Ten of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, some of whom have never spoken publicly before, are set to address the public Wednesday at a press conference on Capitol Hill.
The press conference, organized by a bipartisan pair of lawmakers, could prove “explosive” and force lawmakers to vote on a measure requiring the Justice Department to release all of its files on Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in a New York jail cell in 2019.
It comes a day after the House Oversight Committee shared more than 33,000 pages of Epstein documents, though most, if not all, of the text documents had already been public. The press conference also follows a Tuesday meeting in which House Speaker Mike Johnson and a bipartisan group of lawmakers met with survivors of abuse by Epstein and his longtime partner Ghislaine Maxwell.
READ MORE: Epstein files: Over 33K pages released by House Oversight Committee
Lawmakers push release of all Epstein files
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) filed a discharge petition Tuesday to force a floor vote compelling the DOJ to release all the files from the Jeffrey Epstein case. LiveNOW’s Carel Lajara discusses the latest on Capitol Hill with Lauren Green, a congressional reporter for the Washington Examiner.
Jeffrey Epstein victims’ press conference
What we know:
Reps. Ro Khanna, D-California, and Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, are organizing the media event with some of Epstein’s victims. They told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that 10 women will speak.
What we don’t know:
The victims who are speaking at the press conference Wednesday have not yet been identified.
Timeline:
The press conference is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET at the House Triangle outside the Capitol. You can watch it live on LiveNow from FOX in the video player at the top of this page or wherever you stream.
What they’re saying:
“They will be telling their story and they will be saying clearly to the American public that they want the release of the Epstein files for full closure on this matter,” Khanna said Sunday.
A billboard in Times Square calls for the release of the Epstein files on July 23, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)
“The objective here is not just to uncover, investigate the Epstein evils, but also to ensure that this never happens again and ultimately to find out why justice has been delayed for these ladies for so very long,” Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday after he emerged from a two-hour meeting with six of the survivors.
“It is inexcusable. And it will stop now because the Congress is dialed in on this,” he added.
Push for release of more Epstein files
The backstory:
The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday publicly posted the files it has received from the Justice Department on Epstein and Maxwell, but lawmakers on both sides say it’s not enough.
The other side: “It’s, like, only 1% of what they possess, and 97% of it’s already been released,” Massie told reporters Tuesday.
RELATED: Epstein files: Ghislaine Maxwell told DOJ she did not see Trump act in ‘inappropriate way’
But there are still intense disagreements on how lawmakers should proceed. Johnson is pressing for the inquiry to be handled by the House Oversight Committee and supporting the committee as it releases its findings.
What’s next:
Johnson is trying to quell an effort by Democrats and some Republicans to force a vote on a bill that would require the Justice Department to release all the information in the so-called Epstein files, with the exception of the victims’ personal information.
Democrats and some Republicans are still trying to maneuver around Johnson’s control of the House floor to hold a vote on their bill to require the Justice Department to publicly release the files.
Democrats lined up in the House chamber Tuesday evening to sign a petition from Massie, a Kentucky Republican, to force a vote. Three other Republicans also supported the maneuver, but Massie would need two more GOP lawmakers and every Democrat to be successful.
RELATED: Trump says Epstein ‘stole’ Mar-a-Lago spa workers, including Virginia Giuffre
If Massie, who is pressing for the bill alongside Khanna, is able to force a vote — which could take weeks — the legislation would still need to pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Donald Trump.
What’s in the Epstein files?
Dig deeper:
The files released Tuesday included audio of an Epstein employee describing to a law enforcement official how “there were a lot of girls that were very, very young” visiting the home but couldn’t say for sure if they were minors.
Over the course of Epstein’s visits to the home, the man said, more than a dozen girls might visit, and he was charged with cleaning the room where Epstein had massages, twice daily.
READ MORE: DOJ told Trump he’s named in Epstein files, WSJ reports
Some pages were almost entirely redacted. Other documents related to Epstein’s Florida prosecution that led to a plea deal that has long been criticized as too lenient, including emails between the defense and prosecutors over the conditions of his probation after his conviction. Barbara Burns, a Palm Beach County prosecutor, expressed frustration as the defense pushed for fewer restrictions on their client: “I don’t know how to convey to him anymore than I already have that his client is a registered sex offender that was fortunate to get the deal of the century.”
Some of the interviews with officers from the Palm Beach Police Department date to 2005, according to timestamps read out by officials at the beginning of the files.
The files also included video appearing to be body cam footage from police searches as well as recordings and summaries of law enforcement interviews with victims detailing the abuse they said they suffered.
Most, if not all, of the text documents shared via Google Drive had already been public. Notably, the probable cause affidavit and other records from the 2005 investigation into Epstein contained a notation indicating that they’d been previously released in a 2017 public records request. An internet search showed those files were posted to the website of the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office in July 2017.
The Source: This report includes information from NBC’s “Meet the Press,” The Associated Press and previous LiveNow from FOX reporting.