00:00Good morning. My name is Annie Farmer and this is a photo of me and my sister Maria Farmer
00:07around the time I was 16 and she was 25. That's how old we were when we were abused by
00:13Epstein
00:14and Maxwell. Survivors have repeatedly stated that our pursuit of transparency and justice
00:20is a non-partisan issue. But given the political noise surrounding this case, I just want to
00:26remind people of some of the facts. In 1996, when my sister Maria bravely blew the whistle
00:33on this group by reporting to the FBI what Epstein and Maxwell did to both of us, they
00:39hung up on the phone on her and there was no follow-up of any kind. Bill Clinton was president.
00:45In 2006, the FBI came to us, finally interviewed us, and asked us both to be witnesses against
00:51Epstein. We were very anxious, but we agreed. And then we didn't hear back from them due
00:57to their infamous sweetheart deal. George W. Bush was president. In 2015, when the DOJ was
01:04sent FOIA requests for Maria's FBI files and they were denied, as they have been many times,
01:11Barack Obama was president. In 2019, when Epstein died in prison due to either negligence or foul
01:18play, Donald Trump was president. In 2023, Maria's attorneys sent a letter on her behalf
01:25to the government, requesting an investigation into the repeated law enforcement failures
01:29in this case, similar to what was done in the case of Larry Nassar. They declined to do so.
01:36Consequently, my sister filed notice that she would be suing the government for failing to
01:40uphold its legal, ethical, and moral duties in this case. Joe Biden was president.
01:46This year, after campaigning on a pledge to finally release the files, under Trump's second
01:51presidency, the DOJ announced they were closing the investigation into Epstein's co-conspirators,
01:56and then transferred Ghislaine Maxwell into a prison camp, where it is well documented that
02:02she is receiving special treatment. This is not an issue of a few corrupt Democrats or a few corrupt
02:10Republicans. This is a case of institutional betrayal. Because these crimes were not properly
02:15investigated, so many more girls and women were harmed. My sister, because of her bravery,
02:22was repeatedly threatened and lived in fear, with dire consequences for her health and her career.
02:2930 years later, even as oceans of allegations and obvious truths have emerged, the government
02:34has still not chosen transparency. This is why we have all come together, as one united voice,
02:40to demand the release of all the Epstein files, and to finally bring the truth out of the shadows.
02:45And I just want to, I just want to remind the president and the attorney general
02:50that they are right now in violation of the law. And when the president makes his speech tonight,
02:56he is going to know that looking back at him will be numerous survivors of Epstein's abuse,
03:05and that he is facilitating the single largest cover-up in modern American history.
03:13It's the single largest cover-up in modern American history. And who are we protecting?
03:20Why are we protecting powerful, wealthy, connected men? Why are we protecting billionaires
03:30from justice? Because we are always going to center the survivors. The single most important part of
03:39our investigation, and what we're guided by, is justice for Annie. It's justice for Maria. It's justice for
03:49so many that have been wronged, harmed, and terrorized by not just Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,
03:57but by the co-conspirators and all that helped them commit their abuse. Let's be clear,
04:06over 50% of the files have still not been released to the public. And we know as early as
04:13just today and
04:14yesterday, there are numerous files that we have confirmed that are missing from the DOJ that we
04:20know exist, including accusations and serious accusations, not just against the president,
04:27but against others. It's time to release the files. It's time to center their survivors. And the president
04:34should know that even though he wants to call this a hoax, that our investigation is just getting started.
04:44Thank you so much, Congressman Garcia. Your leadership has meant so much to myself and to so many of us.
04:53The government's original sin in this case was not following up in any way on my sister, Maria Farmer's
04:591996 report to the FBI about Epstein and Maxwell and the powerful circle that surrounded them.
05:07Since that time, the girls and women who were abused by these criminals have been repeatedly
05:13neglected and re-victimized by our own government. The recent release of materials highlights this,
05:20as the names of many powerful individuals remain redacted, while the names, personal data, and even
05:26images, nude images, of many victims were released. Rather than apologize for this failure,
05:34this DOJ has doubled down on denial and distraction. We are tired of the games.
05:41When those we elect to office misuse their positions, it harms us all. We are here to remind
05:47our elected leaders and other Americans that there is always a choice. You can sit by and watch the abuse
05:55of
05:55power as so many wealthy, educated, connected individuals did in the Epstein case. Or you can
06:03do the right thing, the courageous thing. You can speak out the way my sister Maria Farmer did because
06:10of her concern for her younger sisters. You can speak out the way Virginia Roberts-Dufresne did after
06:17she looked down and saw her daughter and knew she deserved safety and protection.
06:25I know that courage is contagious because these women inspired me to find my voice.
06:30And the more I have used it, the more I have heard from others who were speaking out about their
06:35own
06:35experiences of abuse and standing with us in demanding true transparency, the whole truth that
06:42survivors and the American people deserve. Thank you.
06:53I think it was about not even a week ago maybe that I was sitting in a TV studio hearing
07:02some
07:04men talk about what this next legislative process entailed and how it was really incredibly unlikely
07:10that we would ever make it to pass this point. You know, maybe we get the votes we needed in
07:15the House.
07:16And so I just think that the fact that we are here with a nearly unanimous vote today says so
07:22much
07:23and that we are really about the power of people coming together and the power of women coming together.
07:30So I just I want to also express my gratitude to all the people standing here behind us.
07:36That we we have not been heard for so long. And I think the power of being heard and being
07:42recognized
07:43and being validated is incredibly healing. So thank you so much.
07:52You know, I there are so many people that are with me in my heart today.
08:00And I've spoken quite a bit today about my sister, Maria Farmer, who, you know, was a whistleblower,
08:06who bravely spoke out in 1996 against Epstein. And I had the chance to speak with her right before
08:12coming here today about what I had seen transpire. And she, you know, is at home because of health
08:18problems that I believe were very directly related to the stress that all this caused. But she was full of
08:25joy hearing about what's happened and hearing that we are so close to being where we need to be to
08:31finally bring the light into the darkness of this case. But I, of course, I'm also thinking about others
08:38in this case. And we know that they're the harms that are caused by these types of traumas have
08:44long lasting results, right? And there are people that are no longer with us, in part due to the trauma
08:50that they suffered because of this case. We are one of those women I've been thinking of today is
08:55Carolyn Adriano, who spoke out so bravely in the Maxwell trial, which I know as a witness in that
09:03case was an extremely stressful experience. And, and after that, she lost her life to, you know, I think,
09:12you know, issues related to the to just the stress of all the trauma that she had been through in
09:18her life.
09:20And I think that's what you people, you know, sometimes don't understand about the lasting effects of
09:25these types of crimes. And, you know, I've had the opportunity, the great privilege of my life as a
09:33psychologist to work with, you know, people who have been victims of these types of crimes in all different
09:40settings. One of the most transformative experiences of my life was working with Native Alaskan women in rural
09:48Alaska, you pick women, where there are very high rates of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
09:55And, you know, what I saw from them in terms of the courage and resilience and moving forward
10:00really inspired me, you know, before long before, you know, I had ever spoken out in this case, right?
10:08And since then, working, doing therapy with women, I've seen so much of how these the long lasting impacts
10:16of these things. And so I am thinking about so many women as I am here today. And most of
10:24all,
10:24you know, I am thinking about Virginia Roberts Giffre. We would not be here without her. There is no doubt
10:36in my mind about that. And, you know, I very much, I think, like many people, you know, there were
10:45fights
10:45going on. There were definitely women that, you know, worked so hard for so long for justice. But
10:51I had, you know, given up on the idea that anything would happen in this case. After the sweetheart deal,
10:58I felt like everyone knew about Epstein. We would see things in tabloids about Epstein. This was not a
11:03secret, right? And when I first saw the photo of Virginia and Prince Andrew, I was at my job. I
11:12remember
11:12so clearly the moment that it popped up on my computer screen, and I just kind of was taken
11:17aback. And I just immediately knew the truth behind that photo. And I felt the bravery of this woman who
11:26was taking on the world with this story, and was being met with such contempt and disrespect. And,
11:34you know, at a time, you know, before the Me Too movement, when there was such this kind of attitude
11:38of
11:39disregard for people that spoke out in this way. And it was a short time later that I was contacted
11:46by an attorney and told about her defamation suit, and spoke with my sister. And we agreed that we
11:53would be witnesses in that case, when we had no desire, we thought this was behind us. But we thought,
11:58if this woman is brave enough to take on Maxwell, and to bring this into the light, we have to
12:03stand with
12:03her. And then, you know, I had the opportunity to meet Virginia in 2019. And seeing her in this, you
12:15know, this insane group of reporters, everyone mobbing, you know, and she just had this poise,
12:23and this strength, that I felt like it was incredible to see, it was incredible to be witness to.
12:30She immediately rallied all of us together, and had this vision for what could happen, what people
12:36could learn from this, what she wanted to do with this platform, and, and push that forward in such
12:42a brave way. And I think the fact that her memoir has just been released as a bestseller, and we
12:49are
12:49here today is not a coincidence. She is changing hearts and changing minds, you know, all over this
12:55country and all over the world. And so I just, I just want to, you know, take a moment. I
13:01feel like
13:02she's here with us. I feel like she can see this. So thank you, Virginia, for all that you've done
13:07for
13:07all of us.
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