On Wednesday morning a group of women who had been sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein held a press conference to call for the release of the Epstein files. They are some of the bravest people I have ever seen. Each of them told their story of how Jeffrey Epstein hurt them. It was painful and horrible, and it was rage-inducing. Â How the fuck could anyone do that anyone, let alone underage girls.
And after listening to them, how could anyone be against releasing the files? For fuck’s sake, Thomas Massie, Lauren Boebert, and MTG can see the truth and the crimes, and they are willing to read the names of their abusers on the House floor:
This is a brilliant way to use speech or debate clause protections.
— Daniel Schuman (@americalabs.org) 2025-09-04T14:06:57.734Z
And I know that the answer is that some Republicans are afraid of President BFF With A Pedophile, but at some point in your life you need to find some dignity and realize there’s more to life than groveling to a senile sex offender for money in order to push legislation that you know will hurt your constituents—and there’s proof:
This is a damning anecdote from Rep Jim McGovern. He tells me that during debate over Trump's big budget bill, House Rs privately admitted to him that it would screw over their own constituents, yet they had to vote for it anyway.Read all of it. He wrecks them:newrepublic.com/article/1999…
— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) 2025-09-04T12:23:31.645Z
The discharge petition still needs 2 more House reps to sign onto it. And given that GOP legislators are willing to kill their own voters to appease PBWAP, and given that he has been calling them and threatening them if they vote to release the Epstein files, I am not hopeful that it will happen.
And that is especially infuriating give how upsetting and gut-wrenching the stories the women told were. And there’s nothing I can add to their painful and unvarnished truth, so that’s what I’m highlighting below. This is the evil that the GOP is protecting and abetting.
Annie Farmer
Jess Michaels
Haley Robson
https://www.c-span.org/clip/news-conference/epstein-survivor-urges-releasing-files/5170985
Jena-Lisa Jones
This is the reality of SA. The helplessness of knowing, as a young girl, that no one will believe you, that the wealthy man (or men) hurting you will lie to protect themselves and deny they ever saw you.Those scars really never heal.
— Politics and Health (@politicshealth.bsky.social) 2025-09-03T15:22:22.805Z
Courtney Wild
@cbsnews Courtney Wild says she was 14 years old when she was introduced to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. During a news conference with fellow accusers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Wild said she and her lawyer sued the federal government as they investigated claims about Epstein in 2008. She says the suit revealed Epstein had a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida that allowed him to avoid federal prosecution and plead guilty to state prostitution charge. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe that I had to sue the United States just to learn that my abuser was given immunity,” Wild said.
Anouska De Georgiou
Chauntae Davies
Lisa Phillips
Marina Lacerda
As these brave women were speaking, PBWAP called it a “hoax”, which is not going to sit well with a good chunk of MAGA voters. And he is so desperate to deflect from their powerful words that he scheduled a military flyover to drown out their truth.
I’ll let the video of the press conference itself have the last word today: