WASHINGTON – This week, Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), a member of the House Oversight Committee, joined committee Democrats in calling for a Congressional hearing to prioritize the individuals who survived the horrific abuse associated with Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and their associates, and whose firsthand accounts may not be sufficiently represented in the Department of Justice’s records.
“If we are to hold powerful people to account, our investigation must center the voices they tried to silence,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “To ensure that our investigation is comprehensive and credible, we urge the Committee to allow survivors the opportunity to provide their testimony if they wish to do so.”
In their letter to Chairman James Comer, Rep. Ansari and her colleagues detailed Epstein’s history exploiting and trafficking young women and girls, leaving them with deep, lasting trauma. The lawmakers argued that these individuals should have their stories heard and their healing centered in Congressional efforts to achieve transparency and accountability.
“If the Committee is to conduct credible oversight, it must hear directly from survivors, or their representatives, who volunteer to advance our investigation on their own terms,” the lawmakers continued. “Some survivors have expressed a clear willingness and desire to come before Congress, and the Committee cannot meet their strength and bravery with inaction.”
The lawmakers made the case that releasing the full, unredacted Epstein files will not tell the full story, and that hearing testimony from Maxwell, an unreliable and untrustworthy co-conspirator, while ignoring those who were abused, will only contribute to more pain for survivors and more misinformation for the public.
“For too long, powerful abusers and their enablers have been shielded by institutions more interested in protecting predators than centering survivors,” the lawmakers continued. “The Committee now has an opportunity to break that cycle. A public hearing focused on survivors who wish to speak out would be a meaningful step towards transparency, accountability, and healing.”
Joining Rep. Ansari in sending the letter are Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton, Stephen F. Lynch, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Kweisi Mfume, Summer Lee, Greg Casar, Jasmine Crockett, Emily Randall, Suhas Subramanyam, Ayanna Pressley, Lateefah Simon, Dave Min, and Rashida Tlaib.
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