Six women who say they were trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein or his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell issued a unified plea Tuesday for the federal government to release more investigative files and pressed President Donald Trump to rule out a pardon for Maxwell.
The panel also refused to back any unsupported claims of wrongdoing by Trump in terms of his relations with the late Jeffrey Epstein or his victims.
Appearing in Washington, D.C., the women spoke with NBC News in a panel that also included relatives of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of the most prominent Epstein accusers, who died by suicide in April.
“Epstein was a master manipulator,” said Jess Michaels, who alleges Epstein raped her in 1991 when she was 22. “That was a strategy that was honed. That was a strategy that no young woman, no teenage girl had a chance — not a chance against his psychopathic skills.”
Michaels said she came forward because of what she called a “severe miscarriage of justice” and a “delay in accountability.”
Other accusers included Wendy Avis, Marijke Chartouni, Jena-Lisa Jones, Lisa Phillips, and Liz Stein. All voiced support for making Epstein-related files public, echoing calls from lawmakers in both parties. The comments came just hours before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee released more than 33,000 pages of documents tied to Epstein.
Jones, who alleges Epstein first abused her when she was 14, said too many people in positions of power looked the other way.
“There were many, many adults around [Epstein’s] properties that may not have participated but very clearly knew what was going on,” she said. “And they’re not saying anything, and why are they still not saying anything and speaking up on our behalf?”
Avis, also 14 at the time she says Epstein abused her, said she had never spoken publicly before but wanted to join the push. “Not everybody is getting justice, and that’s not right,” she said. “The everyday person is out there, and that’s me, and we’re victims.”
Stein added that the Justice Department has failed to keep survivors informed.
“We haven’t been protected, and we haven’t been informed,” she said.
Congressional interest in Epstein’s case has intensified since lawmakers returned from August recess. House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has sought to depose Maxwell, pending a Supreme Court decision on whether to review her 2021 conviction. The House GOP also introduced legislation Tuesday directing further investigation into what it called “possible mismanagement” of federal probes into Epstein and Maxwell.
Separately, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) held a press conference Wednesday with accusers to demand immediate release of the Justice Department’s Epstein files. They are leading a discharge petition that could force a House vote if it garners enough support.
Trump initially voiced support for releasing all documents but has recently diverged from some members of his party who have circulated conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death and alleged client lists.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 at age 66 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. A Justice Department review later found widespread failures at the jail but reaffirmed the official conclusion of ‘suicide.’
Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting and trafficking minors for Epstein. She is appealing the conviction. Last month, transcripts were released from a two-day Justice Department interview in which she denied wrongdoing, denied the existence of a client list, and insisted she never saw inappropriate conduct by anyone, including Trump. Days later, she was transferred from a Florida facility to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas, a move that drew criticism from federal prison staff.
Phillips, who says Epstein groomed and assaulted her after she traveled to his island in the late 1990s, said if officials fail to act, survivors will continue pressing on their own.
“We’ve been compiling lists of our own,” she said. “Please come forward, and we’ll compile our own list and seek justice on our own.”
