Mike Johnson (00:07):
Good afternoon, everyone. We just spent more than two hours with six of the Epstein victims, some of the bravest women I've ever met. They're very courageous. They shared their stories. Some of the ladies have shared these stories publicly before, but at least two of the women had never told their stories before. One for the very first time in the room.
(00:28)
And so, there were tears in the room, there was outrage. It was both, I would describe it as heartbreaking and infuriating that justice has been delayed so long. Some of the women in the room began to be groomed by Epstein and his accomplices, Ghislaine Maxwell and the others, 30 years ago. There were four attorneys in the room. Some of them began civil litigation against Epstein and the Epstein evils and everything associated with it 20 years ago.
(00:59)
This has gone on for a long, long time, and they shared their stories. They shared how these brave young women, Epstein and his accomplices, stole their innocence, stole their very lives in some cases, stole their hopes and dreams and aspirations and ruined them in so many ways. But they came forward courageously to share their thoughts and their hopes in the House Oversight Committee and that the house itself, that we would do this in a bipartisan fashion and seek those answers and we will. They are owed that.
(01:34)
There may be as many as 1,000 victims. Think of it, hundreds and hundreds of young women who some of us imagine seated behind these six women. One of the members in the committee said that, they speak for all of them. And it's been long, long overdue. So the objective here is not just to uncover, investigate the Epstein evils, but also to ensure that this never happens again. And ultimately, to find out why justice has been delayed for these ladies for so very long. It is inexcusable and it will stop now because the Congress is dialed in on this.
(02:13)
I'm very grateful for the leadership of Chairman James Comer of the House Oversight Committee, who's with me here. And he's done an extraordinary job. August was a very busy district work period for so many members of Congress who were fanned out across the country and their districts doing town halls and business round tables and constituent services. But our House Oversight committee was working all along on their subpoenas. And I'll let him recount for you some of the great work that has already been done, but 34,000 Epstein documents have already been collected. We will not stop there.
(02:46)
This is the beginning and not the end, and they were going through very carefully because we have two ultimate objectives here. We want to bring justice to every single person who is involved in the Epstein evils or the cover-up thereof, but we also want to be equally certain that we protect the innocent victims. Many of these young women, some of them are now middle-aged women have never come forward. We do not want their names or identities to be uncovered carelessly or intentionally in any way.
(03:17)
And so the House Oversight Committee in a bipartisan fashion is combing through these documents to ensure that we redact only the information related to the innocent victims themselves. We cannot be involved in subjecting them to any more harm. With that, I want to yield to our very able and very busy chairman for all the great work he's been doing, Jamie Comer.
Jamie Comer (03:36):
Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll just give a quick update. I think everyone knows who all we've subpoenaed thus far. In the initial batch, we subpoenaed six former attorneys general as well as Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton. We've expanded that to Alex Acosta. Acosta's coming in, I believe September the 16th or 19th. We've got that date down. I know that we'll have a lot of questions for him with respect to an earlier Epstein prosecution that he was involved in when he was US attorney.
(04:10)
We have the documents, the initial batch that had been sent by the White House. As you know, we also subpoenaed Pam Bondi for those documents. The White House is working with us. I want to publicly thank the White House for turning over so many documents thus far. We're in the process of uploading those documents for full transparency so everyone in America can see those documents. It's as quick as we can get them uploaded, and as the speaker said, 34,000 pages. So we're doing everything we can to get those uploaded. We want those to be public as soon as possible.
(04:45)
And then we're going to continue to bring in more people. We learned of some additional names today. We're going to do everything we can to give the American public the transparency they seek, as well as provide accountability in memory of the victims who have already passed away, as well as those that were in the room and many others who haven't come forward.
(05:11)
So we're sincere about this. This was a two and a half hour discussion. It was as bipartisan as anything I've seen in the nine years I've been here. Appreciate the speaker for giving us the authority to seek out everything that I think you all want, and the people that I talk to as I travel America want. And we're going to do everything we can to get the answers and to do it as soon as possible. I yield back.
Mike Johnson (05:36):
A question or two. Mono.
Journalist (05:37):
Speaker Johnson.
Mike Johnson (05:38):
Go ahead.
Mono (05:39):
As a few, refer to this as the Epstein hoax. You just talked to these victims. Is it a hoax?
Mike Johnson (05:46):
I'm not sure what that comment refers to, but I've spoken to the president myself about this many times and he is as insistent as we are. He is the most transparent president in memory, probably in the history of the country. As you know, he stops. If he was here now, he would stand here and take your questions endlessly. That's his mindset. And he wants the American people to have information so they can draw their own conclusions. I've talked with him about this very subject myself, so I can tell you that is his heart.
(06:13)
Now he also, just as we do, is insistent that we protect the innocent victims, and that's what this has been about. There'll be votes in the House this week to advance this and affirm what it's doing. Do we want everybody in the House wants to go on record affirming what our Oversight committee is doing in a bipartisan fashion. There's a discharge petition that is pending. And the reason that I was not comfortable with that and still am not comfortable with the discharge petition is because it was inartfully drafted. It does not adequately protect the innocent victims, and that is a critical component of this.
(06:46)
So the work is being done. The Department of Justice and the administration are in full compliance with every congressional subpoena. In fact, they're moving it quickly. And so the American people are owed this information and the expectation is it will come out soon.
Journalist (07:00):
Mr. Speaker.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Mr. Comer, what exactly in the Massie and Connor discharge petition doesn't protect survivors?
Mike Johnson (07:09):
Yeah, look, it was inartfully drafted. Okay. They cite, for example, a code article that is supposedly to protect child sex acts. Okay? These are legal term of ours, but they cite the wrong US code provision. So it doesn't actually have any force of law.
(07:25)
They don't actually have adequate protections for whistle-blowers. We want to encourage whistle-blowers in an investigation like this. And there are standards and practices and procedures that are used in federal prosecutions and investigations and here in Congress that are not adequately stated in the discharge petition.
(07:40)
I think the petition itself is effectively a moot point now because all of this is happening. What the House Oversight Committee is doing, what they're actually gathering is everything that was requested in the discharge petition plus even more. And it's actually has the force of subpoena, the effect in force of law, which is why it's actually happening right now, where the discharge petition does not lead to that.
(08:04)
So it's not a law-making exercise. It's superfluous at this point. And I think we're achieving the desired end here. Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Speaker Johnson Chair.
Journalist (08:14):
[inaudible 00:08:14] files.
Mike Johnson (08:16):
Well-
Journalist (08:18):
Just the resolution that you have from the preliminaries.
Mike Johnson (08:19):
… have a subpoena, which must be supplied, must be enforced, and that does have the effective law. So it's even more effective than a vote on the floor. I mean, we have subpoena authority and it is being used aggressively here. And we promised to those victims that we would continue that.
(08:35)
They are heartened, I think, by the attention that has been given in this Congress that has not been there for many years, obviously. And I would say this, and I don't want to overstate it, my friend, Jamie Comber, but I would say Republicans and Democrats in the room were dumbfounded at some points about why some of this has not been disclosed further and in greater detail. And you have the right people on it now. And we're on it. It's overdue. Go ahead. Sorry.
Jamie Comer (09:00):
And I also want to add, we've subpoenaed the estate, the Epstein Estate for everything too. So we're pushing forward.
Mike Johnson (09:06):
When I say that the over-
Journalist (09:08):
[inaudible 00:09:08] those documents. When will these come out?
Mike Johnson (09:13):
Yes. The intention is to get them out for public release. And when I say that the Oversight Committee's work goes further than the Discharge Petition, that's a great example. The Discharge Petition doesn't mention a subpoena or gathering information or documents from the Epstein estate. So there are other things that this committee with its expertise and all of its lawyers and all the work will be able to gather that wasn't even anticipated in this other pending measure.
Journalist (09:37):
[inaudible 00:09:38]
Speaker 3 (09:38):
What's the plan to avoid a government shutdown in four weeks? What's the plan?
Mike Johnson (09:42):
Oh, you want to talk about that now? Okay. Look, we're working through the appropriations process. We have been in good faith. As you know, we passed a few of these bills off the floor already, and the Senate has done some work. They passed a few and a little minibus.
(09:55)
We've got to get these two chambers together. Of course, we have the end of the fiscal year comes up the end of this month and no one desires a government shutdown. So we'll be working in earnest over the next few days and the next couple of weeks to ensure that doesn't happen. Stay tuned for the details. As you know, everyone was out on the district work period and now they've all just gathered.
(10:13)
And so, there'll be a tsunami of activity here for the next… We'll have some sleepless nights, wrapping it all up and getting it done. But I'm very optimistic we can avoid a shutdown and it's going to require leaders on both sides of the aisle to come together and do that. And I'm certainly hopeful that we can and do it in a responsible manner.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Mr. Speaker, there are some in your own party, Thomas Massie is one of them, who have said that by delaying a vote, resisting a floor vote in the Epstein documents that you are protecting and present. What do you say to that?
Mike Johnson (10:38):
Well, I think that's obvious nonsense. We are demonstrating here that this is being done, but I'm going to emphasize again, it has to be done in the right way. I spoke with the six brave women who were here about our intention on that, and they were so grateful. I think they will tell you themselves, those who are willing to come forward to speak publicly, that they will say they want to be very careful.
(11:01)
Not all the victims, in fact, the vast majority of ladies and women and young women who are subjected to these unspeakable crimes, I mean unspeakable crimes, some of the things we heard today, have chosen not to come forward for obvious reasons. So we have to very carefully guard their identities. We cannot be haphazard about this. And that's the only thing that has had… If there's any delay at all, that's what the intention is. And I think you'll see that's the effect. The American people will get the information they've desired. Last question. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (11:30):
Yeah. Congressman Garcia says that you guys have subpoenaed that birthday book where President Trump allegedly wrote a note to Jeffrey Epstein. Is that something you guys are going to share with the public and expect to see soon?
Mike Johnson (11:40):
I don't know about that particular item. I haven't seen a long list of specifics.
Jamie Comer (11:45):
That's in the estate. We've subpoenaed for all documents pertaining to this statement.
Speaker 5 (11:49):
And once you get it, will you release that to the public?
Jamie Comer (11:51):
We plan on doing that.
Mike Johnson (11:52):
Yeah. You're going to see full disclosure.
Jamie Comer (11:55):
We always do.
Mike Johnson (11:55):
Maximum transparency, that's Chairman Comer. That's what he does. Yes.
Speaker 6 (12:03):
Mr. When you say "justice delayed," does that mean you are seeking more action against justice or is that transparency or is that [inaudible 00:12:06].
Mike Johnson (12:05):
I think we follow the truth where it leads. I think that's the responsibility of Congress. I think we owe that to the victims. And if there are further prosecutions, they need to be brought. No stone unturned. I mean, that's the commitment and it's bipartisan. And I'm heartened that members of Congress are willing to work together on that.
(12:27)
And look, I will say this again, I'm going to emphasize, this is full participation of the administration and the White House. The President has the same desire so long as we're protecting the innocent victims. So there'll be a lot more on this in the coming days. So thank y'all for the time. We appreciate it. Thank you.
Speaker 7 (12:44):
Mr. Comer. Do you have a better timeline on releasing?
Mike Johnson (12:45):
Thank you very much.
Journalist (12:45):
[inaudible 00:12:54].
Speaker 8 (12:54):
We just have to make sure the hallway [inaudible 00:12:54].
(12:54)
We don't usually put him behind the scenes unless it's a head of state. This isn't a head of state. Okay.
Speaker 9 (12:54):
[Inaudible 00:13:50]
Speaker 11 (15:00):
All right, so you got me on the inside of the ropes.
Speaker 10 (15:06):
Yep. Heads up, guys.
Speaker 11 (15:06):
We're having [inaudible 00:15:32].
Robert Garcia (16:04):
You can come closer, guys. Okay. We're going to go ahead and start.
(16:06)
I'm Robert Garcia, the ranking member on the Oversight Committee, and we're here with, of course, the other Democrats that, of course, are on this committee. But most importantly, for the last couple of hours we've been hearing directly from the victims who have suffered incredible, horrific abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, by Ghislaine Maxwell, and many others who have been involved in these horrific crimes.
(16:36)
I will say, and I know I speak on behalf of all of us, that the courage that these women showed today has motivated us so much more to seek justice, accountability, and transparency. And we do not care how powerful, how connected, or what political party those that have victimized and caused horrific pain and sexual abuse of these women are, we will seek justice.
(17:11)
We have a few folks who are going to say some remarks. I want to start with Ayanna Pressley, our congresswoman, of course, has been a great leader on this. We'll share from a few folks and then I will wrap it up and answer any questions at that time. I want to add before we start that much of the conversation that we had is also confidential and it's our job to protect the privacy of the women and what they've said, and there are numerous conversations that will be happening in the days ahead. So, Congresswoman.
Ayanna Pressley (17:44):
Thank you, Ranking Member Garcia. What we heard here today was harrowing and it is proof of what has been an institutional, systemic betrayal for decades. These women now who were preyed upon, groomed, exploited, violated from as young as 13 years old. Their bodies violated, their minds manipulated, and their dreams denied. Aspiring artists, lawyers, actors, people who had big dreams, and those dreams have been dashed and denied because of the shame they carry, because of the trauma they carry. It is a lifetime sentence. Jeffrey Epstein is dead, but his hurt and his harm is alive and well in the daily experiences of these survivors. Maxwell is incarcerated, but it is these survivors, these victims who are still very much in jail, and they are deserving of transparency, of accountability, and of healing.
(19:08)
We are where we are today because of the leadership of Ranking Member Garcia and our ranking member on the Subcommittee for Law Enforcement, Summer Lee, enforcing that vote for a subpoena. Because in order for us to hold powerful abusers to account who participated actively in a predator, pedophile, Ponzi scheme meant to feed on the daily perversions of a rich and powerful man and his enablers and those who were his co-conspirators, we want to center the victims and the survivors, not shield the powerful, the wealthy, and the well-connected.
(19:55)
So, we forced a vote for a subpoena in a hearing that was on child trafficking, to point out the hypocrisy. Then I led calls for a hearing in the Committee on Oversight, centering the victims, and my colleagues joined with me in that. We do believe that that did lead to pressure that resulted in today's roundtable, where many of the victims said it was the first time that they had felt heard on the heels of the many years of abuse that they experienced to be re-victimized and traumatized by a government. They had abusers that told them they were trash. And because they've never gotten justice and been heard, it has contributed to the ways in which they have felt demoralized and invisible.
(20:51)
The role of this committee is to be in efficient and effective pursuit of the truth, and we will be until these survivors get the justice that they deserve. Again, we will not shield powerful abusers. They must be taken to account, and that cannot happen if we are not centering and prioritizing the voices of survivors.
(21:11)
And now, I'll turn it over to my colleague and dear friend, Congresswoman Simon from California, who has worked for many years with survivors of trafficking.
Lateefah Simon (21:23):
Good afternoon, everyone. Lateefah Simon from California's 12th district. Today we had the honor of listening to extremely brave women who talked about the ongoing rape and sexual exploitation that they endured by the rich and the powerful, and for three decades their voices have been ignored. These are young women who have been on record telling their stories, and yet, justice has been denied. Justice has been denied to the young woman who talked about being groomed to go over to Jeffrey Epstein's home where she was raped, raped. Children leaving high school to be raped and left to go home alone, to then go to school the next day.
(22:24)
One of the things that I will tell you, the brave and courageous women today, what they did with both Republicans and Democrats, they sat before us at a roundtable and gave us their souls, believing that maybe this time they would get justice, maybe this time they would be seen as children, not adultified by men who ravaged their bodies. Maybe then, they thought, today if they testified in front of this hearing, that we as members of Congress would not only lift up their stories and seek justice, that we would hear the truth and the life of girls and young people all over this country who are continuously bought and sold, who never seek justice because they too, like these women, fear retribution.
(23:18)
If we are worth our names on our letterhead, we will not only seek justice and get answers, we will work to protect these women. We will work to ensure that every individual, every adult that had anything to do with their trafficking, their rape, that they are held to account. For over 30 years I have worked with young women who have been moved through the trafficking channels of this country and we rarely see them getting justice. Today, hopefully, will be a new day.
(23:54)
Oversight Dems, we are working extremely hard with our colleagues and we are so proud of our leadership. Now we have to move on, get answers, provide protection and support for these women so that more folks come through, come forward, and that the United States is looked upon, hopefully, as a country that protects children, that protects young women, that ensures that if you hurt one of our children, you will absolutely be held to the maximum, maximum levels of accountability.
(24:23)
Thank you all. And I would like to actually introduce my colleague, Summer Lee, who you heard before is the ranking member of the subcommittee, the Oversight Dems, representing, of course, Oversight Dems in the Subcommittee for Law Enforcement. Ms. Lee.
Summer Lee (24:42):
Thank you all so much. About a month ago we were through the Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, we, me alongside our colleagues on that committee were able to force a vote to pass a motion to subpoena the Department of Justice to release all of the files associated with the Epstein case, of course, unredacted and complete. We know that since then we've seen a small trickle in of papers and files that, of course, revealed very little new, but was again, another attempt to obstruct justice, to distract from what we are here to do and to, of course, prolong this out.
(25:26)
But what we saw today in listening to these incredibly brave women who were once young girls, who were victimized repeatedly and have been repeatedly victimized since then because of profound levels of just injustice, profound levels of failure, systemic failure at every single level. They are here to remind us that the reason why we passed this motion, the reason why we had, even if it was just a little bipartisan support at the time, was because our reason for being here is to make sure that whether it is the government of the United States, or princes, or elected officials from other countries, or wealthy billionaires, that no one should be above the law. That if we are going to be a country of laws, that they must be equal applied to every single person, but that also we have a responsibility to restore these victims.
(26:21)
It was the government itself that failed these women. It's the government itself, right now, that is keeping them from the justice, from the healing, and from the peace that they need and that they deserve. We are here not to add on to the sensationalism of a case that has received global news and global attention, but to recenter that at the heart of this are human beings. At the heart of this are women, girls, and now generations of girls beneath them.
(26:52)
Though we were able hear from a number of women today, we know that there were hundreds, hundreds of women who were involved in this case. Hundreds of women, some, many of whom are unnamed, but hundreds of women who were victimized, who were sexually abused and then re-victimized by the obstruction from the government. And behind them are millions of girls who have watched how our country, how society handles cases of sexual abuse. They have watched the rich and the powerful get off. They have watched, even in death, them be protected.
(27:25)
And we are here as Oversight Democrats to say that the time to step up, the time to push, to fight, to ensure justice is now and today, is why we are here to renew our calls, not just for an official hearing, as representative Ayanna Pressley has called for, an official hearing on the books within our committee. Though we are thankful for the roundtable that we had today, we affirm our calls for that, we also reaffirm our calls for the Department of Justice to hand over immediately all of the files within its custody, not just to ourselves, but also a reminder that as we learned today, some of the victims themselves have not been able to access their own files.
Ayanna Pressley (28:01):
That's right.
Robert Garcia (28:01):
That's right.
Summer Lee (28:02):
So, we want to remind the press, we want to remind our country and the population that these women are still seeking justice for themselves, that they're still seeking healing for themselves. And to the extent that we are able to continue to keep our eyes on what the ultimate prize is, that we will do that. That we will continue to pursue justice in a way that does no more harm to these women and does no more harm to any of the victims, not just of Epstein, but of sexual assault across our country. Thank you.
(28:29)
And with that, actually, I'll be handing it off to our colleague from Texas, Representative Jasmine Crockett.
Jasmine Crockett (28:35):
Thank you so much. And first of all, let me just say that we are standing before you, we're having this conversation because of the Oversight Democratic leadership. And so I want to reiterate that it's the Democratic leadership on Oversight that has truly been able to move this forward. I'm sure many of you don't recall, but we were sent home early to try to avoid being able to take a vote on something like getting these files. We are about doing real transparency. We don't care who's in the files, we are going after you.
(29:07)
So, if I had to sum up what happened today, we heard the stories of victims and honestly, we heard the story of at least one person that has never come forward before today. This was the very first time that she was telling anyone in a semi-public way her story. And if I had to summarize the theme, I would say that their theme was to do something. It is probably the theme of the American people in general right now when it comes to government is that they want us to do something.
(29:36)
So yes, we had the roundtable, but they actually want to see some action. The fact that this started off in the '90s and we had someone who could talk about what happened to them in the '90s, but then you go down the line and you've got somebody that's telling us their story from 2008, these failures led to years and years of abuse that did not have to take
Jasmine Crockett (30:00):
… take place. And so, the reality is this: Some think that this is all over and some think that nothing else is going on, but if there was ever a RICO case, it would've been the Epstein case. So, how we went from something that should've been RICO because of how sophisticated of a system this was. And this wasn't just one little sick old man that was doing stuff, but there were so many layers, whether we're talking about the banks that were involved. Whether we're talking about those that worked for him, that helped him. Whether we're talking about the monster known as Maxwell. And that's exactly how y'all need to refer to her. She is a monster. She is not a victim. So, let me tell you, I want some action items to come out of this because for once we somewhat look like we're bipartisan in the Oversight committee.
(30:48)
Number one, we need answers. We need answers on why it is that Maxwell was transferred from her current station or her former station in Florida down to Texas. We need to have an understanding, because everything that I heard today leads me to know that for sure she was all up, and in, and through this entire process. Not to mention that she was indicted by a jury of her peers, and then she was tried, and convicted, and given 20 years. So, why is it that we had somebody…? Again, it almost seems like we are doomed to repeat our failures, because why is it we have high level people that seemingly are running cover for a criminal? And that is what she is. She is a monster and she is a criminal. So, number one, we need answers on what happened with that transfer, why it took place.
(31:40)
And honestly, we all need to stand together and say that Maxwell needs to go back to where the monsters go, which is to a higher level of security. We also need to understand that Debbie Wasserman Schultz has legislation that she has been trying to push forward. And so, in a bipartisan way, we all need to get behind Debbie. Because we found, and what we learned is that there were loopholes as it relates to the Crime Victims Act. And so, we've got to make sure that no other victims suffer in the way that they did. When you have somebody like Alex Acosta that decides that he wants to play games, and dismiss a case, and never inform the victims of what's going on as is required by law. So, we are going to have to fix those loopholes to make sure that that doesn't happen, because it took them 10 years of fighting this. And ultimately, by the time they got to the end of it, well, it also was Jeffrey Epstein's end. And so, there was not a resolution for that.
(32:36)
And the final thing that I think that we need to do is, obviously, we need to continue to push forward and make sure that we get all the files, because we know that we have not received them all. Because I am standing in front of the press, I'm also going to make a plea. One of the things that I realized was that there's a lot of stuff that the DOJ may have. But honestly, if you don't have a thorough investigation. And I can't say if we had a thorough investigation or not, we have no idea. But the reality is that when you have investigators that go out, they go out and they collect information. I am not necessarily convinced that they even have gone out and done their due diligence to fully investigate this case in the first place.
(33:18)
So, if there's anyone in the public that believes that you have information that would be valuable. You've never been able to get through to federal agencies or no one would listen to you when you try to go forward and bring information forward, I am asking that you trust Oversight Dems and you bring that information to us. Or if you know where some information is contained, let us know so that we can then send subpoenas out that way. We want to do right, not only by those that have already suffered under Epstein, but we want to prevent other trafficking rings that we know are out there. We want to make sure that we are doing right for future generations. So, with that, I now have the honor of presenting to you the firecracker out of New Mexico.
Speaker 12 (34:09):
All right. Well, I'm Melanie Stansbury and I represent New Mexico's first congressional district. And I want to say that I'm truly stunned by what I heard today. The thing about being a victim of assault, of sexual violence, is that it not only steals your sense of self, it steals your dignity. It steals your ambition, it steals your hopes, it steals your dreams, and it steals your sense of personhood. And what we heard today is from a half dozen victims, some of whom have already pursued both civil and criminal suits against both Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as from several who have never told their stories in public before. But before I turn to the substance of the case itself, I want to say to anyone out there who is currently experiencing abuse of any kind, we see you. We are here fighting for you. And we will fight for justice for every person who is experiencing sexual violence in this country. And that is what this case is actually about.
(35:27)
But I want to be clear that what we heard today is a cover-up. And it is a cover-up of epic proportions. A cover-up involving the United States government, the justice system, rich and powerful individuals. A cover-up potentially involving foreign countries and foreign actors. And yes, here today in this house, as our colleagues are up in the house chamber in the rules committee, a coverup by the Republicans in this chamber. Because as you will find out in the coming days and weeks, this goes all the way to the top. So, let's be clear about that. There has been a systemic failure of the justice system for decades, a systemic failure to hold people who are powerful and have money to account. And that has allowed not just hundreds, but potentially thousands of women, not only in the United States, but around the world to be bought, sold, and trafficked for sex. Not only by Jeffrey Epstein, but by his associates, and his rich and powerful friends.
(36:43)
And as these stories come forward, whether they're stories that have already been told. There's stories in those FBI files that have not been released by the Department of Justice in which they must release, because of the subpoena. Or whether they are stories of victims that have not yet come forward, we will hold you all accountable for this miscarriage of justice, for the abuse of these women and the abuse of this institution to try to cover it up. Because there happens to be a very powerful person at the top who doesn't want these stories out, so that is why we subpoenaed these records. That is why these victims were here today to bravely tell their stories. And whatever justice looks like in the coming days, and weeks, and years, we will follow every thread. We will follow every piece of evidence. We will follow every bank record. We will follow every investigation. We will follow every court order. And we will make sure that those who were abused by these men are held accountable.
Speaker 13 (37:54):
Thank you so much. Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari. I represent Phoenix, Arizona. This is incredibly difficult to do. We sat this afternoon listening to brave, courageous women in the face of threats to their lives and threats to their families' lives, in the face of retaliation from the highest-ranking officials, from billionaires, from extremely powerful people that we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of. We sat there today listening to these brave women speak and tell us the truth about what has happened for decades in this country without any accountability whatsoever. Listening to them, I was in awe because I don't think I could've done what they did today. I think I would've been too scared and too fearful of what might happen to me. And the fact that some of these stories and the abuse that has been ongoing for so long. I was four years old when some of the witnesses, some of the folks in the room today began being abused by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
(39:11)
And as the youngest woman currently serving in this body, I feel an immense responsibility that we do not let this go on any longer, that we need justice and accountability. And we need to prove to young women in this country, to our daughters and to our granddaughters, that we will not let the government of the United States of America, what is supposed to be a free country, a country that believes in law and order, and justice, and accountability, protect the most powerful people, not only in our country, but who knows from across the world. So, today served, I think as a reaffirming of our commitment, our profound commitment to making sure that we get justice and we get accountability. There were many themes that we heard today from the brave women who spoke to us. First and foremost, it is an absolute atrocity that the Trump administration allowed and sent over the president's former defense attorney to speak with a monster, and to then publicize that interview, and provide this monster with a platform to perpetuate her lies.
(40:33)
The Trump administration needs to be held accountable for that. We need to demand that Ghislaine Maxwell never get a pardon from the United States government, and actually serve out the time that she was given and that she deserves for the crimes that she committed. House Oversight Democrats, and I'm so grateful to our leadership. We are incredibly lucky to have the leadership of Representative Garcia, and of course, Congresswoman Lee who initiated the subpoena. But this is just the beginning. I think today made very clear that even those of us here who've been working on this and fighting for this, there is so much to the story that nobody knows. There are decades worth of stories, and information, and a cover-up of this capacity to have allowed for the abuse of over 1,000 women over the course of decades.
(41:28)
And then stories that demonstrate that Epstein and others were able to perpetuate the abuse beyond, even after the public knew. We know there's a lot more to this. And I think that this is the most corrupt administration in American history. And this story shows it more than anything. So, we will keep fighting in honor of the survivors who are brave enough to put themselves out there for truth and justice. And we will not back down until there is full accountability and prevention from this ever happening again. And with that, I will hand it over to my colleague, Congressman Lynch. Thank you so much.
Speaker 14 (42:11):
Thank you. Thank you, Yassamin. Today, we had the opportunity to hear from six courageous women who were all victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Even though there were only six of them in the room today, they spoke on behalf of over 1,000 other victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. And you could see that they were crushed in a way at the news that Ghislaine Maxwell had received favorable treatment from President Trump and his personal attorney, being relocated to a less secure facility. But we cautioned them. We cautioned the witnesses today to tell them that even though there was bipartisan support in that room for them, it was far from unanimous. And there are people at the very highest levels of this government today that are not happy, that on the first day of our return, Congress is taking up this issue and defending the women, all the women who were victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. And it's only through the leadership of Ms. Summer and Mr. Garcia in spearheading this effort, and making sure that this issue is treated fully, and fairly on behalf of the victims that were here today. But today, the work really begins. Thank you. And I want to introduce my friend, the gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Subramanian.
Speaker 15 (43:56):
Thank you. I want to thank my colleagues. And most of all, I want to thank the brave women who came today to speak up, as well as their lawyers, many of whom are working for free for many years now. The one thing that holds them back sometimes is how much they've been disappointed over the years by our government, and by people at the top, and the people in charge of protecting them and serving them justice. And the reality is the system has failed them over and over again. And so, our commitment is that we will not fail them, that we will not let this go, that we will continue to ask the right questions. We'll continue to pursue justice and pursue transparency, because those women, those brave women deserve it. And so, we will not let this go. And the president and this administration has a choice.
(44:41)
They can either join the many people who covered up this person's crimes, or they can join the people who are going to seek justice and seek what the victims want, which is real, real justice. And so, we are going to continue to pursue this, and we will not stop. Thank you. I'm going to hand it over to Mr. Min, California.
Speaker 16 (00:00):
Speaker 16 (45:01):
Thank you all. It was a sobering few hours just now, and I want to thank the survivors who came forward sharing their stories at great costs, great personal sacrifice. We talked to some women who had been followed in recent weeks, who received threats. And this compounds on decades worth of threats, but their story deserve being told. And one of the things that kept coming up was that there was the initial victimization, the assaults, the grooming, the abuse. But there was also a sense of re-victimization. Every time this story came up again, every time it became clear that justice would be deferred again. And I just want to remind you all that we're here because Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, the attorney general and director of the FBI, said that there were no Epstein files just a few months back, few weeks back. And that has led to all this controversy. It's what led to this moment today.
(45:56)
And I just want to repeat something. What we learned in there makes it very clear that not only are there Epstein files, that there are a vast quantity of very pertinent and salient Epstein files that show a roadmap to who is responsible, what was going on here, there are bank records, there are thousands of hours of witness interviews, some of which the witnesses themselves have never had access to. We deserve answers at this point. And just building on what was said earlier, I want to conclude with this because one of the survivors in there said something that really stuck with me. Right now, young women and girls throughout this country are watching very closely to see if the United States government is going to step up and protect them. If we're going to protect them from sexual assault and abuse and human trafficking.
(46:42)
And this is our moment to affirmatively answer the question, no, hell no. That in the United States we're going to step up, with this Oversight Committee, with the leadership of ranking member Garcia, we're going to step up and demand those answers. We're going to demand accountability. So thank you all. And with that, I have the pleasure of introducing my colleague from St. Louis, Wesley Bell.
Wesley Bell (47:02):
And I'll make this brief. I had a couple quick takeaways. One, as a prosecutor, I've sat in meetings with victims on cases like these and you never get used to it. Looking these folks in the eye, the courage that it takes for them to speak their truth and to talk about how they were harmed it resolves us and makes us laser focused on the fact that we have to get to the bottom of this. We have to get to the bottom of this. What we've seen, these crimes, this cover-up, the scale of it. And I've been involved in prosecutions of a lot of folks, but the scale of these crimes that we're seeing to the highest levels of governments is of biblical proportions.
(47:59)
And I'll say this to the media as I close. Anyone who tells you, that downplays this, that says that there's nothing to see here, there's nothing to look at, look at them because this, we have to get to the bottom of it. And what we saw in there, these survivors, is courage. We stand with them and we're going to work with them and find justice though the heavens fall. Mr. Garcia.
Robert Garcia (48:28):
Thank you. Just to close, two things. One is, Donald Trump has the power right now to release all of the Epstein files and documents, right now. The DOJ is refusing to release the documents that have been subpoenaed. So there is a White House cover-up at the very highest level in getting the American public the information to bring justice to these victims. And I think it's very important for everyone to understand that. The second thing that's important is, in the days ahead, we already know we're going to hear from some of the victims tomorrow. We're going to be hearing from other victims in other ways in the days and weeks ahead. It is very important that we believe these women, that we believe these survivors, we honor that, and that we work to bring them justice. And that is going to be very important in the days ahead. If there's time for one or two questions and then we've got the Rules Committee.
Ayanna Pressley (49:24):
I just wanted to add that-
Robert Garcia (49:25):
Yes, please.
Ayanna Pressley (49:25):
Today's round table, again, it was necessary. It was long overdue and it was very powerful, and it is why I continue to call for a congressional hearing because their stories need to be a part of a congressional record. And the entire public needs to understand just how systemic and how far and wide and how deep this institutional betrayal goes. So that congressional hearing still needs to happen, and this discharge petition still needs to go to the floor. So this round table oversight dems, the subpoena, forcing the vote for the subpoena to the DOJ, important step. Today's round table, important step. A congressional hearing, centering the voices of Epstein survivors is essential. We cannot hold powerful abusers to account without centering those survivors and doing it on the congressional record to give that transparency to the public as well. And then finally, this discharge petition does need to come to a floor so we can get all of the files. One of the things that was said over and over again today is that the investigation is not complete. The investigation is not even done.
Robert Garcia (50:39):
That's right.
Ayanna Pressley (50:39):
So we need all of this.
Robert Garcia (50:41):
That's right. Is there a question or two?
Speaker 17 (50:43):
Yeah. How confident are you that the discharge petition will get enough people signing on to make the floor? And if it doesn't, what can you do?
Robert Garcia (50:50):
Well, there's been enough Republicans that have said that they're going to sign it. The ball's in their court. If Republicans really are going to be focused on transparency and openness, they're going to need to sign that petition. And it's an important part. So we're calling on Speaker Johnson who was here hearing these victims to encourage his members to sign that petition.
Speaker 18 (51:06):
Speaker Johnson said earlier that he thinks that this discharge petition is moot because of the work that the Oversight Committee is doing. Obviously, the subpoenas went out in large part because of your efforts. I'm curious what your response is to that? Given that the DOJ has told Chairman Comer that they're going [inaudible 00:51:18].
Robert Garcia (51:18):
Speaker Johnson tried to end the last session. In fact, he ended it early to avoid any more discussion about the Epstein files. It's thanks to the work of our subcommittee, Congresswoman Lee and her leadership that actually forced that release. And now every step of the way, as far as what Republicans have disclosed, we have forced them or pushed them to do. We've been asking for Alex Acosta to be subpoenaed. They refused. It wasn't until we began talking to other Republicans, Congresswoman Luna and others that said they would vote with us to get that information, now Alex Acosta is being subpoenaed.
(51:47)
We demanded, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, has been demanding to hear from the victims from day one, the survivors. They haven't taken any action until enough pressure's been put, and you see what's happening today. So we continue to bring the pressure. We're not going to stop until we get justice for all of the survivors and the victims in this case. And every step of the way, we're going to force every single vote. We're going to bring it up every single subcommittee until we get justice for every single victim.
Speaker 19 (52:14):
The statement also says that petition doesn't protect victims. Do you have any comment on that?
Robert Garcia (52:19):
Yeah, I'm going to go let other folks… I'm going to head to Rules Committee. So if you want to take over.
Speaker 12 (52:23):
I just want to add one more note that it's noteworthy that in the room with six victims of sexual violence by Jeffrey Epstein, it was suggested by Democrats that this be investigated using the full force of every committee here in Congress. And the speaker ended by saying he didn't think that was necessary. He'd like to just keep it in the Oversight Committee. I would like to point out to you all, this is the same Oversight Committee that tried to impeach Biden, the same Oversight Committee that's been shielding Donald Trump. And it's the same Oversight Committee that we know is working collaboratively with leadership in the White House to shield them from accountability. So I think you can draw your own conclusions about those comments, but that is where the speaker actually chose to end this conversation.
Speaker 18 (53:06):
Was that in conversation with you all, or in conversation with the president?
Speaker 12 (53:08):
It was in the room with the victims, even with the victims in the room.
Jasmine Crockett (53:13):
No, I was just going to add about that alleged mootness. After hearing their stories and talking about the fact that they have been trying to go to all levels of government since the 90s, what we should do is make sure that we do everything that we can to make sure that we finally get some semblance of justice for them. So if that means that there's an extra vote, that doesn't really take us very much time. Even if he believes that it's moot, it's worth it so that those victims feel like we are actually serious. We need to pull every single lever that we have. And right now, I could hear and see within them, they kept saying, "We're believing and we're trusting you."
(53:56)
They were saying the words, but I can tell you that their body language was not giving off trust. Their body language, in fact, one of them said something to the effect of, "Either you all are very serious and honest about this, or you're very good actors." We going to find out who's real and we're going to find out who the real actors are. And so that is why anyone who believes that this matters, they should sign the discharge. And they also, they being the Republicans, should go to their leadership and demand a vote be had on the floor.
Speaker 18 (54:33):
Well, the argument to follow up on the question that you asked was that, one of the arguments that's being made both by the speaker and by Republicans before you all left for recess, was that there's not enough language in the discharge petition that would protect the victims, that would handle some of the redactions. So I know you all are doing an oversight. So [inaudible 00:54:50].
Lateefah Simon (54:50):
Can I just say, to your question, you're asking us, you're asking the oversight dems, where our leadership pushed a vote to crack this thing open. You're asking us to do the right thing. We're here. We are the ones who step to those survivors after and thank them and ask them if they were safe tonight. We are going to do… Behind you are folks who… We probably have close to 80 years of working with victims of sex trafficking, of ensuring that girls and young women have a space in the justice system to tell their stories. The oversight dems, we're here. We're here. When you don't have the house and you don't have the Senate, we're pushing and using every tool that we have, and why this is important. It is about Epstein and it's about these survivors. But moreover, it is about an administration that refuses to tell the truth, that refuses to protect young girls. It is about an administration that wants you to look away.
(55:54)
Well, we heard girls today who are in their thirties who talked about being raped when they were 14, when heard a young girl talk about being told that she would be able to pay for her mother's cancer treatment if she just cooperated. And we're talking about folks in this building and at the highest levels of government potentially being implicated. You ask the Republicans the same question. You ask them what they're going to do to step up and protect young women all over this country who were trafficked from state to state to be raped and their bodies literally ravaged. That's a quote. Young women in there who are talking about they need to step forward because they too have little girls. They too want to make sure that their girls can look up to them. They want nothing but to be heard.
(56:51)
They want nothing but to literally be listened to because the epic proportion of folks in this administration turning their heads, sending folks home early, sweeping it under the rug. It is the oversight dems who are saying, "Do what you will but tell the truth on behalf of the souls of these young women and the millions in this country." If these women who have the international, international attention right now are begging for justice, can you imagine the little girl downtown in any American city by herself being trafficked? That's why this is important. If you have people at the highest levels of government potentially implicated in the rape and the trafficking of these young women, we would do the right thing. You ask the Republicans what they're going to do because we're here, we good. We're saying, "We got you. We want to protect you." Whether it's your county courthouse or literally and the Oversight Committee and the Super, wherever it takes, you deserve justice, and that's every girl.
Ayanna Pressley (57:55):
And I would ask my Republican colleagues to prove that they will break their legacy of treating trauma with more trauma in shielding predators from Jim Jordan to Matt Gaetz to Donald Trump, and now to Jeffrey Epstein. They've got a hell of a track record. They might want to try to break that up. In the words of Edmund Burke, "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing." Are we going to set up and be good men and women so that evil does not triumph?
(58:20)
And I'm going to close on the final thing, which is the most important for people that would wonder how high are the stakes here? This is a matter of life and death because Virginia Giuffre took her life after decades of failure. And there are victims that can no longer come forward because they're in a fetal position, so broken by the weight of what they've been carrying. Shame that they've been carrying when it is not their shame to carry. So Virginia Giuffre took her life because of the institutional consecutive failures and betrayals of our government. So this is a matter of life and death.
Jasmine Crockett (58:59):
But to get to this thing about this excuse, because that's what it is, all it is that the speaker is giving an excuse saying that this is about protecting the victims. And that's the reason. I'm sorry, but we have tools. Now, granted, I'm not sitting in Rules right now, but we have things known as amendments. You can fix anything that is broken. So if you feel as if the problem is that the legislation isn't perfect, and Lord knows we are good about pushing out imperfect legislation, in this body, we do have tools that can fix it. This is nothing more than an excuse for him not to push forward and try to say that it's on behalf of the victims. But if the speaker knows his job than he knows how to fix legislation that has problems.