a traitor for standing with these women,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). And for the first time President Trump is very publicly the center of these women’s frustration. “I voted for you, but your behavior on this issue has been a national embarrassment,” said survivor Jena-Lisa Jones. The president said Monday he’d sign a bill on his desk. Survivors say they are skeptical.
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