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Congress voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to approve a long-awaited bipartisan petition to require the Department of Justice to release the full Epstein files. President Donald Trump, who now says he favors the release of the files after calling the Epstein case “a hoax” for years, signed the bill on Wednesday.
The release of thousands of additional documents, if they have not been scrubbed of vital information, could shed more light on the horrific actions of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the powerful men in his orbit, including Trump. While the additional information could be helpful in understanding the full extent of the actions of these men, it should not have been necessary.
Dozens of women have shared their experiences of being abused by Epstein and other men, including Trump. Their testimony, some of it given decades ago and some of it under oath, should have been enough to demand a fuller investigation and consequences for these men.
Until we believe women when they say they have been abused, these actions will continue without consequences for the men who perpetrate such abuse, especially if they are powerful and well connected. That should be intolerable to everyone.
Many of these brave women again shared their stories this week, in a powerful video reminding Americans that they were children when they were abused by Epstein and others. Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal child sex trafficking charges.
The call to release the full Epstein files, some of the survivors stressed, is not political, noting that reports of sexual abuse were made decades ago, during different presidential administrations.
“Please remember that these are crimes that were committed against real humans, real individuals. This is not a political issue. This, this has been going on for decades,” Epstein survivor Annie Farmer told NBC News. Her sister Maria Farmer was the first woman to file a criminal complaint against Epstein, in 1996.
Still, there has been much interest in what the files say about Trump and whether he is implicated in Epstein’s crimes. Of course, it is important to know the full details of Trump’s behavior, but the importance of full disclosure of the files goes far beyond the president. Any crimes that are revealed (including financial crimes), and all of those who committed them, must be investigated fully.
Already emails that have been released by the House Oversight Committee paint a troubling picture of rich men who seemed to think they operated outside the rules and laws that apply to most Americans.
“I think it’s the type of misogyny and classism and the tone of some of these emails that people were really disturbed by was, was something that we were all very aware of, was a part of this group and these types of conversations,” Farmer said. “I think that it was actually nice to see other people looking into that world and being disgusted by it.”
Again, it should not have taken recent emails and House debate to make these allegations real to the American people. These women should have been believed when they first shared their experiences.
President Trump has long maintained that he barely knew Epstein, although there are numerous photos of them together and the emails that have been released so far frequently mention Trump.
When asked by a female reporter about the emails last week, Trump leaned toward her, jabbing his finger at her, and said: “Quiet piggy.” No one on Air Force One, including other journalists surrounding them, called out the president for his insult and demeaning behavior.
More than two dozen women have accused Trump of sexually inappropriate acts, including kissing and groping them. One woman accused Trump of raping here when she was a teenager during a party at Epstein’s.
In two civil cases, Trump was found liable for “sexual abuse” of a woman ordered to pay more than $80 million in damages. Trump has appealed the rulings.
The denial of the women’s claims have become so desperate that some Trump defenders have coined a new phrase: underage girls. They speak of Epstein and Trump interacting with “underage girls.” There is no such thing as underage girls. They are children.
The issue of accountability goes far beyond whether Trump is on the so-called Epstein list. This looks like a case of powerful, and often rich men, getting away with abhorrent behavior. If that behavior was criminal, it is far past time for federal law enforcement officials to take action and to lay out the case for the public.
Otherwise, this will be another case of brave women sharing horrifying and intimate details of abuse only to have their voices be ignored or dismissed. They deserve much better.