Jeffrey Epstein survivors delivered emotional testimony during a Democratic-led “shadow” hearing in Florida, exposing new details about abuse, grooming, and the long-lasting trauma they endured. Lawmakers sharply criticized Epstein’s controversial 2008 non-prosecution deal, claiming it allowed his trafficking network to continue for years. Survivors and Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee are now demanding the full release of millions of unredacted Epstein files while opposing any possible pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello my name is Courtney Wilde. When I was 14 years old I was abused by Jeffrey
00:07Epstein. He abused me until I was 17 years old. What happened to me was
00:12terrible but what happened after that by our own government changed my life just
00:17as much. I came here today to ask for one simple thing to make sure this never
00:23happens again. I filed a case under the Crime Victims Rights Act because
00:27government secretly made a deal with Jeffrey Epstein. They signed a
00:32non-prosecution agreement. They made the deal behind closed doors. They never told
00:37me and they never told any of us. Instead they sent letters telling me to be
00:43patient even though they knew the case was already over. For years I believed
00:48there was an investigation happening. There wasn't. When I found out the truth I
00:54went to my lawyer Brad Edwards. He took my case in 2008 and he fought for me
01:00against the government for over a decade. We wanted to do the right thing for all
01:05victims. Together we wanted answer we wanted answers to a simple question. How
01:10could this happen? We had to fight all the way to the 11th Circuit which took years
01:16to get the emails between the government and Jeffrey's lawyers to help us
01:19understand what happened. When we finally got them they showed something I will
01:25never forget. The government wasn't trying to negotiate with Epstein's lawyers. It
01:31looked like the government was trying to make him happy. They were trying to make
01:35sure that the punishment they were going to give him was okay with him. It seemed
01:39like they had forgotten that there were 40 of us kids who had been abused by him. I was
01:51so confused because where I come from if you commit a crime you go to jail. I have
01:56never heard the feds of letting you help them decide which crimes they were going
02:01to charge you with or if you're cool with how long you're going to spend in jail. But I
02:06thought what do I know maybe that's how it works for rich guys. That's how it did
02:12work for Jeffrey Epstein. Finally after ten years of fighting in 2019 a federal
02:18judge finally ruled that my rights and that the rights of other victims were
02:24violated by the non-prosecution agreement. But there was nothing that could
02:30be done about it. There was no remedy. I just want to say it again. I'm sorry I
02:38have to. The court found that the government violated the law and nothing
02:42happened. That means the law, the Crime Victims Rights Act 18 USC 3771 does not
02:52matter. And if the law has no consequences it doesn't protect anybody. I was
03:00lucky to have a lawyer willing to fight for me for almost a decade. A lot of
03:05victims won't find that. Especially in this case where everybody made us feel
03:09like we were crazy. So I'm asking asking you to fix that. Please fix the Crime
03:15Victims Rights Act so it could actually help victims in the future. I have my own
03:20ideas and my lawyers have more ideas but I really hope that if nothing comes of
03:27this we can finally get the legislation right. There needs to be a clear
03:32definition of what it means to meaningly confer with victims. I'm still not sure
03:39what that actually means but I know it never happened for me. There must be real
03:44consequences and penalties in the statute that apply automatically when a court
03:49determines that a victim's rights have been violated. The answer after after years
03:55and years of litigation cannot be nothing happens when you finally win and prove
03:59that your rights have been violated. If prosecutors choose to ignore victims
04:05those victims voices must be put on the record memorialized and preserved
04:12especially when a deal is made behind closed doors. There needs to be attorneys
04:17fees provision so victims can find lawyers who will stand up for them. If the if those
04:23changes had existed back then maybe what had happened to me and so many others would
04:28have not happened. My case against the government for violating the rights of at
04:33least 40 of us Palm Beach kids was happening from 2008 to 2019. Do you know how many
04:41other girls Jeffrey abused in that time period? I bet the FBI knows. But the point is
04:48that Epstein continued to abuse other girls in New York, New Mexico, around the world and
04:54even still here in Florida. Well after he was released in 2019 or I'm sorry in 2009 and
05:01everybody knew it. There were lawsuits. There were so many new articles. He was a
05:06registered sex offender and still nothing was done by the government. Not until 2019 when he was
05:13finally arrested. None of the girls, none of those girls should have ever been abused.
05:18Jeffrey Epstein should have been in jail. If he had been in jail like any other man who
05:24did the same thing as him, he would have been and there wouldn't have been a single victim
05:29after 2009. But he wasn't and he did. He abused so many girls after 2009 at the same exact time
05:37that I was asking the government why he got the deal and why they violated my rights.
05:43That is the real injustice here. That the real, that is the real thing we need to prevent from
05:50ever happening again in this country. I was there for his bail hearing in 2019 and I spoke to the
05:59judge
05:59right in front of him about how dangerous he was. The bail was denied and for the first time I
06:05thought
06:05we might finally get justice. A month later he was dead. Once again the system failed us.
06:13Someone let him die in a secure prison ensuring that he would never be held accountable for what he did
06:18to me as a kid. Since then there have been prosecutions, there have been civil cases, there have been
06:26settlements, but none of that changes what was lost and none of that fixes what was allowed to happen in
06:32the
06:32first place. We fought for years to get Jeffrey Epstein arrested. We fought to hold people accountable.
06:39We did not fight so that this could turn into something political or so that our rights would be violated
06:47once again. I lost years of my life fighting this and so did many others. We did that so the
06:54next victim
06:55wouldn't have to. So don't let this work be in vain. Make the Crime Victims Rights Act matter.
07:04Thank you so much.
07:06Thank you very much, Ms. Wilde.
07:12Ms. Jones, you are now recognized for your opening statement.
07:16Ranking member and members of Congress, my name is Jenna Lisa Jones. I was 14 years old when I was
07:22abused by
07:22Jeffrey Epstein in Palm Beach. It has taken me many years to find my voice. For a long time, I
07:29stayed silent
07:30because I was afraid and because I did not understand why this happened to me. When I finally came forward,
07:36I made a commitment to use my voice responsibly. I'm here today to do exactly that. Last September, I went
07:43to
07:43Washington, D.C. along the other survivors with a simple request, transparency and accountability.
07:51We asked you to help us understand how Jeffrey Epstein was given a non-prosecution agreement,
07:57even though the government had evidence that he had sexually abused dozens of children, including me.
08:03We asked how he was allowed to leave jail in 2009 and continue harming young girls.
08:10We asked for answers, answers that would hold our government accountable for its actions.
08:15We still do not have those answers. Instead, what we received caused harm all over again,
08:22including too many of our survivor sisters who had never come forward before
08:28and who never wanted their names or abuse to become public. The Department of Justice released documents
08:35that exposed our names, our social security numbers, and deeply personal information.
08:41Survivors' identities were made public. Husbands learned about their wives' abuse for the first time.
08:49Children learned about the abuse of their mothers from reporters, from strangers on the internet,
08:58and in some cases from other kids at school. Some survivors learned that friends had also been abused
09:10only because they saw their names in those documents. Others saw the most intimate details of their own trauma,
09:21publicly exposed. Our privacy was violated. The government promised us over and over again that our information would be protected
09:34and properly redacted. Those promises were broken again.
09:41We came to you seeking answers for why our rights were violated in 2007. And in the process of asking
09:50for those answers, our rights were violated again.
09:55I want to believe that each of you in this room is listening because you truly care. Not just about
10:00us, but about every child in this country who survived sexual abuse.
10:06If Congress and the Department of Justice truly want to do right by the survivors, the path forward is not
10:14complicated.
10:15Acknowledge the failures. When Jeffrey Epstein was set free in 2009 and again when our privacy was shattered earlier this
10:22year,
10:22take responsibility and provide meaningful remedies to the women who have been harmed over and over again.
10:31Please do not force us to relive this through more litigation.
10:36Pass a law requiring the Department of Justice to compensate victims for the harm that they had caused by releasing
10:41the names and information.
10:43That would show that this is truly about helping victims.
10:48Second, with respect to our ongoing investigations, please remember this.
10:53Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Ghislaine Maxwell is in prison.
10:59Do not pardon Maxwell.
11:02If there are other men who hurt women, hold them accountable.
11:06But please leave the survivors alone.
11:09If you subpoenaed someone to testify before your committees and she tells you she is a victim,
11:15listen to her. Believe her. Respect her trauma.
11:19Jeffrey tried to paint his victims as bad guys to avoid responsibility for himself.
11:27Please learn and understand that.
11:28Sharing our stories should be a choice. The choice I was able to make today.
11:32It should never be something survivors are forced to do.
11:36The girls who were groomed by Ghislaine Maxwell and abused by Jeffrey Epstein should not be treated like criminals.
11:42Please learn the stories of the women who have been harmed before you force them to testify in a room
11:47full of strangers.
11:48About the worst moments of their lives.
11:51Jeffrey Epstein destroyed so many of our lives and Ghislaine Maxwell helped him do it.
11:56Do not blame their survivors for the crimes of the abusers.
11:59That is not how the story should end.
12:01Find a way to bring closure to the story of Jeffrey Epstein.
12:04To allow survivors and this country to finally begin to move forward so that one day, and I pray soon,
12:10Jeffrey Epstein's name is no longer something we are forced to hear every single day.
12:16And my last point, I am not here today only to talk about the past.
12:21I am here for the children who are sitting in the classroom today.
12:24Children who may be vulnerable, confused, and unsure of what is happening to them.
12:29When I was a teenager, I did not have the language to understand what was happening to me.
12:33I did not know who to tell. I did not know where to go.
12:37Many of us didn't.
12:38We were young and we were manipulated.
12:40We were left without the tools or the support we needed.
12:44That is something Congress can change.
12:46Every middle school and high school student in this country should receive education on the signs of sexual abuse and
12:54exploitation.
12:56What it looks like, how to recognize it, and how to safely report it.
13:00Schools should have trained adults, accessible resources, so that no child feels as lost or as alone as we did.
13:08I have worked with other survivors to start a non-profit called the Survivors Inc.
13:12Because not everyone who has been abused has access to strong legal representation, therapy, or support systems.
13:21I became a certified life coach.
13:23I believe in giving others the support I wish I had.
13:27Though the survivors, we are able to provide these services to people who have been abused so they can begin
13:35their healing journey too.
13:37I am proud of that work, but individual efforts are not enough.
13:40Real change requires leadership at a national level.
13:43You have the power to make sure that happens to us does not happen again on this scale.
13:48I believe one of the most important places to begin is in our schools.
13:53Trained teachers, educate students, give children a place to turn when they feel they have nowhere else to go.
13:59Together we can do better for the next generation.
14:04Thank you so much.
14:11Ms. Spensky, you are now recognized for your opening statement.
14:16Hello, my name is Dani Bensky.
14:20I was abused by Jeffrey Epstein in 2004 and 2005.
14:25That was eight years after Maria Farmer first reported Jeffrey to the FBI.
14:31Although discussing my abuse is far from easy.
14:35I live with diagnosed PTSD from that experience.
14:40My story is actually one of the safest stories to tell.
14:43The key abuser who caused me physical harm is dead.
14:47It's imperative to understand that the stories you are hearing today are a tiny fraction of the whole.
14:54I am one of more than 1200 girls and women.
14:58I don't face the same level of threats of defamation lawsuits and serious risks to my safety as my survivor,
15:05as some of my survivor sisters do.
15:07While there are co-conspirators who do need to be held accountable for the parts that they played in the
15:15operation of my own abuse.
15:16I was trafficked only to Jeffrey, which really, unfortunately is not the case for so many others.
15:24I was groomed prior to meeting Jeffrey.
15:26I grew up in the dance world where perfectionism, body image issues ran rampant in a world that was built
15:33on hierarchy and secrecy.
15:36I would have my body criticized, critiqued, and manipulated, not so different from what I initially experienced with Jeffrey.
15:46I was trafficked to Jeffrey.
15:48I had two recruiters.
15:50One was a late teen and the other was only 15 years old, just trying to escape her own abuse.
15:57Jeffrey weaponized my aspirations and dreams by speaking the language of dance and making false promises.
16:04My mom had been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
16:07I had seen the name Epstein listed on a donor wall and believed that his wealth and power had come
16:14from the medical profession.
16:16I brought him her scans, hoping to understand her diagnosis.
16:20Instead of helping her, he used my mother's brain scans over me, giving me an ultimatum.
16:27Either recruit more girls or do more for him.
16:30I didn't end up recruiting anyone and instead just endured the abuse.
16:35In May of 2005, my mother had a successful operation at Mount Sinai to remove the tumor.
16:43And I finally extricated myself from Jeffrey's web.
16:48The Epstein case demonstrates that institutional systems have failed survivors time and time again.
16:55I was first subpoenaed in 2008 for an interview.
16:59I was just 20 years old and without a victim's rights advocate or a lawyer.
17:05I didn't know that I was entitled to those protections.
17:08No one told me I was safe.
17:10And for many parts of my interview, it felt like an interrogation.
17:15Jeffrey had already threatened my friend and he had told me that I would be charged with prostitution if I
17:21ever interacted with law enforcement.
17:23He made it clear that he held the cards.
17:27The passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act was a moment in which survivors hoped and believed that we might
17:35see some reckoning.
17:38But the system yet again failed survivors.
17:42Before the first document dump by the DOJ, my lawyer teamed up with another law firm representing survivors.
17:50Together, they submitted 350 victims' names to the DOJ as names that needed to be redacted prior to the deadline
18:01on December 19th.
18:03In the first round of documents, I saw my name in two places.
18:07Then in the January dump, there were more.
18:10And the redactions were far, far worse.
18:13These files displayed my name, my phone number, my old address, where I worked at the time, where I was
18:20studying, and other identifying information.
18:24What's important to understand is that these documents weren't just somehow overlooked and not redacted at all.
18:31On one document, my nickname, Danny, redacted, while Danielle Hanabensky is left completely unredacted.
18:39I am just one of the hundreds of survivors exposed like this.
18:44A few weeks ago, a legal analyst reached out to share that, yet again, my name appeared in a third
18:51batch of only 20 documents.
18:54After my lawyer continued to contact the DOJ on multiple occasions for protection, my name and information remained attached.
19:04These documents hold disturbing and yet incomplete accounts of my abuse.
19:10And they were viewable, not only by the entire world, but my child, my students, my students' parents, my friends,
19:20my employers, my colleagues, my family.
19:23I am public.
19:26However, in my FBI 302, a Jane Doe who has never, ever wanted to be revealed was exposed.
19:36This outing of survivor names does real irrevocable damage.
19:42The passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act was meant to be a moment when survivors could regain their power
19:50and finally obtain the truth.
19:53It was a time for our institutions, created to protect the American people, to for once stand on the side
19:59of survivors.
20:00As survivors, we have said time and time again, this is not political.
20:06This requires coming together and prioritizing, prioritizing coming together, not political showmanship.
20:16I'm always asked, what does accountability look like?
20:20Accountability means removing perpetrators from power, seeing arrests be made,
20:26and legislators pass laws like protecting victims' rights like Virginia's law,
20:32which would remove the statute of limitations for victims' civil claims against their abusers.
20:38Our entrenched systemic failures have allowed powerful people like Jeffrey to thrive.
20:44When institutions prioritize protecting the powerful and their enablers over protecting victims,
20:51abuse becomes normalized.
20:55If we continue down this path, the question isn't whether abuse will happen again, but who will be the next
21:03Jeffrey Epstein.
21:05This moment is critical.
21:08It is time to reform our system, to protect our survivors, not the perpetrators,
21:14and to ensure the truth can come to light.
21:20Thank you so much.
21:27Ms. Rosa, you are now recognized for your opening statement.
21:32In 2008, I just turned 18, when I met MC Square model management owner named Jean-Luc Brunel.
21:40Coming from a financial and stable background, I was the perfect target for Corrigin.
21:46I was promised modeling career beyond my dreams.
21:49In less than six months, MC Square obtained an 01 visa for me.
21:54I fit nearly impossible for a teenager with almost no experience.
21:59I did not have the documentation to earn that visa.
22:02By May of 2009, I was in New York City.
22:05I was isolated, controlled in a manner I've never experienced before.
22:09Within three months, the agency claimed I owed them over $10,000.
22:14I had no family, no friends, or no money.
22:18MC Square controlled every aspect of my life, where I went, how I dressed, and how I looked.
22:23They provided me enough of allowance to keep me offload, but never enough to be independent.
22:29Less than a month after I arrived to the United States, my agency sent me to the home of a
22:34registered sex offender.
22:37I was introduced to his girlfriend under the disguise that she was a photographer who helped me build my portfolio.
22:44Now I know that Jeffrey Epstein was supposed to be in jail cell in June of 2008.
22:50I met him at his house right here in West Palm Beach.
22:54He was not in a jail.
22:57Jean-Luc Brunel brought me to West Palm Beach to have dinner with Epstein in July.
23:01Epstein used the names of powerful politicians to demonstrate his influence.
23:07He told me he's an investor of the very agency that promised me a career.
23:11He also spoke of his arrest that it was a game, bragging about girls visiting his cell, and his friendships
23:20with authorities.
23:22Jeffrey offered me a position at the Florida Science Foundation to handle phone calls to help me with my financial
23:29troubles.
23:32One day, his masseuse called me into his room, where I was molested for the first time by Jeffrey.
23:40Jeffrey.
23:41For the following three years, I was subject to ongoing rape.
23:49Jeffrey Epstein was under house arrest for the molestation of underage girls at the exact time he was abusing me.
24:06The fact that he could commit those acts made justice feel impossible to me, and it took my ability to
24:14seek for help.
24:20I was summoned to his residence right here in West Palm Beach.
24:24My agency relocated me to Miami to keep me closer, and only after he was released from the house arrest,
24:31I was allowed to go back to New York City, where my nightmares continued.
24:36Those years of abuse turned into a decade of fear that I still carry today.
24:42I eventually found the courage to reach out for help.
24:45I stepped forward along other survivors, hoping those who allowed this to happen will be held accountable.
24:53I kept my identity protected as Jane Doe.
24:58I woke up one day with my name mentioned over 500 times.
25:11While rich and powerful remained protected by reduction, my name was exposed to the world.
25:16Now reporters from across the globe contact me.
25:19I cannot live without looking over my shoulder.
25:23I can only imagine the long-term impact this mistake will have on my life.
25:32I wanted to be a doctor when I was a kid.
25:36So, I want to end this statement with a story.
25:40In 1800, the doctor named Ignace Semmelweis discovered something life-saving.
25:47He realized that the doctors who were performing autopsies and then immediately delivering babies without washing their hand
25:54were carrying cadaverous particles, causing women dying in agony.
26:01He had evidence.
26:02He had solution.
26:04He begged the medical establishment to wash their hands to save lives.
26:09But the doctors were offended.
26:12They found it easier to protect their own reputation and maintain the status quo
26:17than to admit they were the ones causing harms.
26:21They chose their pride over the life of women, and Dr. Semmelweis was ignored, ridiculed, and eventually cast out.
26:30I see the same patterns happening today with handling of these files.
26:36Releasing my name while redacting the name of other powerful is not a mistake.
26:41It's a choice.
26:42It's a choice to prioritize the comfort of an institution over the safety of the survivors.
26:47The evidence is right here.
26:48The evidence is right here.
26:49Yet those in power rather us die socially, emotionally, and physically.
26:56Then admit their own complicity.
26:59I am no longer a Jane Doe, hating in the files.
27:04I'm a woman, I'm a fighter, and I'm a witness, and I'm begging you, please wash your hands.
27:34Thank you, Ms. Rose.
27:34Obviously, I think one of the true horrors of this investigation has been the way so many survivors continue to
27:43be re-traumatized,
27:44and I think this is one just really horrific example of how, even through the Transparency Act,
27:53so much horror and re-traumatization continues to happen.
27:59So thank you for the testimony.
28:01Mr. Coven, I'm going to recognize you for your opening statement.
28:14Truly moved by her strength.
28:17Ranking member, members of Congress.
28:20My name is Spencer Coven.
28:21I have represented numerous survivors of sexual exploitation and trafficking over the years,
28:27including the first victim to come forward in the Epstein investigation here in Palm Beach.
28:34I'm here today because what happened during the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein was not simply a failure of judgment.
28:42It was a systemic failure of justice.
28:45In Palm Beach County, credible evidence of widespread sexual abuse involving minors was presented to state prosecutors, including my client.
28:56Law enforcement initially identified dozens of victims.
29:00The conduct was organized, repeated, and devastating.
29:04Yet instead of a prosecution that matched the scale of the harm, what followed was a secret agreement, as we
29:11know,
29:11that minimized the abuse and insulted the children that had been abused.
29:16Despite the efforts of some of the federal agents at the time, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern
29:22District decided to have these secret meetings with Epstein's attorneys.
29:26The U.S. Department of Justice, in conjunction with the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office at the time, colluded
29:33in secret to quietly shelve this case with minimal state charges that branded a 15- and 16-year-old
29:41child victim as prostitutes.
29:44They gave a sweetheart deal to Jeffrey Epstein and four named as well as unnamed co-conspirators.
29:52The Southern District U.S. Attorney at the time, Alex Acosta, spearheaded what every attorney advocate saw as the worst
30:01non-prosecution agreement ever executed by a U.S. attorney.
30:06This sent a message.
30:08It told victims that even when the evidence is strong, accountability is negotiable if you are rich and powerful.
30:17This awful non-prosecution agreement completely shut down further federal charges for the events they were investigating here in Florida.
30:25As I mentioned, that tragic deal was negotiated and signed in secret.
30:30Not only was it kept secret from the world, it was kept secret from me.
30:35Calls were made repeatedly to the U.S. attorneys investigating this at the time by myself.
30:40An advocate for multiple victims at the time.
30:43And, of course, it was kept secret from those victims.
30:46I was forced to file motions with the court to compel its ultimate disclosure even after it had been executed.
30:53And finally, after obtaining court orders, they turned it over to us.
30:57A full year after it had been signed.
31:02The victims were not consulted.
31:05Their advocates like me were not consulted.
31:09Victims were never given an opportunity to be heard.
31:13This was not just a moral failure.
31:16We believed it was a violation of law under the Crime Victims Rights Act.
31:19Originally passed in 2004, subsequently amended by Congress in 06, 08, and 15.
31:27Victims have had the right to confer with prosecutors and the right to be treated with fairness and respect.
31:33Yet those rights were ignored at the very moment that it mattered most.
31:38When decisions were being made that would determine whether justice would ever be pursued.
31:44The result was predictable.
31:46Survivors, as you've heard, were re-traumatized.
31:50Not only by the abuse they endured, but by a system that excluded them from the process designed specifically to
31:57protect them.
31:57And the public was left questioning whether justice can be trusted when powerful interests are involved.
32:05This failure by the Department of Justice at the time was a subject of litigation brought, as you heard, by
32:11Ms. Wilde.
32:12That case ultimately exposed a gap in the law.
32:17One that must be closed by you.
32:21Today, I want to offer that clear path forward.
32:24First, Congress should amend the Crime Victims Rights Act to make it explicit that victims must be notified and given
32:30a meaningful opportunity to confer before any non-prosecution agreement or deferred prosecution agreement is finalized.
32:39Second, as you've heard, there must be enforceable remedies, not just suggestions.
32:46Victims should have standing to challenge agreements reached in violation of the act and courts must have the authority to
32:53review and, where appropriate, void those agreements.
32:58Third, transparency must be the rule, not the exception.
33:05Secret agreements that extinguish criminal liability, particularly in cases involving multiple victims, should not exist in our system of justice.
33:13And finally, there must be accountability.
33:16When prosecutors fail to uphold victims' rights, there must be consequences sufficient to ensure that those failures are not repeated.
33:25This is not about relitigating the past.
33:27It's about ensuring what happened here never happens again.
33:31The survivors in this case have showed extraordinary courage coming here today.
33:36They told the truth and they trusted the system.
33:39And the system failed them.
33:42Congress now has the opportunity and, I would suggest, the responsibility to fix it.
33:49We look forward to your questions.
33:51Thank you very much.
33:56I'd like to go to Ms. Hirsch, please, who's now recognized for her opening statement.
34:00Thank you so much, ranking member, members of Congress.
34:03I'm Lauren Hirsch, the CEO of World Without Exploitation, the largest anti-trafficking coalition in the country.
34:09We have nearly 200 member organizations across the country.
34:13Many of those organizations are survivor-led.
34:16It is an absolute honor to sit beside each one of you.
34:21You are the reason this moment of reckoning is happening.
34:26What we have witnessed in the handling of the Epstein case is not simply a bureaucratic misstep.
34:33It is a deeply horrific failure to protect the very people the system is meant to serve.
34:40Survivors have repeatedly been promised dignity, confidentiality, and care.
34:47And instead, we have seen a systemic breakdown in their protection at nearly every step of the way.
34:55We have watched those with power and privilege manipulate the system, shielding themselves from accountability, while survivors have suffered in
35:04silence.
35:06Every one of these failures sends a devastating message, not only to Epstein survivors, but to survivors everywhere, that accountability
35:16is optional for the powerful.
35:19Survivors have had enough, and frankly, the American public has had enough of this too.
35:25We are now in a moment of reckoning that requires a thorough examination of all of the things that have
35:31gone horribly wrong.
35:33But it also requires a serious course correction.
35:38Survivors have been repeatedly harmed, first by Epstein and his associates, and then by law enforcement who refused to bring
35:45adequate cases,
35:46who didn't notify victims when secret sweetheart deals were made, who allowed abuse to continue even after pleas were entered
35:54in,
35:54and then they were again abused by the DOJ.
35:58When the federal government fails to provide protection under the Crime Victims Rights Act, survivors cannot be left without remedy.
36:07We need a legislative fix immediately to provide compensation and recourse for violations of the Crime Victims Rights Act, and
36:17this is urgent.
36:18I think everyone in the room has heard the survivors and understands the profound harm caused by the DOJ in
36:27releasing hundreds of names of survivors and their personal information in the aftermath of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
36:35So I'll keep this part brief.
36:36As a former prosecutor, I understand that mistakes happen.
36:41We're human.
36:43But when hundreds of names are released repeatedly, including nude photos of a survivor, this can no longer be dismissed
36:51as human error.
36:52Something has gone horribly wrong inside the DOJ, and the American public deserves clear answers about how this failure has
37:02occurred.
37:03This requires a recorded deposition of Pam Bondi on May 29th, not a transcribed interview.
37:18Survivors also deserve meaningful legislative recourse, including a private right of action so that they can be compensated for the
37:28exposure of their private information to the public.
37:33Accountability cannot end with an examination of process failures or even legislative fixes.
37:40These files demand further examination.
37:45Assertions that there are no credible investigative leads are deeply concerning.
37:52From my perspective, both as the CEO of WorldWe and a former prosecutor, that conclusion is not only premature, it
38:00is inconsistent with the available record.
38:03There is an abundance of potential investigative leads that warrant serious independent review.
38:12For three decades, countless men operated with complete impunity.
38:17Sex trafficking does not happen in a vacuum.
38:20It is driven by the demand for commercial sex, and it is enabled by systems and people who are willing
38:27to look the other way.
38:28That is exactly what we're looking at here.
38:32Likely the largest sex trafficking operation the United States has ever seen.
38:37The files are clear.
38:40The files are clear.
38:40And the files name names.
38:43When individuals and institutions surface repeatedly in the files, it's a pretty strong indicator that there's some there there.
38:53When there are millions and millions of dollars flowing between an individual and Epstein, and there doesn't seem to be
39:00a business relationship, but instead allegations of sexual abuse, that's not noise to ignore.
39:07That is an investigative lead.
39:09And this is just one of many examples.
39:13And the examples are not just limited to individuals.
39:17Major hospitals took money from Epstein and provided questionable care.
39:24And that's putting it nicely.
39:26Hospital systems, academic institutions, modeling agencies, and the list goes on.
39:33They all require careful, independent examination of investigative leads.
39:41The burden should not fall on the survivors to name names or drive investigations.
39:47Survivors should be given safe, voluntary spaces to speak, but they should not be compelled.
39:52The responsibility lies with investigative bodies, prosecutors, the DOJ, on relevant authorities to do their jobs thoroughly, transparently, and with
40:05integrity.
40:08Survivors have already carried far too much of the burden.
40:12They should not have to carry the failures of our institutions as well.
40:16What is needed now is not defensiveness, but accountability.
40:21And finally, for survivors and for World Without Exploitation, this is not and has never been political.
40:31I'm sure that it will be twisted into us entering the political fray by being here today, but we have
40:39been absolutely clear.
40:41We will and have worked with anyone who is serious about getting to the truth.
40:48The era of silence and inaction must end here.
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41:11You are gonna swap out.
41:12Make-up twist.
41:13With this change in produce.
41:13In a speech will date.使用
41:14me online. Despite doing
41:14that, there's something horrible.