Victims, Dems, Massie, MTG Rally for Epstein Transparency Bill

Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking and their families are rallying Wednesday in front of the Capitol as they press Congress to force more disclosure in the criminal investigation into the late financier.

A political clash is unfolding in the House over how Congress should proceed in a matter that has rattled both House Republican leadership and the Trump administration. Speakers at the rally often grew emotional as they recounted how they were lured into Epstein's abuse, and they demanded government accountability for the actions of Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.

"Our demands are clear," said Sky Roberts, whose late sister Virginia Giuffre was an outspoken survivor. "Ghislaine Maxwell must remain in a maximum security prison for the rest of her life. No leniency. No deals. No special treatment."

Survivors also demanded that the Epstein files be released publicly and that anyone complicit be held accountable.

The gathering comes as a bipartisan group of lawmakers calls for the House to take up their bill that would force the Department of Justice to release its investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein.

It is an unusual grouping of lawmakers, including Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif. They are trying to use a rarely used legislative maneuver, a discharge petition, to force a vote on their bill against the wishes of House Republican leadership.

"A nation that allows rich and powerful men to traffic and abuse young girls without consequence is a nation that has lost its moral and spiritual core," Khanna said.

Around the news conference, a large crowd gathered with signs that said, "Believe the survivors," and "Unlock the Epstein files."

The House Oversight Committee released some Epstein case files, mostly containing information already publicly known or available. The Justice Department released the files to the House Oversight Committee in response to a subpoena. They contain hundreds of image files of years-old court filings related to Epstein and Maxwell.