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Epstein Survivors Rally on Capitol Hill; Jeffrey Epstein Survivors Speak Out. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired September 03, 2025 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:30:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: -- vote on their legislation, seeking to release all of the files in the Epstein case. And joining us now for more on the Epstein case and the fallout on Capitol Hill, Republican Congressman and Chairman of the Oversight Committee James Comer of Kentucky. Thank you so much for coming on. You are leading the Epstein probe in Congress, and you released many documents last night.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Certainly did. Mr. Chairman, thanks so much for being with us. Democrats on your committee say 97 percent of the Epstein related documents from the U.S. Justice Department released to the American people last night were already public. What do you say to that?

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY), CHAIRMAN, OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM: Well, the 3 percent that weren't public, that's 3 percent more than Joe Biden released when he was president.

Look, President Trump is complying with our subpoena, with my subpoena. He's turning over documents. We posted 34,000 last night. We expect to get more documents as soon as we get those documents and review to make sure none of the victim's names are listed -- who don't want their names listed, then we're going to put those online as well.

And we're going to seek justice for the survivors. And I think that's what the objective of this investigation should be, it's to find out, you know, not only the names of who some of the people were that abused the girls, but also to hold many of these criminals accountable. And that's what the victims who we met with yesterday asked us to do.

BROWN: I want you to watch or listen to what Republican Congressman Thomas Massie told my colleague Manu Raju just moments ago. Hopefully we have the sound. He was raising questions. Unfortunately, we don't have that. But he was raising questions about the redactions, you mentioned the redactions, and he talked about the Justice Department actually protecting some of the perpetrators. Actually, we do have the sound now. Let's go to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): This is the flight logs. They're withholding who was on these planes. Like this is a document that's publicly available. Go find it on their website. They are redacting things to prevent embarrassment. They're not redacting things to protect victims. And in the process of preventing embarrassment, they're hiding some criminals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Embarrassment from the president?

MASSIE: No, embarrassment to rich and powerful individuals who are connected to the president. I don't think the president is redacted here. I don't think he's implicated in these files, but I think his donors are, I think his friends are, and I think our own DOJ and government are implicated in this too. So, you can't trust them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: All right. And I should note that the Justice Department has said it is redacting information to protect the victims. But I'm wondering, what is your reaction to that?

COMER: Well, I don't agree with my friend Thomas Massie. And I'll say this, this resolution that we're going to be voting on tonight is a resolution that gives us even more authority as an Oversight Committee to get information. One of the things in the resolution that will address the problem Thomas just mentioned is that any redactions have to come with an explanation from the Department of Justice, why they redacted that name.

So, if they redacted a name and it's a wealthy donor, that's not going to cut it with us. We're going to un-redact that and we're going to make sure that every single person knows. We don't care if they're Republican or Democrat. We don't care if they're rich or poor. We want the truth to the American people. That's what my committee's been tasked to do, and that's what we're going to do. And we had a good bipartisan discussion with the victims yesterday. It was just as many Democrats in the room as there were Republicans. And we heard their terrible stories.

And this has been going on for 30 years. This dates back to six presidential administrations where the victims have never received the accountability that they deserve from the criminals who groomed them and who sex trafficked them. Now, we're going to hopefully find out why there was a government coverup, why the government failed these victims and hopefully, they can seek justice. And again, that's what the objective of this investigation should be, justice for the victims of the whole Epstein saga.

BLITZER: Mr. Chairman, do you plan to support that bipartisan legislation from Congressman Massie and Ro Khanna to compel the full release of the Epstein files? Why or why not?

COMER: Well, we're already doing that. I mean, we've already posted a bunch of documents. And I don't think the discharge petition is necessary. And, Wolf, I don't think that they'll get the Republican signatures on there to even require the discharge petition to be on the floor. We're already four or five steps ahead of what the discharge petition wants to do. The discharge petition would honestly only slow us down because we'd have to wait for the Senate, and you know how slow the Senate is to approve that. [10:35:00]

We're moving forward. We've been doing this for about four weeks now. We've already deposed former Attorney General Bill Barr. We have a date set to interview Alex Acosta, and that's going to be a tough interview. That's -- again, Barr and Acosta are both Republicans. We're not making this a partisan investigation. We're going to bring in Republicans and Democrats. We're going to try to get the truth and finally provide some accountability to the victims.

BLITZER: I know the House is going to vote to reaffirm your committee's investigation into this Epstein case, Mr. Chairman. But critics like Massie, for example, point out that vote isn't necessary and is designed just to provide, quote, "political cover," his words, political cover to Republicans. How are they wrong?

COMER: They're wrong because the resolution gives us even more authority than what the discharge petition does. And as I said earlier, the resolution requires the Department of Justice to explain why they redacted a name or a certain part of a document.

So, I think this is a better deal. And you know, I would argue the Democrats, you know, it appears, if you watch the Rules Committee testimony last night, they're more concerned about trying to embarrass Donald Trump than trying to provide justice for the survivors. And that's what our objective is.

And I'll say this, Wolf, the Trump administration is working with us. They have complied with their subpoena. Unlike the Biden administration did, last administration when we tried to get documents. The Trump administration is complying with the subpoena, and I fully expect to get even more documents very soon from the Trump administration.

BROWN: When do you expect to get those documents and how many more outstanding documents are there that you're expecting?

COMER: Well, certainly there are interviews that we would like to read the transcripts from. That's --

BROWN: Which ones?

COMER: Well, all of them, everybody that was interviewed throughout the prosecution of Epstein and Maxwell, we would like to see all of that. I know Pam Bondi requested that some of that be unsealed, and the judge denied it. We're going to continue to pursue that. We want to get every ounce of information that's out there. This is a sincere investigation, and I've told my new ranking member on the committee, Mr. Garcia from California, look, we want to make this bipartisan and it this is an opportunity for the Democrats to work with the Republicans.

And, you know, again, the objective has to be to get the truth to the American people as well as to provide justice for the victims, not just trying to embarrass, you know, President Trump or former President Bill Clinton. We want to get the truth, the American people. And again, the Trump administration is working with us, turning over the documents.

It's a lot of documents. 34,000 documents. It was a lot to gather. They gathered them quickly, turned them over. We expect more documents. As soon as we get them, we'll make them public.

BLITZER: I want to play a little bit of what one Epstein survivor, Courtney Wild, told my colleague Jake Tapper yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COURTNEY WILD, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: We all want answers. I just want just release the names, you know, and be done with it. You know, it's like glamorizing this mysterious pedophile for what? There's no new answers, no new information. It's just the same thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, what do you say to her and the other women who survived this abuse who say, look, yes, you're talking about -- you know, we really saw these documents, but they say, you know, they want all the information out there as soon as possible so that they can move on with their lives. What do you say to them?

COMER: Well, we're going to do that, and we're working with the attorneys. Yesterday, the six victims were represented by four attorneys. The attorneys are giving us names. Look, if they have names of people that were on Epstein, we will make those names public once we verify, you know, that they were on the flight logs and everything else.

We want to provide transparency and we want to provide accountability. So, we're going to do everything that the victims requested in your clip that you just showed as well as the private meeting we had in a bipartisan manner yesterday.

BLITZER: The Oversight Committee chairman, James Comer, thanks so much for joining us.

COMER: Thank you all for having me.

BROWN: Thank you.

BLITZER: All right. Pamela.

BROWN: and we're about to hear from the survivors firsthand of Jeffrey's Epstein -- Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. Some are speaking out for the first time, and we did not get an advance list of speakers other than Congressman Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie. See Marjorie Taylor Green speaking right now. We want to be completely transparent. We may hear some details that frankly viewers will find very disturbing. And we may also hear claims that we cannot verify at this time. Let's listen.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE, (R-GA): Jeffrey Epstein and his cabal that continued a nightmare, those people deserve the shame. And today, we are coming forward and we are going to fight like hell for these women because we have to fight like hell for those that are enduring sexual abuse and are living in a prison of shame. Anyone that is being abused, it is not your fault. You should live with no guilt or fear or shame.

[10:40:00]

All of the fault belongs to the evil people that do these things to the innocent. This is the most important fight we can wage here in Congress, is fighting for innocent people that never received justice, and the women behind me have never received justice. And do you want to know why? It's because Jeffrey Epstein somehow was able to walk among the most rich, powerful people, not only in America, but foreign countries.

Yesterday, I heard countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, and even Israel and other countries. The truth needs to come out and the government holds the truth. The cases that are sealed hold the truth. Jeffrey Epstein's estate holds the truth, the FBI, the DOJ, and the CIA holds the truth. And the truth, we are demanding come out on behalf of these women, but also as a strong message to every innocent child, teenager, woman, and man that is being held captive in abuse.

This should never happen in America and it should never be a political issue that divides us. And I want to thank Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie for doing something brave, crossing political boundaries for in a very important fight. And I'm honored to join both of them. And I'm honored that Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert signed the discharge petition along with myself.

And I asked my Republican colleagues not to choose just one path for justice and transparency and accountability, but I asked my Republican colleagues to choose every path for justice and accountability and transparency. And with that, I'd like to bring back Congressman Ro Khanna to start this important press conference. Thank you very much.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Thank you, Congresswoman Greene, for your courage and for being here. And thank you again to Congressman Massie for co-leading it.

I now would like to introduce two people who have been fighting this for decades. They haven't had their voice heard. The victims haven't been heard. They haven't just been on this in the last few months, they've been doing this in the wilderness for years, and they are really models of courage. Bradley Edwards and Brittany Henderson, who are the attorneys for the victims. Thank you for being here.

BRAD EDWARDS, ATTORNEY FOR EPSTEIN SURVIVORS: Thank you, Ro and Thomas Massie. I really appreciate you putting forth this discharge petition. It's tough to understand that we have to be here because this doesn't seem like a partisan issue. This is an issue. Sex trafficking and sexual abuse transcends politics. We, as Americans expect equal protection under the law, and there can be no doubt that Jeffrey Epstein received far greater protection than any of the victims that he abused for years.

We've -- in 2008, Courtney Wild walked into my office because she was a part of a federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, where all she wanted was the government to talk to her. Little did she know the government had worked out a secret immunity deal for Jeffrey Epstein, and we had to file Jane Does versus United States of America to prove that Jeffrey Epstein worked out an illegal non-prosecution agreement with the government. That was 2008. It took us 10 years battling the government pro bono for the judge to ultimately determine that the victim's rights were violated. The government has mistreated them after Jeffrey Epstein mistreated them.

We then filed civil lawsuits against Ghislaine Maxwell, which has resulted in her being in prison. Our civil lawsuits led to her prosecution. We filed lawsuits against Jeffrey Epstein, against his estate, and against two financial institutions, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, that proved that they provided -- knowingly provided the financial infrastructure for a sex trafficking operation.

Unfortunately, all of the documents and evidence that we have worked so hard to gather hide behind protective orders, confidentiality agreements, and bank secrecy laws. That is why this discharge petition is so important. While we have seen the documents, you haven't. And when you see the documents, you're going to be appalled. And the American people deserve to see everything.

When you sign this discharge petition, it should mean nothing is off limits. That means the documents in the possession of the CIA should be made available. Those in possession of the FBI going back decades should be made available. The SEC, financial records in the possession of Finson should be made available.

[10:45:00]

Everybody knows that evil flourishes in the darkness. Corruption flourishes in secrecy. It is time right now to make a difference for the women that are behind me right now. They have been courageous and fought through this whole thing. Whether you are a Republican or you're a Democrat, this one is an easy call. You're an American who cares about equal rights and equal protection under the law. If you care about these women, if you care about our country and you care about this issue, this should pass with flying colors. I really appreciate everybody being here.

BRITTANY HENDERSON, ATTORNEY FOR EPSTEIN SURVIVORS: Hi, good morning. My name is Brittany Henderson. And I think in addition to thanking the wonderful congressmen and women who are here today, we need to thank the women. And not just the women who are going to speak, but the other women who are standing behind them, along with other lawyers, Sigrid McCawley, and people who have been fighting for a very, very long time for the world to give this kind of attention to an issue that it should have had forever.

This administration has the opportunity to do what the past administrations did not do. This administration can either stand with the victims and stand for the victims, or it can continue to hurt the victims like has happened in the past.

We aren't here just to ask for transparency though, we're here too to ask for protection. The women here represent hundreds of other women who we have spoken to, many of whom were trafficked from other countries, from Eastern European countries where women don't have the rights that we have here. Women don't have the protections that we have here, and those women are terrified that their names will be released in these files.

The government won't know that they're victims to redact and protect them. So, we ask that you please, whoever is going to be in charge of redacting these files and in charge of this transparency, do it in a way that protects the women brave enough to be here, but also protects the women who are terrified that every day when they turn the TV on something bad is going to happen to them in Ukraine, in Russia, in whatever country they live in, because no one is listening to them there.

So, thank you for being here. Thank you for listening. And please protect these women while we seek transparency.

ANOUSKA DE GEORGIOU, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Good morning. My name is Anouska de Georgiou. And I stand before you today as a survivor of both Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. I want to thank Congressman Massie and Khanna for their role in putting together this very, very important bill.

Every day of this journey toward healing has come at a profound cost to my mental health, but I am here. I chose to come because this bill really matters. I speak today not only in service of my own recovery from trauma inflicted by Maxwell and Epstein, but to honor the lives, the courage and sacrifices of Virginia Giuffre, Carolyn Andriano, and others who could not continue. Their voices mattered. Their stories must not be forgotten.

Accountability is what makes a society civilized. Equal opportunity and equal consequence for all. Consequences are not about punishment alone, they exist to deter future harm, to protect vulnerable, and to set a standard of justice. If Ghislaine Maxwell were pardoned, it would undermine all the sacrifices I made to testify and make mockery of mine and all survivors suffering.

That is why the Epstein Files Transparency Act is so essential. It requires the Department of Justice release all the records related to Epstein and Maxwell investigations, flight logs, immunity deals, internal communications. And even the records surrounding Epstein's detention and death. And crucially, it forbids withholding documents simply because of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity. This is about ending secrecy wherever abuse of power takes root.

But transparency alone is not enough. Survivors need protection, resources and legal support. If this Congress is serious about justice, then let this moment also affirm your commitment to provide victims with the legal aid they need to confront abusers, to navigate complex systems and to reclaim their power. Transparency must be matched by support or else too many victims will remain silent out fear and lack of access. The statistics demand action. Nearly one in five women in America will experience rape or attempted rape in her lifetime. Every 74 seconds, someone is sexually assaulted. Every nine minutes that person is a child.

[10:50:00]

These are not numbers, they are people, they are your daughters, your sons, your constituents, your friends. Statistically one in five of your families will face this nightmare.

The days of sweeping this under the rug are over. We the survivors say no more. I want to help create a world where survivors of sexual abuse and abuse of power can come forward safely. And I ask Congress to join me in that effort, not only by passing this bill, but by ensuring that those who stepped forward have legal support to face their abusers and see justice done.

When Judge Berman gave Epstein survivors the chance to finally speak, the world listened. After so many years, survivors were heard. That moment was historic, and so is this moment. For me, the turning point was when I had my daughter. And on the day she was born, I knew I had a responsibility to protect her and to protect all children.

I have to use my voice, the voice that had been silenced by fear and shame for so many years. Make no mistake, my polished exterior is a shield hiding a wound that still bleeds. But through this wound, I have found purpose to be part of lasting change in how we confront exploitation and abuse. And to be clear, the only motive for opposing this bill would be to conceal wrongdoing. You have a choice. Stand with the truth or with the lies that have protected predators for decades.

I am no longer weak, I am no longer powerless, and I'm no longer alone. And with your vote, neither will the next generation be.

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. Thank you.

ANNIE FARMER, EPSTEIN SURVIVORS: Hello. My name is Annie Farmer. And I was 16 years old when I was flown to New Mexico to spend a weekend with Epstein and Maxwell. That same year, 1996, my sister, Maria Farmer, reported what happened to me there, along with reporting her own assault at their hands and their theft of sensitive photos of herself, of me, and our younger sister that she had taken for her work as a figurative painter.

I am now 46 years old. 30 years later we still do not know why that report wasn't properly investigated or why Epstein and his associates were allowed to harm hundreds, if not thousands of other girls and young women. We have never been told whether those images were found when they discovered a large amount of child sexual abuse material on his property.

As a psychologist, I understand that when the system's meant to protect us recreate the abuse cycle, the betrayal that occurs can be just as damaging as the original trauma. This happens when survivors of these crimes are not believed, when our wellbeing is not weighed as heavily as those who have more resources or more privilege, and when perpetrators of these crimes are given a platform rather than the survivors of them.

For so many years, it felt like Epstein's criminal behavior was an open secret. Not only did many others participate in the abuse, it is clear that many were aware of his interest in girls and very young women, and chose to look the other way because it benefited them to do so. They wanted access to his circle and his money. Their choice to align with his power left those of us who had been harmed by this man and his associates feeling very isolated.

I could never have imagined being here today and this chorus of support that we have all received. I have been sent so many notes and messages from people with no direct connection to this case, who've expressed their solidarity with us. And I believe that is because in part, as Anouska so explained so well, this is an extremely widespread issue of child sexual abuse, of sexual exploitation, of sexual violence. This affects almost every family in some way.

[10:55:00]

From my conversations with women in these last few days and from all of the support that we've received, it's very clear to me that we are not going away, we are not going to be quiet, and we are not going to give up. And I ask the American public to stand with us and not give up. At a time with record high levels of distrust in our institutions and a perception that there are two Americas, one for those with power and privilege, and one for everyone else passing. This Epstein Transparency Bill is one important step that can be taken to prove to Americans that the government does not side with sexual perpetrators.

A thorough public review of this information is an important step in presenting -- in preventing the type of systemic failures that have occurred in this case and harmed all of us. An important step towards healing for those involved. Thank you.

MARINA LACERDA, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Hello, everyone. I'd like to say thank you, everyone, for being here today on this very powerful and special day for all of us here.

My name is Marina Lacerda. I was minor victim one in federal indictment of Jeffrey Epstein in New York in 2019. I was one of dozen of girls that I personally who know were forced into Jeffrey's Mansion on 9 East 71 Street in New York City when we were just kids.

Today's the first time that I ever speak publicly about what happened to me. I never thought that I would find myself here. The only reason that I am here is because it feels like the people who matter in this country finally care about what we have to say. As an immigrant from Brazil, I feel empowered knowing that the little girl struggling to get by at 14 and 15 years old finally has a voice. For the first time I feel like I matter as an American. I was only 14 years old when I met Jeffrey. 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 an older guy a massage. It went from a dream job to the worst nightmare.

Jeffrey assistant Lesley Groff would call me and tell me that I needed to be at the house so often that I ended up dropping out of high school before ninth grade, and I never went back. From 14 to 17 years old, I went and worked for Jeffrey instead of receiving an education. Every day I hope 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 no way out. I was -- until he finally told me that I was too old. There are many pieces of my story that I can't remember no matter how hard I try. The constant state of wonder causes me so much fear and so much confusion.

My therapist is that my brain is just trying to protect itself, but it's so hard to begin to heal knowing that there are people out there who know more about my abuse than I do. The worst part is that the government is still in possession right now of the documents and information about that could help me remember and get over all of this maybe and help me heal.

They have documents with my name on them that were confiscated from Jeffrey Epstein's house and could help me put the pieces of my own life back together, but I don't have any of it. And I know the same is true for many of these women.

We are here to support this bill today, not only for transparency, but for the American people. But if the government is going to release these documents to the public, describing the crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and others, the least they can do is give me my documents that they have about me. The other survivors deserve the same respect from our government. While identifying information must be redacted to the public, it is equally important to provide the victims themselves with unredacted information.

I will never forget when the FBI agent showed up in my door in 2008. Jeffrey Epstein hired a lawyer to represent me or more like to represent him, I like to say.

[11:00:00]