3 weeks ago
Survivors of r Jeffrey Epstein will return to nan “scene of nan crime” successful Palm Beach, Florida, connected Tuesday for a protector legislature proceeding into abuses committed by nan precocious activity offender.
Several members of nan Democratic House oversight caucus are scheduled to subordinate nan victims and respective master witnesses astatine nan proceeding adjacent to Epstein’s erstwhile waterfront mansion wherever he procured girls arsenic young arsenic 14 to execute intersexual services for able guests.
They dream to bring much vulnerability to a “sweetheart deal” betwixt Florida prosecutors and Epstein successful 2008 that allowed him to flight national charges. They besides dream to look into nan recruitment of nan girls, immoderate allegedly from Donald Trump’s adjacent Mar-a-Lago residence.
The scandal, and nan merchandise of millions of authorities documents that person travel to beryllium known arsenic nan Epstein files, person dogged Trump’s 2nd presidency. One Epstein email released successful November stated “of people [Trump] knew astir nan girls” procured for his sex-trafficking ring, and different that said Trump “spent hours” pinch 1 unfortunate astatine Epstein’s house.
The president has consistently denied immoderate wrongdoing aliases knowledge of nan activities of Epstein, who he said he dropped arsenic a friend years earlier.
Authorities opportunity Epstein took his ain life successful national custody successful New York successful July 2019 awaiting proceedings of activity trafficking charges.
Tuesday’s gathering is simply a protector hearing, and witnesses are not compelled to attest nether oath. Democrats person nary lawsuit power, and location will beryllium nary input from Republicans.
But California Democrat Robert Garcia, ranking personnel of nan House oversight committee, said nan section proceeding was an important measurement successful bringing attraction to Epstein’s crimes and supporting his victims.
“Palm Beach is wherever Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes first came to light, and wherever prosecutors offered Epstein a sweetheart woody that allowed him to proceed his crimes,” a connection by Garcia announcing nan proceeding said.
“Palm Beach is besides location to Mar-a-Lago, president Donald Trump’s superior residence and backstage club. During nan galore years of relationship betwixt Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, aggregate women were recruited for Epstein from Mar-a-Lago.”
They included Virginia Giuffre, who worked arsenic a spa attendant astatine Trump’s nine astatine nan property of 16 successful 2000, erstwhile she said she was recruited by Epstein’s subordinate and “fixer” Ghislaine Maxwell, nan British socialite presently serving a 20-year situation condemnation for activity trafficking.
Giuffre was 1 of nan astir salient voices successful exposing Epstein, and appeared successful an infamous March 2001 photograph pinch Maxwell and nan discredited British erstwhile royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, whose limb is astir nan past 17-year-old’s waist.
Giuffre died by suicide successful Australia successful April 2025, pinch her family saying astatine nan time: “In nan end, nan toll of maltreatment is truthful dense that it became unbearable for Virginia to grip its weight.”
Several survivors are expected to speak astir their ain experiences connected Tuesday, astatine nan proceeding and a property convention that will travel it.
Democrat Ayanna Pressley, nan Massachusetts legislature member, arrived successful Palm Beach for nan proceeding connected Monday evening, and she posted connected Facebook her anticipation of nan proceedings.
“Just rubbing down successful Palm Beach for a committee section proceeding to return to nan segment of nan crime, wherever truthful galore young girls were first victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” she said.
“Of course, this is simply a conflict for nan Epstein survivors, but for each survivors. We’re looking to create a blueprint for accountability, to telephone retired nan systemic harms and abuses that not only occurred for nan Epstein survivors, but are happening correct now successful communities each crossed this country.
“A reckoning is connected nan way.”
The proceeding is group to statesman astatine 10am ET and will beryllium streamed unrecorded connected nan YouTube page of nan oversight committee Democrats.
The sheet has antecedently been critical of nan committee’s Republican mostly for refusing to clasp general hearings. It has accused its chair, Kentucky congressman James Comer, of helping nan White House to screen up nan Epstein scandal.
Comer denies nan allegation.
Meanwhile, lawyer Jack Scarola, who is representing respective of Epstein’s victims, told section media connected Monday he was not judge if he would attend.
“If those legislators who are present are really motivated to do thing productive, holding different property convention pinch Epstein victims lined up down them for different photograph opportunity is not going to beforehand nan interests of those survivors,” he told Palm Beach ABC News connection WPBF.
“File a bill, activity connected that legislation, get it passed, and do thing substantive that will thief debar a recurrence of nan Jeffrey Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell fiasco.”
