Victims of Jeffrey Epstein have called for the release of all files related to the case that represents the biggest crisis of President Donald Trump's second term.
In a video released by campaign group World Without Exploitation, which works to end human trafficking, the victims say five administrations have failed to provide transparency in investigations into Epstein, the financier who died in prison in 2019 after being charged with the sex trafficking of minors.
“It's time to bring the secrets out of the shadows, it's time to shine a light into the darkness,” a woman says in the footage published at the weekend. It features several women holding pictures of their younger selves taken around the time they met Epstein. Some said they were as young as 14, and that there had been “about 1,000" victims.
At the weekend, Mr Trump pulled a dramatic U-turn and announced he would be encouraging members of his Republican Party to back a measure in the House of Representatives this week that would order the release of all files in the Department of Justice investigation.
The reversal came after it became obvious the measure, called the Epstein Files Transparency Act, would pass thanks to many defections from Republicans.
“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Mr Trump could directly order the release of the files but is refusing to do so. Even if the House votes for their release, the measure must still be approved by at least 60 of the Senate's 100 members and could face a veto from the President.
Mr Trump, 79, has accused Democrats of pushing an “Epstein hoax” after emails emerged in which the disgraced financier suggested Mr Trump “knew about the girls”.
The issue has divided Mr Trump's typically loyal Republicans and driven a rift between him and some of his closest allies.
The President withdrew his endorsement for congresswoman and Maga ally-turned-opponent Marjorie Taylor Greene's 2026 re-election bid. He has repeatedly called her Marjorie “Traitor” Greene. She said such name-calling puts “blood in the water and creates a feeding frenzy”.
“President Trump’s unwarranted and vicious attacks against me were a dog whistle to dangerous radicals that could lead to serious attacks on me and my family,” she said.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he will hold a vote this week on a bid to force the Justice Department to release the remaining files.
With the help of Ghislaine Maxwell, who acted as a recruiter, Epstein brought underage girls to his residences – mainly in New York and Florida – where they were sexually abused, often under the guise of providing massages.
Many of Mr Trump's supporters have been obsessed with the Epstein case for years, and the FBI and Justice Department now say Epstein, who died by suicide while in jail, did not blackmail any prominent figures and did not keep a “client list”.
