Washington — More than a dozen of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers stood alongside Democratic and GOP lawmakers and pressed Congress to look beyond politics, with the House set to vote Tuesday on a bill to release the government’s remaining files related to the investigation of his crimes.
“This is one of the most horrific and disgusting corruption scandals in our country’s history,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who sponsored the bill. “Because survivors spoke up, because of their courage, the truth is finally going to come out.”
At a news conference outside the Capitol, the accusers called for transparency and argued that releasing the files should transcend politics.
Haley Robson said, “It’s time that we put the political agendas and party affiliations to the side.” “This is not an issue of a few corrupt Democrats or a few corrupt Republicans, this is a case of institutional betrayal,” said Annie Farmer. And Liz Stein said “the Epstein files are not about loyalty to any one political party. They’re evidence of a crime.”
“In a divided nation, this is one demand we all share,” said Lisa Phillips.
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The House vote, which is expected Tuesday afternoon, comes after four Republicans joined all Democrats to sign a petition to force a vote on the issue, circumventing House GOP leadership. Although President Trump initially expressed opposition to the release of the files and lashed out against Republicans who advocated for the release of the files, he changed his tune Sunday when it was evident the bill would pass. He urged House Republicans to vote to release the Epstein files “because we have nothing to hide.”
Another Epstein accuser, Jena-Lisa Jones, spoke of the emotionally “distressing” back-and-forth from the administration regarding the release of the files. She called on the president, whom she said she voted for, to “show some real leadership,” adding that his “behavior on this issue has been a national embarrassment.”
“I beg you, President Trump, please stop making this political,” Jones said. “It is not about you, President Trump. You are our president. Please start acting like it.”
Interest in the files has grown since July, when the Justice Department issued the findings of an internal review that found no “client list” or evidence that Epstein had blackmailed prominent figures. Since then, there’s been widespread calls for greater transparency from the Trump administration.
Khanna outlined the widespread nature of the allegations from Epstein’s accusers, saying, “There should be no buildings named after people in this Epstein class, there should be no scholarships named after them, they shouldn’t be enjoying the perks of being affiliated with corporations or universities or writing op-eds or being lionized.” He added that “many of the survivors will tell you, some of these people still are celebrated in our society.”
The California Democrat said the accusers “are the ones who made today possible,” adding that for decades, “we have not done enough about this issue.”
Khanna also praised Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, whom he said have suffered “extraordinary political consequences” for their work on the issue.
Massie thanked the women, saying they’re “giving everybody hope in this country.”
“There are survivors of other sex crimes in this country wondering if they should come forward,” Massie said. “These survivors have stepped forth, taking that same risk, worried that they will be defamed themselves — they have been defamed for stepping forward — but we’re going to get justice for them. That’s going to happen today in the People’s House.”
Greene praised the women for coming forward, saying, “These women have fought the most horrific fight that no woman should have to fight.” She said they did so by fighting together “against the most powerful people in the world, even the president of the United States, in order to make this vote happen today.”
The Georgia Republican noted she’s been “called a traitor” by Mr. Trump in recent days in a public spat that seems to stem from the Epstein files.
“I’ve never owed him anything, but I fought for him for the policies and for America first — and he called me a traitor for standing with these women and refusing to take my name off the discharge petition,” she said.
“Let me tell you what a traitor is: A traitor is an American that serves foreign countries, and themselves.” Greene said.
“Today you are going to see probably a unanimous vote in the House to release the Epstein files,” Greene said. “But the real fight will happen after that.”
The “real test” will be whether the DOJ will release the files, or whether they will remain “tied up in investigations,” Greene said. She and Massie have raised the possibility that if the Justice Department opens investigations into Epstein’s relationships with prominent Democrats, as Mr. Trump has suggested, they could be used to block the files’ release.
Massie said while “they can try to protect a few certain people or a few certain companies, those investigations will eventually end.” He added, “They can’t open enough investigations to cover up everything that’s in these files.”
But if the bill passes in the House, it would next head to the Senate for approval, where Republican leaders have not said whether they’ll bring it up for a vote. Massie appealed to the upper chamber in his remarks, asking the Senate not to derail the effort.
“If you do anything that prevents any disclosure, you are not for the people and you are not part of this effort,” Massie said. “Do not muck it up in the Senate.”
