C-SPAN’s live coverage highlights Epstein survivors—including Marika Shartuni, Skye and Amanda Roberts, and Liz Stein—demanding release of all 3M DOJ files, accusing Trump’s administration of a cover-up tied to his alleged abuse case. Rep. Jayapal, Schumer, and state truth commissions like New Mexico’s push for accountability, citing systemic failures protecting predators (Leon Black, Steve Tisch) while exposing victims’ data. Virginia’s law to eliminate federal statute of limitations barriers becomes critical as survivors argue justice is delayed by design, not coincidence, testing America’s resolve to prioritize victims over powerful figures. [Automatically generated summary]
Officials, celebrities, and political activists will be part of an event protesting President Trump's State of the Union address and the administration's policies.
We'll hear from former Trump officials as part of just one of a couple of protests we'll be covering.
From the National Press Club, watch live at 7 p.m. Eastern on C-SPAN 3.
C-SPAN Now, our free mobile video app, and online at c-span.org.
Discover the heartbeat of democracy with C-SPAN's Voices.
As we hear from you, ahead of President Trump's State of the Union Address, we're asking what would you like to hear from the President during his State of the Union speech?
Hi, my name is Gavin McKee.
I'm from Virginia.
I hope President Trump talks about America's full support for Ukraine.
We've given them a lot of weapons.
Let's give them enough to win.
Hi, I'm Leo from Argentina.
Well, I am here visiting Washington, but I hope that President Trump brings more calm to the people because all the things are happening right now in the world.
I'm not good for everyone.
My name's Melissa Jaggers.
I'm from Nashville, Tennessee, and I'd really like to hear the President address issues such as immigration and how that's being handled currently and also public education.
C-SPAN's Voices, delivering democracy unfiltered.
Be part of the conversation.
Next, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein join members of Congress at a briefing ahead of President Trump's State of the Union address.
They call for the release of all files related to the Epstein investigation.
This is just over 50 minutes.
All right.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Thank you for joining us.
I want to thank my colleagues with the Democratic Women's Caucus, to all of our Democrats on the Oversight and Judiciary Committee, and for all you are doing to build a world free from abuse and exploitation.
And above all, I want to thank the extraordinary women who are here, these extraordinary and courageous survivors.
Thank you for continuing to speak out, for refusing to be silenced or ignored.
Through their courage, we are building a safer future for all of our children.
And we will continue to stand with them.
All of our elected leaders should be standing with them and fighting alongside them.
But what have we seen instead from the President of the United States?
He tells us to move on, to get over it, to forget about it, and look away.
And tonight, we are prepared to hear more lies, more deflections, more distractions, everything but the truth that the American people expect and that these brave survivors deserve.
Let me be clear to Donald Trump.
This is not going away.
These survivors and all of us are not going away.
This is an issue about who we are as a people, who we are as a country.
Is this a place where billionaires can get away with abusing children?
Or are we a country of laws, of accountability, of basic morality?
We reject the rotten corruption at the heart of this broken administration.
We will not stand for their lies and for their cover-up.
We will stand with these women until they get the justice that they're owed.
And I am so proud to be here with all of you and to turn this podium over to a champion for justice, Congresswoman Permilla Jayapal.
Thank you so much, Whip Clark, for your incredible leadership.
Thank you to the DWC and Chairwoman Leisure Fernandez.
And most of all, thank you to the survivors who have just continued to push for justice.
You are inspiring all of us.
And I especially want to thank and recognize my constituent.
Come up here and stay next.
Why This Issue Won't Go Away00:15:35
My constituent and an Epstein survivor, Marika Shartuni.
Maraika is, first of all, known by the survivors as the sleuth of the survivors.
She has looked at all the documents and has been an incredible help to me as I have been looking at them as well.
And she was also one of the first to answer the FBI's call in 2019 to talk about what she suffered at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein.
And I'm just so grateful to you, Marika, for being here today.
When Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared before the House Judiciary Committee two weeks ago, the world saw her turn her back on the survivors rather than apologize for the pain that her Department of Justice has caused them.
Today, the world will see Donald Trump have to face these survivors right there in the House gallery and answer for why ambassadors and princes have been arrested in other countries, but here in America, not a single investigation has been announced into the pedophiles and the predators of Epstein's horrific sex trafficking ring.
He must answer for why the Department of Justice has still refused to release 3 million remaining files and why they continue the massive cover-up of a depraved Epstein class.
He must answer to the people across the country and the world who see that powerful predators in government, academia, finance, and law have all been part of abusing and raping young girls and joking about it with zero accountability.
No, Donald Trump, this is not a hoax.
We are not moving on from this.
You have not been exonerated, nor have any of these predators.
We are here today, many of us in white, because women know what it means to be silenced, dismissed, and pushed back, and we are not going to stand for it.
These survivors, as Lauren said to me, are shaking the earth with their strength.
And because of them and the public that is standing up with and for them, we see the cracks emerging.
We demand investigations right here at home into predators like Leon Black, Steve Tisch, Jess Staley, and so many more.
These courageous survivors are going to show that tonight is about their strength, about the strength of those across the country who understand that without justice, there can be no progress.
So tonight is about our movement that will not stop until we get truth, transparency, and real accountability.
And now, let me pass it over to our wonderful ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, Jamie Raskin.
Good afternoon, everybody.
I'm here with my guests to the State of the Union, Skye and Amanda Roberts.
Skye is the brother of the late Virginia Juffray.
Amanda is his wife and they have been passionate advocates for the rights and the interests of all of the survivors and victims of sexual abuse and rape and trafficking all over the country.
And I know that everyone is glued to the discoveries that are coming out as we read through the 3 million of the 6 million documents that were compelled to be disclosed by the Epstein Transparency Act.
And that's all to the good because we're learning a lot there.
But understand that making progress that way is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack.
And it's not a haystack that's been arranged to make it easy for us to find the most relevant information.
I would encourage everybody, in addition to looking online and if you can, going over to the Department of Justice to look at the unredacted files, to read Virginia Juffray's remarkable book, Nobody's Girl, because that book locates this entire controversy within the proper social context.
She was a victim of child sex abuse before she got into the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and his sex trafficking ring with Gheline Maxwell.
She was a victim of trafficking and rape and sexual abuse there, and she continued to continue to wrestle with those issues throughout her life.
And if you ask the question why this issue is not going away, it's not going away because there are millions of people across America who have suffered the same kinds of abuse, rape, trafficking, and exploitation that Virginia did and the women who were members of the Epstein survivor movement did.
And there have been scandals at Michigan State and Ohio State and within many churches, within the Boy Scouts, in all of our hometowns.
That is the social basis for this movement and why Donald Trump is not going to be able to sweep it under the rug.
This is why, despite all of her stony, cold indifference, Pam Bondi is not going to be able to make this go away.
We have an entire country of survivors and people who are allied with the survivors, and we are going to insist that the truth come out, that justice be done, and the perpetrators be held accountable in every single case.
That's the importance of us getting through this documentation to the underlying facts.
And I want to thank all the survivors here for waking up every day, just like the people of Minneapolis, and going right back to the front lines of this fight.
And tonight, that includes the State of the Union address, where the President is going to have to see that this is a nation of survivors and their allies.
Thank you very much, Pramilla.
And now is Skye and Amanda Roberts.
Good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Amanda Roberts, and I am the sister-in-law of Virginia Roberts-Schuffray.
I stand here for my sister, for my survivor sisters, And for every survivor around the world who has been forced into silence.
Today is monumental.
Today we say to this administration and to the nation that survivors deserve to be seen.
We will not be moved, we will not be silenced, and we will not go away.
We are continuing to trail.
We are continuing the path that Virginia laid down for us.
Today, the President will speak about his agenda.
He may say it's time to move on from this Epstein thing.
Mr. President, today we are saying we will not move on, and the world is not moving on.
The world clearly sees the pattern in how this administration has treated survivors with disgrace, contempt, and dismissal.
But I want to speak directly to the American people.
This moment is about all of us.
The state of this union, the state of survivors, and the state of our country.
And many of us feel dismayed, disrupted in spirit by the intentional chaos that has been created to distract us and desensitize us to the harsh realities of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghelane Maxwell, and the horrific crimes committed by their rich and powerful friends.
Today, as Americans, we find ourselves at a crossroads.
We have a choice to make.
As American people, what do we want for our future and what do we want for our children?
We can choose to let the Epstein case remain a stain on American history.
Another chapter where the rich and powerful escape accountability and survivors are told to be quiet.
Or we, the people, can decide it is time for change.
So don't look away from us.
Don't look away from Virginia.
And do not leave survivors behind once again.
Stand with us, hold space with our stories, sit with our truths.
Let them break you, move you, and reshape you to act.
Together, we can build a nation that is fair and true, a nation where money and power cannot bend the law, where life, where title does not grant innocence, where every voice matters and every survivor matters.
I'll end with Virginia's words.
I look forward to the days when money and power don't stop the truth from coming out and the righteous prevail.
Well, Sissy, today is the beginning of that day.
Hey, everyone.
My name is Skye Roberts, and I am the brother of Virginia Roberts Duffray.
There are moments in a nation's life where we are tested, not by our words, but by what we are willing to confront.
Today we stand at one of these moments.
America is at a crossroads.
We can choose to let the Epstein case remain a stain on our history, another chapter where the powerful are protected, the truth is buried, and survivors are asked to carry the consequences in silence.
Or we can choose something different.
We can choose truth.
We can choose accountability, and we can choose to build a country where no one, no matter how wealthy, connected, or politically insulated, stands above the law.
Today, we are here proudly representing our sister, Virginia Roberts Duffray.
Standing with members of Congress and with survivors across the nation and across the world.
Because Virginia's story is the story so many survivors know too well.
A mountain of obstacles that seem impossible to climb.
Pain so deep it doesn't fit into words.
And a system that too often makes the survivor carry the burden instead of the perpetrator.
But I am here to say proudly and with absolute conviction that what Virginia did for this world will not be in vain.
She may have left this earth, but her soul is still here.
It lives in every survivor who decides to speak.
It lives in every victim who is still finding their voice.
And it lives in every person who refuses to accept a country where exploitation is met with impunity.
Virginia did not just survive.
She fought.
She pushed back against the culture of silence.
She forced the world to look at what it wanted to ignore.
And she proved what happens when an ordinary person decides they will not be erased.
So today, I invite the world into this community, not as spectators, but as participants.
Because on days like this, we may hear powerful voices try to distract us, to divide us, to turn accountability into politics and truth into a talking point.
But I want to speak directly to the families and communities watching, the brothers, the mothers, the sisters, and the fathers.
Every person who loves someone who has been harmed.
Choose unity.
Choose love.
And choose the courage it takes to stand with survivors, not only when it is easy, but when it is expensive, when it is uncomfortable, and when it challenges powerful people.
Virginia had a deep passion for bringing people together.
She had a deep love for her survivor sisters.
And she had a deep love for the millions of victims and survivors around the world who may have never known, who may never be known by name, and whose lives matter just the same.
To say she trailblazed through obstacles is an understatement.
Virginia helped build a road for survivors to walk toward truth, toward dignity, toward justice, and we are here today to carry her torch down that road.
We are asking Congress, the public, and every institution with the power to act to carry that torch with us.
And that brings me to why we are here, not only to speak, but demand action.
If we truly believe survivors deserve more than sympathy, if we truly believe justice should not depend on status, then we must put it into law.
That is why we are calling on Congress to advance Virginia's law.
Virginia's law is about saying clearly that the rules that protected abusers and traffickers for decades will no longer stand.
It is about closing the gaps that powerful people exploit.
It is about strengthening accountability so survivors are not forced to fight alone for years against the machine built to wear them down.
It is not vengeance, it is not protection, it is prevention, and it is justice.
And to anyone who thinks this moment can be reduced to a headline or a media cycle or even a Super Bowl moment for political theater, let me be clear.
The only thing more powerful than hate is love.
And this is not going away.
We will not stop until the truth is faced and justice is pursued for Virginia, for her survivor sisters, and for every victim and survivor around the world who deserves to know that their lives are worth more than someone else's reputation.
Thank you.
Sky and Amanda, thank you so much.
Thank you for bringing Virginia right here with us, and we will see her and carry on her legacy.
I now have the great privilege of introducing my friend from across the Capitol complex, Leader Chuck Schumer.
Two Cases, Unimaginable Pain00:04:55
Hi, Danny.
Hi, how are you?
How are you?
Thank you.
So good to see you.
Well, good afternoon, and thank you for accommodating me, everybody.
Look, while we're here, the truth must come out.
Trump says he's going to give a long speech tonight, but there's one thing he refuses to talk about: the Epstein files.
Trump campaigned on releasing the files, but now one year into his presidency, he calls them a hoax.
Shame on him.
He says the American people need to move on.
We're not moving on, are we?
That is outrageous to say move on.
That's an insult to the victims and the survivors standing behind me.
For years, survivors of Epstein's abuse were ignored.
They were doubted.
They were dismissed.
But their presence here at the State of the Union sends a clear, powerful message.
Survivors will not be silenced.
My partner in our legislation.
The powerful will be held accountable.
We will not rest until that happens.
And no one, not even the president, is above the law.
Trump cannot continue to bury the truth.
The full Epstein files must be released now.
Nearly every single member of both chambers, Democrat, Republican, Independent, worked for the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
But for three months, Trump's Justice Department has broken the law, blacking out page after page.
This is their version of releasing the files.
That's it.
That's all they do.
Shane.
Shane is right.
This is not transparency.
It's a cover-up.
Survivors deserve justice.
That's why I'm proud to have introduced Virginia's law with Democratic Woman Caucus Chair Legere Fernandez.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
To eliminate the federal statute of limitations, barriers that have kept too many survivors from pursuing justice.
There can be no half measure of justice.
The American people and the brave survivors stand behind me deserve the full truth.
And a statute of limitations on something like this, when women go through things that are so painful and have to wrestle and grapple with it for the rest of their lives, it should be up to the victim when there's a prosecution, not up to some law that has no knowledge, really, in a certain sense, of what these people have gone through.
When President Trump looks into the crowd tonight to give his speech, he will also look into the faces of the survivors behind me.
Trump knows he can't keep hiding.
Trump knows it's time to end the secrecy and release the full Epstein files.
Now, he says he doesn't know it, but he will know it.
We're going to make him know it.
That's why you're here tonight.
The survivors have waited long enough.
The time for justice is now, and I truly want to thank the many Epstein survivors standing with us here today.
You've undergone an unimaginable pain, unimaginable pain.
And I know you live with it constantly.
You can't make it go away.
It happened.
You live with it.
But these beautiful people, instead of cursing the darkness that is part of their lives because of what happened to them, are lighting a candle.
Lighting a candle to make sure this doesn't ever happen again.
Thank you for that courage.
Thank you for that inspiration.
And now I want to turn it over to Danny Bensky.
She's a New Yorker and a survivor who I'm so honored is my guest at the State of the Union tonight.
Thank you, Senator Schumer.
I just have to lower this.
So I'm an Epstein survivor from 2004, 2005.
I was 17 years old when I met Jeffrey Epstein.
Back then, I was a teenager, but I was really a child.
I was looking for an adult to help protect me from what felt like monsters, only to find that the monster was him all along.
Now I look to the government for help, and they're no better.
Gaslighting and manipulating victims, the same tactics as Jeffrey and Gila.
Protecting Survivors00:15:08
The DOJ assures us that they're focused on our safety, but only to exploit us further.
There are two cases happening here.
Two cases of abuse.
The first case is one that we endured while we were ensnared in the largest sex trafficking ring that this country has known to date.
And the second is the abuse of our government.
They're covering everything up and protecting power, not the young and the vulnerable.
As we prepare to attend the State of the Union, survivors and this country have so many questions that need to be answered.
The first one is, where are the rest of the files?
The truth must come out.
Why are there no investigations when there are plenty of people in these files to investigate?
Have we read them?
Why is the FBI director out there partying like a college kid when he should be investigating the vast criminal enterprise?
This administration needs to do better.
How can anybody feel safe in this country when our president's sympathies are going to the former Prince Andrew and not to survivors?
There are a few things that really need to be done immediately.
First is the release of all of the files, which we know.
Next is to hold accountable those who continuously exploit.
And the third is to pass Virginia's bill.
We need to pass Virginia's bill because justice should never, ever expire.
Release the damn files.
Well done, Danny.
Thank you, everybody.
Thank you.
Thank you.
We'll now hear from Ranking Member Robert Garcia.
Hey everyone.
I'm going to just make a few comments and I just wanted to start by saying that it is always an honor to just be here with the courage of Annie.
For those that don't know Annie Farmer and her story and the story of her family, we are always in awe of you and of everything that you and your family have gone through.
We just want to know that we love you and we support you always.
I also absolutely also just want to thank the WIP for her leadership, also to all of the women in our caucus that are providing so much support to the survivors that are part of our investigation, that are leading on this issue.
I know that both of our committees are so grateful.
Not judiciary, Oversight Democrats, our Democratic women are leading the way on this issue and we are forever grateful to every single one of you for your leadership, your voice, and your courage in uplifting these incredible women.
So thank you so much for that.
And I just want to remind the President and the Attorney General that they are right now in violation of the law.
And when the President makes a speech tonight, he is going to know that looking back at him, will be numerous survivors of Epstein's abuse and that he is facilitating the single largest cover-up in modern American history.
It's the single largest cover-up in modern American history.
And who are we protecting?
Why are we protecting powerful, wealthy, connected men?
Why are we protecting billionaires from justice?
Because we are always going to center the survivors.
The single most important part of our investigation and what we're guided by is justice for Annie.
It's justice for Maria.
It's justice for so many that have been wronged, harmed, and terrorized by not just Jeffrey Epstein and Ghelene Maxwell, but by the co-conspirators and all that helped them commit their abuse.
Let's be clear.
Over 50% of the files have still not been released to the public.
And we know as early as just today and yesterday, there are numerous files that we have confirmed that are missing from the DOJ that we know exist, including accusations and serious accusations, not just against the president, but against others.
It's time to release the files.
It's time to center their survivors.
And the president should know that even though he wants to call this a hoax, that our investigation is just getting started.
Thank you so much, Congressman Garcia.
Your leadership has meant so much to myself and to so many of us.
The government's original sin in this case was not following up in any way on my sister, Maria Farmer's 1996 report to the FBI about Epstein and Maxwell and the powerful circle that surrounded them.
Since that time, the girls and women who were abused by these criminals have been repeatedly neglected and re-victimized by our own government.
The recent release of materials highlights this, as the names of many powerful individuals remain redacted, while the names, personal data, and even images, nude images of many victims were released.
Rather than apologize for this failure, this DOJ has doubled down on denial and distraction.
We are tired of the games.
When those we elect to office misuse their positions, it harms us all.
We are here to remind our elected leaders and other Americans that there is always a choice.
You can sit by and watch the abuse of power as so many wealthy, educated, connected individuals did in the Epstein case.
Or you can do the right thing, the courageous thing.
You can speak out the way my sister Maria Farmer did because of her concern for her younger sisters.
You can speak out the way Virginia Roberts Duffray did after she looked down and saw her daughter and knew she deserved safety and protection.
I know that courage is contagious because these women inspired me to find my voice.
And the more I have used it, the more I have heard from others who are speaking out about their own experiences of abuse and standing with us in demanding true transparency, the whole truth that survivors and the American people deserve.
Thank you.
Now we'll hear from Rep Maxine Dexter.
Good afternoon.
I am honoured to be here.
I am Maxine Dexter, a mother, a physician, and the proud U.S. Representative for Oregon's 3rd.
And I'm deeply honoured to have Lisa Phillips here as my guest tonight for the State of the Union, a survivor of Epstein's abuse, a powerful voice for justice, and she will attend the State of the Union tonight on my behalf.
Tonight, as Epstein survivors like Lisa stare down our government, a government that has failed them for decades, you will all bear witness to an important shift in power in this nation.
The wealthy and influential have persistently been shielded from accountability for their actions.
This has certainly been true for the Epstein class of abusers.
This exclusive, twisted club has gone to great lengths to protect their own, to bury the truth, and to perpetuate harm to young girls and women across the world.
Not anymore.
Tonight, as Trump tries to spend his first year in office as anything other than a crusade to protect himself and the Epstein Club of abusers, Lisa's presence, the survivors' presence, makes clear that the powerful will not be protected.
It is due to the persistent courage and resilience of survivors that abusers will be held accountable and brought to justice.
Accountability means the Department of Justice fully investigates and prosecutes the crimes disclosed in the Epstein files when we get to see them.
I was there just a few hours ago.
There's hundreds of papers that are completely blacked out still.
The brave women who have persistently advocated for transparency and accountability deserve our deepest respect and gratitude.
Thank you, Lisa.
Thank you all for being here, for your voice, for your courage.
You've helped us protect our girls, my girl, from evil and have sheltered and will help us unshelter the powerful who have been hiding too long.
I proudly stand with you, demanding the time of protecting abusers to come to an end.
Thank you, and I'm going to yield to Lisa Phillips now.
Thank you.
Good afternoon.
I'm Lisa Phillips, and I'm a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein and his world.
I want to thank Congresswoman Dexter of Oregon for inviting me to be here today.
It's such an honor.
I always get emotional because every time I look at my survivor sisters behind me, I am reminded that they represent at least 200 victims.
I don't want you guys to forget that.
So when I stand here, I do not stand alone.
I represent hundreds of faceless, nameless survivors, some I have had the honor of knowing and supporting over the last few years, young women and girls who were never given a voice.
My survivor sisters and I have come to Capitol Hill many times this past year, as you know, and we will keep coming back again and again until all the Epstein files have been released.
Because accountability is impossible without full transparency.
Those of us who lived through the horrors of Epstein World have always known this was never just a story about one powerful man.
It was never just a crisis of wealth and privilege in America.
It is and always has been a global crisis of corruption.
We are only beginning to understand the depth and breadth of it, and the question remains: how many more powerful figures on the international stage will be named when the remaining files are released?
The world deserves to know.
That is why it has been an honor to recently speak with elected officials in several European nations, urging each country to land, sorry, urging each country to launch independent investigations into every single person of power named in these files.
Every person named.
Some may have committed no crimes.
Some may have.
But every person connected to wrongdoing in Epstein's world in any nation must be investigated and, if appropriate, held accountable.
Every single one.
We're not going away.
We're not fading into silence.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hi, my name is Laura Bloomgee.
My remarks are very short because my survivor sisters have said a lot.
I want to thank Congresswoman, I believe she just stepped out, Julia Brownlee of California, that graciously invited me here from Arkansas.
I have not heard from any of our leaders from Arkansas, so thank you, Congresswoman Brownlee.
Speaking out about sex trafficking saves lives.
Being here with my sisters has helped save mine.
This has never been about politics.
It's about little girls and young women who have and continue to be exploited by the powerful.
Justice should be non-negotiable.
Transparency should be non-negotiable.
Integrity should be non-negotiable.
No one should escape accountability.
We will continue fighting for independent investigations and prosecutions as the evidence warrants.
We will not be silenced.
Thank you.
Melanie and Representative Andrea Romero.
Melanie, Representative Alan Stansbury, Maya Mana from the United States.
Yes, yes.
All right.
All right.
Well, good afternoon, everyone.
I'm Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury from New Mexico's 1st Congressional District, and I am so deeply honored to introduce to you the original co-sponsor of the Epstein Files Truth Commission in the state of New Mexico, Andrea Romero, the State House Representative.
I want to share a few thoughts today as we prepare to enter the chamber tonight to face Donald Trump and to demand justice for not only the survivors standing behind us, but all survivors who have been failed by the U.S. Department of Justice in prosecuting crimes against children and women and boys and people who have been exploited for decades.
We are gathered here today to fight for one thing, justice and accountability.
And we will not be silenced.
We will not move on.
And that is why I am grateful to be joined by my guests who will talk about the work that we are doing in New Mexico.
But tonight matters more than ever because survivors deserve to be seen, they deserve to be heard, and their presence matters more than ever as the world's eyes are upon us.
Because let me remind you that every survivor who is here who raised their hand a couple of weeks ago during Pam Bondi's hearing knows that they have been failed by this administration and many administrations in getting the justice that they so rightly deserve.
We refuse to let the powerful hide behind money, power, and influence, and we refuse to remain silent about Donald Trump's hiding about the truth of his own individual investigation.
Survivors Deserve to Be Heard00:02:58
These are the files that the FBI has removed from their public Department of Justice database.
The yellow files here are the files that President Trump is hiding.
The yellow files here are investigations with a woman who was abused as a minor and who alleged that Donald Trump was her abuser.
These are the files that they are hiding among many millions of more.
But I want to just close things out by sharing with you the words of perhaps one of the most important people who cannot be here today, and that is Virginia Juffrey.
So let me read you just the closing passage from her book.
If you've read this far, I hope my story has moved you to seek ways to free yourself from a bad situation, say to stand up for someone else in need, or to simply reframe how you judge victims of sexual abuse.
Each one of us can make a positive change.
I truly believe that.
I hope for a world in which predators are punished, not protected.
Victims are treated with compassion, not shamed, and powerful people face the same consequences as anyone else.
I yearn, too, for a world in which perpetrators face more shame than their victims do, and where anyone who's been trafficked can confront their abusers when they're ready, no matter how much time has passed.
She then goes on to say, we don't live in this world yet, but tonight, we're here to stand with the survivors to say that we do.
And with that, I would like to introduce our amazing State House Representative, Andrea Romero.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Again, I'm House State Representative Andrea Romero from the District of Santa Fe, and I am the chair of the Epstein Truth Commission.
I am honored to stand alongside these courageous survivors today, and I want them to know New Mexico sees you, New Mexico believes you, and New Mexico is taking action.
Last week, our New Mexico House voted unanimously to create a Truth Commission, a bipartisan group of state legislators committed to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's crimes in New Mexico, find out what happened at Zorro Ranch, and hold perpetrators and enablers accountable.
if merited we'll turn these files into trials yes our commission will pull together the full story of what happened in our state We will determine whether local and state officers appropriately responded when survivors came forward.
We will use our subpoena power to compel witnesses to share what they know.
Whether We Demand the Truth00:09:17
And we will create a safe, survivor-centered space for victims to be finally heard.
We are already working.
We held our first meeting the morning after the commission was approved because we will no longer wait for the answers we should have had years ago.
This is about the truth.
This is about accountability.
This is about making sure that no child, no vulnerable person ever has to go through what the survivors standing here today have endured.
New Mexico is stepping up for the survivors, for our communities, and for every future generation that deserves to grow up safe.
I want to thank you all and thank you for this opportunity.
So the last survivor that we will hear from tonight, and I want to re-emphasize the point that was made earlier, that each one of these survivors who has come to speak today, each one of the family members who has come to share their tears with us today, represents hundreds.
Represents hundreds.
Think about that.
Think about the number of girls and women who were abused over the decades.
And one of those women is Liz Stein, and I want to thank Mary Gay Scanlon because she is the guest of both me and Mary Gay Scanlon, and she has taken the pain that she endured and turned it into advocacy as she continues to work with survivors and against trafficking.
My name is Liz Stein.
I met Jeffrey Epstein and Ghillene Maxwell when I was a senior in college, just 21 years old in 1994.
My involvement with them lasted approximately three years.
Before the State of the Union, it is worth asking ourselves what our state of moral courage is.
Human trafficking persists, largely due to our cultural discomfort with directly naming sexual violence.
Talking about sexual assault not only makes us uncomfortable, it exposes failure.
It reveals where power has been protected at the expense of the vulnerable.
It forces us to confront who is protected in this country and who is not.
The crimes of Jeffrey Epstein were not committed in isolation.
They were enabled by social, financial, political systems that look the other way.
Survivors have been telling the truth for decades since Maria Farmer first came forward in 1996.
The late Virginia Duffrey endured public scrutiny and character assassination, but the release of the files confirmed that what she was saying all along was the truth.
For more than 30 years, survivors have pushed, fought, testified, and organized to bring attention to the crimes of Epstein and his associates.
Trauma does not operate on a legislative timeline.
Justice delayed by law is justice denied by design.
Around the world, investigations have reached the powerful.
But our Department of Justice and this administration have handled the release of information in a way that leaves survivors and the public asking why the United States appears reluctant to lead on accountability in a case that happened largely on our soil.
The world is watching.
Survivors are watching.
And it is embarrassing that we are not setting the standard.
Courage is contagious, but so is impunity.
We the people was never meant to mean we the powerful.
Accountability is not vengeance.
It is fidelity to the rule of law, which is the baseline requirement of a functioning democracy.
History will not remember how carefully we avoided discomfort.
It will remember whether we demanded the truth.
Thank you.
So, as we heard today from my colleagues and from the survivors, you know, it strikes me that there were two incredible themes.
One is that the courage and the persistence of the survivors to expose the horror of the sexual crimes and abuses that happened during the Epstein ring was not only to decry the idea that women can be used, abused, and then discarded.
It wasn't only to talk about that pain that I think Americans feel when we see this and why this has rung such a tune.
Because we don't want that to happen to ourselves.
Even though one in four women suffers sexual assault, we don't want it to happen to our children, to our sisters, to our wives.
But we also are seeing in this moment that these women are some of the most powerful and consequential women of generations.
Of generations.
Because they have brought us to a moment where they are saying it is not okay for us to live in a society where the rich and the powerful and the well-connected get away with anything and everything.
And that is what has happened until today and until you all started and didn't stop.
Because it was your persistence.
It was your courage that is contagious that has brought us here.
And it has brought us to a point where 3 million files have been released, 3 million have not.
3 million have not.
And it has brought us to a point where we know that even as those files are released, that the Epstein survivors, the up to 1,000 girls and young women, don't have recourse.
Because when the Department of Justice refuses to criminally investigate, they cannot sue civilly.
So that is why Virginia's law is so important.
And it is important that we pass Virginia's law because the abusers should not have time as one of their weapons.
And right now they do.
Because right now the statute of limitations is 10 years.
And what can you do in 10 years?
You are simply recovering from the trauma that you have gone through.
And so that is why we are hoping that everybody, everybody, and that it is a bipartisan effort to pass Virginia's law, not only to honor your sister and your sister, but to honor all the women and men and boys and girls that get abused.
Because what the Epstein survivors have taught us and what this moment is about is that we matter.
That we matter.
That people who are not powerful matter.
That, as Liz said, we the people is not we the powerful.
That we the people in this moment is what this Constitution was made for.
This constitution that we are celebrating was made for this moment where we will say no.
It is not okay to always favor the rich and powerful and well-connected, but it is important that we stand up for those who are scared and vulnerable and weakened and preyed upon.
Whether that is because you are hungry or you need health care or you need protection or you need somebody to be investigated criminally, which I think we need to have a whole lot more of that happening.
And with that, I just want to thank the Epstein survivors and tell you that our hearts are with you.
Our votes are with you and we will always be with you.
As chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, I thank you for coming today.
And we have a little bit of time.
I don't know how much time we have before we don't have any time.
But because we have to go vote.
So is that right?
We're all going to go just go vote.
We're All Going to Go Vote00:01:06
Votes have been called.
So thank you so very much.
Thank you.
Coming up next, it's our State of the Union Preview Program.
We'll talk to guests and hear from you, our viewers, about your expectations.
Then, President Trump is scheduled to start his speech at 9 p.m. Eastern.
We'll follow that with a Democratic response delivered by new Virginia Governor Abigail Spamberger.
And good evening from the nation's capital.
We are live on Capitol Hill, where President Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address of his second term, his sixth address overall to a joint session of Congress during his times in office.