Epstein Survivors

Survivors to return to ‘scene of the crime’ for shadow congressional hearing into abuses committed by EpsteinSurvivors of r Jeffrey Epstein will return to the “scene of the crime” in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday for a shadow congressional hearing into abuses committed by the late sex offender.Several members of the Democratic House oversight caucus are scheduled to join the victims and several expert witnesses at the hearing close to Epstein’s former waterfront mansion where he procured girls as young as 14 to perform sexual services for wealthy guests. Continue reading...

Sky Roberts said survivors ‘still fighting to be heard’ after king, whose brother Andrew was accused of assault by Giuffre, did not meet with themThe brother of the late Virginia Giuffre criticized King Charles III for not meeting with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse during his visit to the United States this week.“Survivors are here sitting with members of Congress, still fighting to be heard, still pushing for real accountability, while many of the powerful figures connected to these systems remain just out of reach, unable to acknowledge survivors face to face,” Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts said. “You would expect this to be a moment for the king to give a message to the world that he stands with survivors.” Continue reading...

Outrage from survivors follows first lady’s statement calling on Congress to hold public hearings with victims of Epstein’s abuseSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxMore than a dozen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse have accused Melania Trump of “shifting the burden” onto them after she called on Congress to hold public hearings with victims of Epstein’s abuse.“Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, filing reports, and giving testimony,” said a group of 13 people and the brother and sister of the late Virginia Giuffre, who was one of the most vocal Epstein accusers, in a statement. “Asking more of them now is a deflection of responsibility not justice.” Continue reading...

First lady had called for a public hearing for survivors but a group of those affected say they have ‘done their part’ and reiterate calls for Pam Bondi to be questionedSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Melania Trump has been accused of “shifting the burden” onto sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors after her extraordinary statement at the White House.Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, filing reports, and giving testimony.Asking more of them now is a deflection of responsibility, not justice.It also diverts attention from [former attorney general] Pam Bondi, who must answer for withheld files and the exposure of survivors’ identities.Those failures continue to put lives at risk while shielding enablers. Survivors have done their part. Now it’s time for those in power to do theirs.The push from House Democrats to pass a war powers resolution by unanimous consent failed yesterday, after the pro forma speaker, Republican Chris Smith, did not recognize Democrats. It was always a tall order, given that pushback from even a single member would require Democrats to pursue a formal vote on the resolution.While it’s largely a symbolic move, Democrats in both chambers have vowed to hold votes again when Congress returns from recess next week. On the steps of the US Capitol, lower chamber Democrats appeared confident that when Congress returns from recess next week, they will have at least a couple of House GOP members who are willing to buck their party and pass the resolution.Donald Trump told NBC News that he is “very optimistic” a peace deal with Iran was within reach as a diplomatic delegation led by his vice-president JD Vance prepared to head to Pakistan for high-stakes talks aimed at ending the war this weekend. Iran’s leaders “talk much differently when you’re at a meeting than they do to the press. They’re much more reasonable,” the president said, in line with his administration’s narrative that there’s a disconnect between what Tehran says publicly and privately. Continue reading...