00:01Thank you all so much for being here. I want to thank Charlene and Annie. I want to thank the
00:08other survivors who who guided me through this this powerful exhibit and showed me the Epstein
00:18files. It is an honor to stand with all of you. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your
00:25bravery. The only reason we know about Jeffrey Epstein's abuse is because these survivors
00:32have the courage to stand up to a corrupt system designed to keep them quiet. And I think we can
00:40all learn from their bravery. And and I want to thank them for their for their work for turning
00:49their pain and their trauma into something that may help protect people in the future.
00:56In my tradition, we call that resurrection. And it is a a true privilege to be here with
01:03all of you. When did pedophilia become a partisan issue? When did when did holding sexual abusers
01:14accountable become controversial? When did Ken Paxton decide it was OK to ignore these survivors?
01:24Today, I am calling on Ken Paxton to stop ignoring these survivors and their requests to meet.
01:30And I'm calling on him to use his power as Attorney General to sue the Department of Justice over
01:37the mishandling of these Epstein files. Corrupt officials like Todd Blanche released names and
01:45photos of survivors without their consent. Corrupt officials are still covering up for Epstein's
01:52abuse by refusing to release 2.5 million additional files. Our Attorney General here in Texas has the
02:00power to get justice for these survivors, and he's refusing to do so. Ken Paxton has a history
02:07history of covering up abuse, a history of protecting pedophiles. He has an opportunity to use
02:15his power, his authority to get justice, and we are demanding that he do so. I am tired of seeing
02:23powerful people cover up abuse. I think we're all tired of it. Democrats, independents and Republicans
02:31alike. Ken Paxton has two choices. He can stand with these survivors and get justice, or he can continue
02:38to cover up Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. The choice is entirely his. And I hope that this exhibit is a
02:45reminder to all of us that the fight for justice continues. We all, whether we are elected officials,
02:53whether we are citizens, whether we are members of the media, we have a moral obligation to continue to
03:00shine a spotlight on this abuse, on this pedophile ring, until every name is exposed, until every
03:07survivor gets the justice they deserve. I want to invite Annie now to come up and say a few words.
03:17Thank you so much, James. Good morning. My name is Annie Farmer. I'm the younger sister of Maria Farmer,
03:23the woman who first reported Epstein, Maxwell, and their co-conspirators to the FBI back in 1996.
03:31She's also the artist whose moving work is on display here in the reading room.
03:35A year ago this week, I was in D.C., advocating for the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
03:42When I spoke that day, I didn't know what our chances were of success. What I did know was that
03:48I was fed up with feeling betrayed by our government and their handling of this case.
03:53From the FBI not following up with my sister and I on her report for 10 years, to the infamous
04:00sweetheart deal, to them allowing Epstein's death in their custody. It was troubling enough when President
04:07Trump was asked about Ghislaine Maxwell's arrest, while I was waiting to testify in her trial,
04:13that he said he wished her well. But when I learned that Todd Blanche, his personal attorney,
04:19had visited her for an unexplained eight-hour interview, followed shortly by her transfer to
04:25a minimum security prison camp, I had to speak out. Many survivors and many Americans felt the same,
04:33and the pressure built until we, to the surprise of all the pundits, passed the Transparency Act,
04:39and it became law. A year later, I'm speaking out again because, unfortunately, the law has not been
04:46followed. With the DOJ's partial release of the files have come major issues with improper redactions
04:53and incomplete records. I really appreciate James Tallarico coming here to visit with us to learn more
05:00about this case and standing with us in holding the DOJ accountable for these failures. We've invited
05:06Ken Paxton to do the same. Hopefully he decides to join us. I'd like to remind people that the fact
05:14that
05:14these government failures have occurred across five presidencies because I am tired of the oversimplified
05:20politicization of this case. The truth is, of course, more complicated. It's not about one
05:25complicit political party. At the heart of this case, there have always been and continue to be
05:31people in power protecting others with wealth and power. This type of corruption is not isolated to
05:37this case. The same dynamics that allowed this criminal enterprise to go on for so long are playing
05:44out throughout this country right now because of leaders who preach one set of values and practice
05:48another. I'm glad to be back in Texas this week, a state close to my heart. I lived here for
05:55nearly
05:5520 years. I got married here, earned my doctorate at UT Austin, started a family here, and started the
06:02therapy practice that I still run here. From my work with clients, I know very well that there are no
06:08communities in this state that are not impacted by issues of sexual abuse and exploitation. And Texans need
06:14leaders that will send a strong message to survivors of these crimes that no matter how powerful the
06:20perpetrator, accountability will be pursued. That's why it was so upsetting when Senator John Cornyn would
06:27not meet with us this summer despite our requests to explain why Todd Blanche was not fit for confirmation
06:33as Attorney General because of what had gone terribly wrong under his leadership at the DOJ. Instead,
06:39Cornyn did what others have done, gave in to political pressure, looked the other way, and voted for Blanche.
06:45Let's hope that whoever replaces him is someone whose loyalties cannot be purchased.
06:51For those that haven't seen it yet, the Bureau of Prisons was forced to release Maxwell's request
06:55for a transfer document just this week, just last week. It was almost entirely redacted. The cover-up
07:02continues, and I believe it will, until we elect leaders who don't put politics and profits over the
07:07interests of the people they represent. We need leaders who channel the bravery that my sister
07:12showed when she blew the whistle on Epstein despite knowing the risk of doing so, or that Virginia
07:17Roberts-Dufresne showed when she spoke out boldly against some of the most powerful people in the world.
07:26It's now my honor to introduce Charlene Rochard.
07:30Thank you, Representative Tallarico, and thank you to everyone who has joined us here today.
07:42My name is Charlene Rochard. I am a mother of four, a legislative advocate, a model, and a survivor
07:50of Jeffrey Epstein. It means a great deal to me here today to be here at the Trump Epstein Memorial
07:59Reading Room in a city that holds so much of an important part of my own story. Coming back to
08:06Dallas is deeply personal for me. I started modeling here with Page Parks Models. I worked for JC Penney,
08:14Foley's, Macy's, and many others. I remember being here at the beginning of my modeling career,
08:21going to castings, working, seeing myself in fashion magazines, and believing that if I worked hard enough,
08:29anything was possible. I was young, I was ambitious, and I trusted the adults around me.
08:37No one taught me about grooming. No one taught me about trafficking. No one warned me that the very
08:45things that looked like opportunity, travel, introductions, access to powerful people could
08:54also be used to exploit me. And decades later, here I am, still confronting what happens when money,
09:04power, and connections are allowed to matter more than protecting young people.
09:11That is why the Epstein files matter. When you walk into the reading room and see the sheer volume of
09:21evidence in front of you, you begin to understand the scale of what still needs to be examined.
09:30Millions of pages have now been released, but questions remain about what hasn't been released
09:38and why. Releasing only half of the documents is not transparency, and it cannot be where accountability
09:47ends. I urge people to read the files, to follow the evidence no matter where they lead,
09:56and when those leads reach someone wealthy, famous, politically connected, Republican or Democrat,
10:05keep following them. Because justice that stops when it reaches power is not justice.
10:13And when we connect, not expose, what happened? We have to change what it made possible.
10:23We need mandatory trafficking education and real safety protocols in modeling and other industries
10:33that send young people away from home. We need stronger protections for minors traveling across state
10:40lines and international borders. We need laws that recognize grooming, coercive control, and we need
10:47accountability for the adults and institutions that enable exploitation. Because trafficking is not random,
10:56it is structured, it is patterned, and it is preventable.
11:03And that is why I am grateful to leaders like Representative Tolerico. Leaders who are willing to listen to survivors,
11:13confront uncomfortable truths, and work on legislation that protects children instead of power. Representative
11:23Tolerico understand something that should not be controversial. If we want to protect young people,
11:32we have to prepare them better education, safer schools, stronger mental health support. And when powerful
11:40institutions fail children, he's been willing to say so. Because protecting children should never depend
11:51on who you know, how much money you have, or what political party you belong to.
11:57And guess what? He came here to speak with us today. We have invited Attorney General Ken Paxton to come
12:06speak with us as well.
12:08Ken Paxton, the door to the reading room is open. Because protecting children isn't partisan. Justice isn't partisan. And the
12:26truth definitely doesn't pick sides. In fact, it exposes it.
12:34And that is what leadership looks like. Listening, showing up, and being willing to act, even when the truth is
12:44uncomfortable.
12:46I'm raising four children. And I refuse to accept a world that teaches them that money buys a different set
12:56of rules.
12:57That connections by protection or that protecting power matters more than protecting a child.
13:05I cannot go back and change what happened to me when I was young.
13:10But I can stand here now and use the voice that she didn't have.
13:16I can speak the truth.
13:18I can demand change.
13:20I can fight like hell to make sure our children inherit a better future.
13:27Power may delay the truth.
13:32It may try to bury it.
13:34It may redact it.
13:37But it does not get to erase it.
13:40Survivors have answered enough questions.
13:44It's time for the people in power to start answering ours.
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