Epstein victims say they’ll compile their own list: ‘Stay tuned’

Victims of Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse say they'll compile their own "list" of high-profile people in Epstein's circle who played a role in abusing and trafficking young girls. 

Ten of Epstein’s victims, some of whom have never spoken publicly before, addressed the public Wednesday at a press conference on Capitol Hill. 

The press conference, organized by a bipartisan pair of lawmakers, aimed to force lawmakers to vote on a bill requiring the Justice Department to release all of its files on Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in a New York jail cell in 2019. 

It comes a day after the House Oversight Committee shared more than 33,000 pages of Epstein documents, though most, if not all, of the text documents had already been made public. The press conference also follows a Tuesday meeting in which House Speaker Mike Johnson and a bipartisan group of lawmakers met with survivors of abuse by Epstein and his longtime partner Ghislaine Maxwell.

READ MORE: Epstein files: Over 33K pages released by House Oversight Committee

The Epstein case has attracted attention because of Epstein and Maxwell’s links to famous people, including royals, presidents and billionaires. It has also led to countless conspiracy theories and a big push for Congress to get more information released.  

What did Epstein's victims say?

Reps. Ro Khanna, D-California, and Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, organized the media event for 10 of Epstein's victims. 

What they're saying:

One by one, Epstein's victims stepped up to the microphone to share their own experience with Epstein and the investigations that followed. Some of the women said they were as young as 13 and 14 years old when they were subjected to Epstein's sexual abuse. 

"I was only 14 years old when I met Jeffrey," Marina Lacerda, one of Epstein's victims, recalled. "It was the summer of high school. I was working three jobs to try to support my mom and my sister, when a friend of mine in the neighborhood told me that I could make $300 to give another guy a massage. It went from a dream job to the worst nightmare.  

"I needed to be at [Epstein's] house so often that I ended up dropping out of high school before ninth grade, and I never went back," she continued. "From 14 to 17 years old, I went and worked for Jeffrey instead of receiving an education. Every day, I hoped that he would offer me a real job as one of his assistants or something important. I would finally have made it big as, like we say, the American dream. That day never came. I had no way out … until he finally told me that I was too old."

The backstory:

In 2008, Epstein, a wealthy financier, cut a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida that allowed him to escape more severe federal charges and instead plead guilty to state charges of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution.

Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges, while Maxwell was charged with helping him abuse teenage girls. Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in New York City about a month after he was arrested. Investigators concluded he killed himself. Maxwell was later convicted at trial and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Asked how the victims have been impacted emotionally, survivor Haley Robson said, "it's being gutted from the inside out."

"Your nervous system goes limp and, ironically, is shot, and it feels like you just want to explode inside because nobody, again, is understanding that this is a real situation," Epstein victim Haley Robson said. "These women are real. We're here in person. To say that it's a hoax, it’s just not. Please humanize us. I would like Donald J. Trump and every person in America and around the world to humanize us, to see us for who we are and to hear us for what we have to say. There is no hoax. The abuse was real."

Victims to compile their own ‘list’

Dig deeper:

Epstein victim Lisa Phillips, who hosts a podcast for Epstein survivors, said the women "have been discussing creating our own list."

"We are not asking for pity," Epstein victim Lisa Phillips said. "We are here demanding accountability. And I'm demanding justice. Congress must choose: Will you continue to protect predators? Or will you finally protect survivors?

"And also, I would like to announce here today: Us Epstein survivors have been discussing creating our own list," Phillips continued. "We know the names. Many of us were abused by them. Now together as survivors, we will confidentially compile the names we all know who were regularly in the Epstein world. And it will be done by survivors, and for survivors … Stay tuned for more details."

However, Bradley Edwards, an attorney for some of Epstein's victims, was quick to point out that "there's not a list."

"So here's what it was," he said. "Just like you heard everybody today, Jeffrey Epstein created … an organization of enablers, of people that were on his payroll. It was a complicated scheme where others should still be investigated because they helped to enable him and operate the scheme. Without those people, he could not have done this. 

"But the purpose was for him to personally abuse people. With that being said, certain of his friends, he farmed out certain of the women that he was exploiting too. But that wasn't the primary purpose of that scheme. And I don't think he wrote the names of those people down. There's not a list of, hey, here's all of the people that I sent females to. That's just not how that organization worked."

Asked whether Epstein was tied to the CIA or FBI, Edwards’ answer was more cryptic.

"The safest thing for me to say is all files should come out, whether it’s with the CIA, FinCEN [Financial Crimes Enforcement Network], SEC, FBI, I’m not just making these up haphazardly," Edwards said. "I’m giving you a road map where to look."

Trump calls Epstein fury a ‘hoax’

The other side:

President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise of transparency regarding the Epstein files, has walked back his previous statements of support. On Wednesday, while speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump called the Epstein case "a hoax." 

"This is a Democrat hoax that never ends...I think it's enough because I think we should talk about the greatness of our country and the success that we're having...that's what I want to talk about...not the Epstein hoax," he said. 

On July 7, the Trump administration said there was no list of Epstein’s clients and no evidence that compelled them to reopen the case and go after uncharged third parties. According to The Wall Street Journal, Attorney General Pam Bondi informed Trump in May that his name was mentioned multiple times in the "truckload" of documents from Epstein's case. 

Edwards, the attorney for several of Epstein's victims, said he's confused by Trump's "about-face."

"I talked to President Trump back in 2009 and several times after that. He didn’t think that it was a hoax then," Edwards said. "In fact, he helped me, he got on the phone, he told me things that were helping with our investigation. Now our investigation wasn’t looking into him, but he was helping us then. He didn’t treat this as a hoax. So at this point in time I would hope that he would revert back to what he was saying to get elected, which is, I want transparency. This about-face that occurred, none of us understand it."

Push for release of more Epstein files 

The backstory:

The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday publicly posted the files it has received from the Justice Department on Epstein and Maxwell, but lawmakers on both sides say it’s not enough. 

"It’s, like, only 1% of what they possess, and 97% of it's already been released," Massie told reporters Tuesday. 

RELATED: Epstein files: Ghislaine Maxwell told DOJ she did not see Trump act in 'inappropriate way'

But there are still intense disagreements on how lawmakers should proceed. Johnson is pressing for the inquiry to be handled by the House Oversight Committee and supporting the committee as it releases its findings.

"If you are a member of Congress and you are listening to all of us speak here today, please really listen to us," victim Jena-Lisa Jones said. "Please vote for this bill to be passed. Please recognize how important it is for transparency relating to Jeffrey Epstein. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, this does not matter. This is not about sides. You are an American, and you are a person who has chosen to serve in an elected position, to stand up for those you represent who cannot always stand up for themselves. We are those people. We are the Americans that you promised to protect."

What's next:

Johnson is trying to quell an effort by Democrats and some Republicans to force a vote on a bill that would require the Justice Department to release all the information in the so-called Epstein files, with the exception of the victims' personal information.

Democrats and some Republicans are still trying to maneuver around Johnson’s control of the House floor to hold a vote on their bill to require the Justice Department to publicly release the files. 

Democrats lined up in the House chamber Tuesday evening to sign a petition from Massie, a Kentucky Republican, to force a vote. Three other Republicans also supported the maneuver, but Massie would need two more GOP lawmakers and every Democrat to be successful.

RELATED: Trump says Epstein ‘stole’ Mar-a-Lago spa workers, including Virginia Giuffre

If Massie, who is pressing for the bill alongside Khanna, is able to force a vote — which could take weeks — the legislation would still need to pass the Senate and be signed into law by Trump.