A group of Jeffrey Epstein survivors spoke out on Capitol Hill on Wednesday as part of a push to have all files related to the accused sex trafficker released.
“This is not a hoax. It’s not going to go away,” said Marina Lacerda, a central witness in Epstein’s 2019 indictment who spoke with ABC News.
Anouska De Georgiou, the first survivor of Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell to step to the podium, said the victims are coming together to have their voices be heard.
“The days of sweeping this under the rug are over. We the survivors say ‘no more,'” she said.
“I’m no longer weak, I am no longer powerless and I’m no longer alone. And with your vote, neither will the next generation,” she said. “President Trump, you have so much influence and power in this situation. Please use that influence and power to help us, because we need it now, and this country needs it now.”
Anouska De Georgiou, who testified about sexual abuse in the Jeffrey Epstein case, speaks during a press conference and rally in support of the victims of Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on September 3, 2025.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
Trump was asked about the press conference pushing for transparency on the Epstein files at the White House on Wednesday. He continued to insist it was a “hoax” distracting from his administration’s success.
“This is a Democrat hoax that never ends,” Trump claimed.
Survivor after survivor, however, implored lawmakers to back a bipartisan push from Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna to compel the Justice Department to publicly release the Epstein files.
“Mr. President, Donald J. Trump, I am a registered Republican — not that that matters, because this is not political — however, I cordially invite you to the Capitol to meet me in person so you can understand this is not a hoax. We are real human beings. This is real trauma,” survivor Haley Robson said when asked by ABC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Jay O’Brien about Trump’s comments calling the matter a “hoax.”
Haley Robson, victim of financier Jeffrey Epstein, speaks during a press conference to discuss the Epstein Files Transparency bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Sept. 3, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
At times growing emotional, some survivors also detailed the abuse they said they suffered at the hands of Epstein, some saying the abuse happened when they were teenagers.
“I hope my colleagues are watching this press conference. I want them to think, what if this was your sister? What if this was your daughter?” Massie said.
“Today we stand with survivors, we stand against big money, we stand to protect America’s children. That is really what this is about,” Khanna said on Wednesday.
Rep. Thomas Massie and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene attend a news conference with alleged victims of disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein outside the U.S. Capitol, September 03, 2025 in Washington.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
So far, four Republicans have signed on to the Massie and Khanna discharge petition — a procedural tool to bypass GOP leadership and force a vote. Those signers include Massie, Reps. Nancy Mace, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert.
If all 212 Democrats sign the petition, only two Republicans are needed to reach the 218 needed to compel a vote on the House floor.
Attorney Bradley Edwards, who has represented more than 200 Epstein survivors, said the push should “pass with flying colors.”
“While we have seen the documents, you haven’t, and when you see the documents, you’re going to be appalled,” Edwards said at the press conference.
People demostrate during the Stand with Survivors Rally in support of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s victims, in Washington, September 3, 2025.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
House Republican leadership, however, is opposed to the Massie and Khanna effort — as is the White House.
Speaker Mike Johnson urged Republicans to not support Massie’s discharge petition during a closed conference meeting Wednesday morning, according to multiple sources.
“It does not adequately protect the innocent victims, and that is a critical component,” Johnson said on Tuesday of the discharge petition. On Wednesday
Johnson instead argued the ongoing investigation by the House Oversight Committee, which has subpoenaed records from the Justice Department and the Epstein estate, is the better path because committee investigators will pour over the files and redact any identifying or otherwise confidential information.
The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday evening released tens of thousands of pages related to Epstein, much of which was already publicly known.
Rep. Thomas Massie speaks during a press conference to discuss the Epstein Files Transparency bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 3, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
“To the American people — don’t let this fool you,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said after the release. “After careful review, Oversight Democrats have found that 97% of the documents received from the Department of Justice were already public. There is no mention of any client list or anything that improves transparency or justice for victims.”
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 and charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy and child sex trafficking. He died in custody a month later, while awaiting trial. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 by a federal jury on sex trafficking and other charges. She is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for aiding and participating in Epstein’s trafficking of underage girls, which involved a scheme to recruit young women and girls for massages of Epstein that turned sexual.
Ahead of the news conference with lawmakers, several of the survivors and their families held a rally outside the Capitol.
“It’s the voices of survivors of these crimes that are important, so we are here together to stand united,” said survivor Liz Stein.
