WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — House Oversight Democrats heard Tuesday from victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in Palm Beach County, where many of the crimes took place.
The so-called shadow hearing, an informal event with lawmakers, took place less than three miles away from the mansion where Epstein abused hundreds of girls, and in the same county where prosecutors negotiated to have the financier avoid federal charges or extended prison time almost 20 years ago, allowing for the abuse to continue.
Much of Tuesday’s forum focused on how victims and attorneys in the case didn’t know the so-called sweetheart deal had been negotiated. They called for changes to the Crime Victim Rights Act to ensure victims know about these arrangements — and have standing to challenge them.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the panel’s top Democrat, promised that if Democrats win the House in November, anyone involved in arranging the deal would be made to testify. He also said the committee would have more questions for Alex Acosta, the former prosecutor who brokered Epstein’s plea deal and the secretary of Labor in Trump’s first administration. Acosta resigned amid renewed scrutiny of the Epstein case.
Witnesses additionally shared how they’d been harmed during the last year, when all files related to the case were supposed to be released. Democrats claim millions of files are still being withheld despite Trump signing a bill to make them public amid widespread pressure.
And among files that were released, information on many victims was not adequately redacted. Victims at the event called for those harmed through the exposure to be compensated, and for co-conspirators of Epstein who still haven’t been named to be “held accountable.”
The informal hearing comes amid pressure on the full Oversight Committee to host a forum with Epstein victims. First lady Melania Trump recently called on Congress to hold such a hearing, and Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) has indicated he plans to. But no date has been set.
At the end of the month, former Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled to be questioned by the Oversight panel in a transcribed interview. Some victims offered their own questions for Bondi on Tuesday. For one, Jena-Lisa Jones accused the former attorney general of being unable to “even look at the survivors” behind her in a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee earlier this year.
“You were willing to lose your job to cover up for these people,” she said. “What do they have on you, because I’d like to know.”
Also on Tuesday, House Oversight Democrats released an “interim staff analysis” of the widely criticized plea deal. In the report, called “The Price of Non-Prosecution,” the Democratic minority argued that the agreement “enabled Epstein to continue his abuse and trafficking activities for almost another decade, shifting his focus to European and Central Asian women.” Epstein was not arrested for sex trafficking of minors until 2019.
“Despite DOJ’s claims to the contrary, the Committee’s findings demonstrate the need for further law enforcement investigation of Epstein and his international network,” the Democratic report states.
Kimberly Leonard reported from West Palm Beach. Hailey Fuchs reported from Washington.
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