Last week I went to both Epstein survivor events in Washington, DC – although the press only covered one of them (the political media show). The contrast between the two revealed what is a political moment and what is the beginning of justice.
The first survivors event
At the first one, half a dozen survivors participated in a quiet rally, led by attorney Gloria Allred, at the edge of the Capitol grounds. Public access was easy. The women took turns speaking from a small stage. Their voices shook. Some cried, but all spoke with gathering courage. Several hundred people cheered them on, respectfully. We listened. As girls, the women had been recruited, raped, lied to, manipulated, then silenced by powerful, influential, wealthy people.
One woman had been brought to the US from Hungary, promised a modeling contract by Alex Acosta. Another had been promised a dance studio and contacts with influential men in the entertainment business. One described disassociating her mind from her body while acts of cruelty were done to her. It was how she survived.
Rapists should be held accountable for their decisions and actions. This is what the survivors expected and we should, too, no matter who the perpetrators are.
The second, more public event
The second event, a political press conference held by Rep. Thomas Massie to support the Epstein Files Transparency Act, took place less than 100 yards from what had been a dress rehearsal for some of the survivors.
Here the space was set up for an expected confrontation. Police barriers surrounded the speaking area. Only national media and those with Congressional passes were allowed inside. Capitol police manned the entrances. A blared announcement, “This is your only warning. If you disrupt the press conference, you will be arrested,” occurred every twenty minutes – befuddling us, who were peaceful and observant.
We, the ever-increasing crowd, were made to move four times, back from the barricades, onto the sidewalk, off the sidewalk, and eventually onto the lawn across the street. This was disruptive and confusing to us. With the crowd pushed away, the optics suggested falsely that attendance was meager.
The politicians and survivors were only miked for TV. We could not hear what the speakers said. We livestreamed the coverage, which seemed pretty absurd, but which emphasized that the event was stage-managed, as was the war plane fly-over when the women were speaking.
Why are the Epstein files so important? None of the survivors mentioned Donald Trump. When a reporter asked about him specifically, a survivor said, “I’m not going to say his name. I’m already scared enough.” Why was that remark left un-pursued by the reporter?
We all assume, given Trump’s history of sexually abusing women, that he is in the files. When Pam Bondi announced that the files were on her desk, that was not red meat for the MAGAs. That was an announcement that anyone in that file was about to be blackmailed by the US Attorney General and the President of the United States. Since then, who has inexplicably caved to Trump’s often unconstitutional demands? NYC law firms, Columbia University, Republican Congresspersons, THE US SUPREME COURT. Are these people in the files?
Representative Thomas Massie, in a fight for his political life, is taking on Trump, who apparently unleashed three billionaires to media blitz Massie’s district – one of whom, John Paulson, is in the Epstein files. How many political donors are in the files? Who exactly are Republicans protecting? If Trump turns the files over, then he loses blackmail leverage, and that I believe is the administration’s real concern.
We should call our representatives’ offices and insist they support Massie’s legislation to release the files. This discharge act requires 218 votes. All 212 Democrats and four Republicans have agreed to vote yes, with two more needed to pass. The survivors have spoken. We must take the next step for them on the road to justice.
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Written by Lynn Pruett of Versailles, KY
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