00:0030 years ago in 1996. Today I apologize for my appearance. I was not well enough to attend this hearing
00:08in person and have recently been released from the hospital. That's the result of 30 years of fighting. I reported
00:15what I believed were heinous crimes against children and these individuals responsible were involved in an international pedophile ring. I
00:23reported their crimes in real time and the government continues to ignore me to this day.
00:28With the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act after years of efforts to get my records, an FD-71
00:35form was released for the first time, confirming just a small part of my 1996 whistleblower report and vindicating some
00:43of what I had said for years.
00:45I now we're going to hear a video that Maria Farmer wanted to, she wanted folks to hear about and
00:54so we're going to go ahead and play that.
00:58My name is Maria Farmer. I am the whistleblower who reported Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, Les Wexner, and others to
01:05the FBI 30 years ago in 1996.
01:10Today I apologize for my appearance. I was not well enough to attend this hearing in person and have recently
01:16been released from the hospital. That's the result of 30 years of fighting.
01:22For three decades, I've carried a weight that no survivor should ever have to bear. I reported what I believed
01:27were heinous crimes against children and these individuals responsible were involved in an international pedophile ring.
01:33I reported their crimes in real time and the government continues to ignore me to this day.
01:39In 1996, I reported Epstein and his co-conspirators to my local New York City 6th precinct. The commanding officer
01:47told me local police could only address the local arson crimes and he instructed me to immediately report the whole
01:53story spanning several states to the FBI.
01:56He told me that it was vitally important that I tell the FBI, which I did. The FBI asked me
02:03questions, said they were familiar with some of the perpetrators I identified, and gave me every reason to believe they
02:08would respond.
02:09That failure, that single moment when law enforcement refused to take action, set off a cascade of injustice, and grave
02:16repercussions to my sisters, my family, and so many others, and to me personally, including my health and well-being.
02:24The FBI's decades of failure and inaction led to countless more girls and young women suffering abuse and trauma that
02:31could have been prevented.
02:33Individuals like Virginia Giffray, Anushka DiGiorgio, Shantae Davies, Marika Chartoni, Danny Bensky, Jenna Lisa Jones, Ashley Rubright, and Jennifer Rose,
02:47among others.
02:48Each survivor represents a life change forever, suffering that could have been spared if the FBI had done their job
02:56in 1996.
02:57The failures did not stop there. In 2006, the FBI tracked me down, stating that they searched for me because
03:04they knew I had reported Epstein 10 years earlier, and no one else had.
03:08They urged me to testify in a federal criminal trial against Epstein and his co-conspirators, and they promised that
03:15they would get him this time.
03:16I trusted them again, relied upon them again, and they betrayed me again.
03:22Rather than following through with their promises, the government offered Epstein a sweetheart deal and shielded powerful individuals from accountability,
03:29and they persist in granting special treatment to certain people to this day.
03:34I have received death threats from Maxwell and her associates, including one instance where they threatened to burn my apartment
03:40down.
03:40And those threats have not stopped.
03:43I have been subjected to more than three decades of ongoing harassment, vicious challenges to my truthfulness, and real danger
03:54from internet instigators, trolls, and more.
03:58Meanwhile, my numerous efforts to obtain my 1996 report from the FBI have been rejected time and again.
04:05In 2023, I wrote a letter to the government asking for an investigation of the government's actions or inactions in
04:13response to my 1996 report.
04:16The inspector general replied, saying they were busy with other things, would get back to me, and they never did.
04:21I sent multiple FOIA requests for my FBI report records.
04:25In January 2025, in response to my most recent request, the government said that they would get back to me
04:32in November of 2027, a delay of three years.
04:36I finally received a letter saying they looked at my complaint, took some kind of action, and the matter was
04:42addressed.
04:43But what they did was a secret.
04:46With no other choice, I filed an administrative claim against the government, and then a lawsuit.
04:51Since then, virtually nothing has happened, and I'm left waiting and wondering what is next.
04:57With the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act after years of efforts to get my records, an FD-71
05:04form was released for the first time,
05:06confirming just a small part of my 1996 whistleblower report and vindicating some of what I had said for years.
05:14However, the full extent of what I told the FBI was not in that document, so the release of the
05:21Epstein files provides only partial relief for me.
05:25Where is the evidence I provided of my sexual assault?
05:29And that of my sister Annie?
05:31Why won't the FBI release my full report?
05:33The failures of those sworn to protect us have overwhelmed me.
05:39Doing my civic duty has caused me dearly.
05:41The stress of this trauma, the government hiding and refusing to turn over written confirmation of my 96 report,
05:48along with the ongoing harassment and death threats, have contributed to me, developing serious health issues,
05:55including Hodgkin's lymphoma, a brain tumor, and, recently, Addison's disease.
06:02In the last month, I have spent 23 nights in hospitals, including multiple nights in the ICU.
06:10Along with my health, it has robbed me of my career.
06:13In 1996, I was fresh out of graduate school and living a life that I had always dreamed, creating and
06:18selling art in New York City.
06:21When I was assaulted, threatened, held captive, my career was halted, and the trajectory of my life was thrown off
06:28course.
06:29So many others had their dreams shattered by these crimes, and they could have been prevented.
06:34Individuals like Virginia Jaffray, who is the backbone of this case and remains the inspiration behind this fight,
06:40she's the reason my sister and I came forward publicly, so we could stand together.
06:45She faced, also, relentless attacks to her credibility online, yet she fought.
06:51While Virginia may no longer be physically beside us, she's been our shining star and guiding light, and remains so
06:56today.
06:57The rest of humanity owes it to her legacy to continue this quest.
07:02We are still walking down the trail that Virginia blazed for us, so let me be direct about what we
07:07need.
07:08The federal government owes us explanations, accountability for injuries caused, and a promise of systemic change when crimes against children
07:17are reported.
07:19Accountability should start with the government's acknowledgement and responsibility for their repeated failures to act in response to my 1996
07:27report.
07:28The government needs to take responsibility for endangering and injuring girls and young women.
07:33The government needs to start telling the truth, face my lawsuit, and be held to account to me and to
07:40all others who have been harmed.
07:42Had the FBI done their job, 30 years of child sex abuse and trauma could have been avoided.
07:49I want my full FBI file, including the 96 and 2006 reports, including my art.
07:59We also need the FBI and the Department of Justice to fully investigate every lead in this case.
08:05We need investigation and prosecution of everyone responsible, both men and women.
08:10This includes the officials who enabled the 2008 sweetheart deal, the other perpetrators and the many co-conspirators, and anyone
08:18who is currently shielding powerful individuals from justice.
08:22No more protection for the guilty.
08:24There must be no pardoning or commuting the sentence of Maxwell, who sexually abused me, my minor sister, hurt so
08:33many girls and other young women, and personally threatened to kill me.
08:36Has shown no remorse and has demonstrated no basis on which to believe she would ever be truthful.
08:44As the Epstein case whistleblower, I have waited three decades for justice.
08:49It's a miracle I'm still fighting, especially considering what the stress of three decades of this case has done to
08:56my health and well-being.
08:58I will keep fighting for justice and transparency for a better, safer future for the next generation.
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