Two women who say they were sexually assaulted by Jeffrey Epstein called on Congress to compel the US Justice Department to release all remaining files related to the accused sex trafficker.
Liz Stein and Jess Michaels delivered their message during an interview with NBC News on Thursday, joined by newly sworn-in Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Grijalva provides the decisive signature
Just moments after taking the oath of office on Wednesday, Grijalva added the key 218th signature needed to bypass GOP leadership and force a floor vote to demand the release of the Epstein documents.
“This is just the beginning,” Grijalva said, calling the release of 20,000 pages of emails and investigative material “the tip of the iceberg.”
Survivors call for sustained public pressure
Both survivors urged Americans not to let the issue fade.
“We need the American people to not stop putting the pressure on,” Michaels said. “We can’t stop… because it’s only one tiny victory.”
Stein praised the bipartisan support they have received: “Those who voted to stand with us are on the right side of this issue.”
Emails reference Trump, survivors caution against politicization
Their appeal came a day after the House Oversight Committee released emails showing Epstein claiming Trump “knew about the girls”.. Trump has denied any involvement and has not been charged with any Epstein-linked crimes.
Stein stressed that the victims’ cause should not be weaponised politically.
“The Trump administration is really politicizing something that has no place being politicized,” she said. “Even if your political values don’t align, dial this back and look at it as the crime of human trafficking.”
On Epstein’s ties to Trump, Stein added: “I don’t think anybody was surprised about their friendship… These emails gave some new insight into what that might have looked like.”
Emotional toll on survivors
Michaels described the repeated trauma of reliving her experience as new information surfaces.
“The emotional and physical response doesn’t stop,” she said. “We’re talking because we don’t want anyone to have to go through what we’re going through right now.”
Grijalva pushes back on ‘hoax’ claims
Responding to Trump administration statements dismissing the newly released documents as a Democratic “hoax,” Grijalva pointed out that Trump himself campaigned on unsealing the Epstein files.
“It’s not a hoax if you can point to victims,” she said. “This is not an issue Democrats ran on. Trump did.”
Jeffrey Epstein, sexual assault, Congress, US Justice Department, human trafficking, Jeffrey Epstein sexual assault survivors, Liz Stein, Jess Michaels, Rep. Adelita Grijalva, Epstein investigation
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