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TESTIMONY OF MS. JENA-LISA JONES, "SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD"

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On 2026-05-26, Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ-3) delivered a floor speech titled "TESTIMONY OF MS. JENA-LISA JONES, "SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE W" in the House.

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TESTIMONY OF MS. JENA-LISA JONES, "SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD"

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 89 (Tuesday, May 26, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 26, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E490-E491] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TESTIMONY OF MS. JENA-LISA JONES, ``SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD'' ______ HON. YASSAMIN ANSARI of arizona in the house of representatives Tuesday, May 26, 2026 Ms. ANSARI. Mr. Speaker, on May 12, 2026, Oversight Committee Democrats convened the first-ever hearing to solicit testimony from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes. The hearing, ``Survivors [[Page E491]] Fight for Justice: Exposing Epstein's Crimes in Palm Beach and Across the World,'' marked a critical step forward in the fight for justice and accountability. On behalf of all the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes, I rise to include in the Record the testimony offered by Ms. Jena-Lisa Jones: Chairman, Ranking Member, and Members of Congress, my name is Jena-Lisa Jones. I was 14 years old when I was abused by Jeffrey Epstein in Palm Beach. It has taken me many years to find my voice. For a long time, I stayed silent because I was afraid--and because I did not understand why this happened to me. When I finally came forward, I made a commitment to use my voice responsibly. I am here today to do exactly that. Last September, I went to Washington, D.C., alongside other survivors, with a simple request: transparency and accountability. We asked you to help us understand how Jeffrey Epstein was given a non-prosecution agreement, even though the government had evidence that he had sexually abused dozens of children, including me. We asked how he was allowed to leave jail in 2009 and continue harming young girls. We asked for answers--answers that would hold our government accountable for its actions. We still do not have those answers. Instead, what we received caused harm all over again, including to many of our survivor sisters who had never come forward before and who never wanted their names or abuse to become public. The Department of Justice released documents that exposed our names, our Social Security numbers, and deeply personal information. Survivors' identities were made public. Husbands learned about the abuse of their wives for the first time. Children learned about the abuse of their mothers from reporters, from strangers on the internet, and, in some cases, from other kids at school. Some survivors learned that friends had also been abused only because they saw their names in those documents. Others saw the most intimate details of their own trauma publicly exposed. Our privacy was violated. The government promised us, over and over again, that our information would be protected and properly redacted. Those promises were broken. This is not the transparency we asked for. It is not the transparency our government should ever have wanted, allowed, or defended. In fact, this was not transparency at all. This was re-traumatization. We came to you seeking answers for why our rights were violated in 2007. And in the process of asking for those answers, our rights were violated again. I want to believe that each of you in this room is listening because you truly care--not just about us, but about every child in this country who survives sexual abuse. If Congress and the Department of Justice truly want to do right by survivors, the path forward is not complicated: acknowledge the failures--when Jeffrey Epstein was set free in 2009, and again when our privacy was shattered earlier this year. Take responsibility. And provide meaningful remedies to the women who have been harmed, over and over again. Please do not force us to relive this through more litigation against the very government that promised to protect us, You are the government too. You have the power to make this right--to ensure the Department of Justice does right by survivors and gives us some measure of justice, however small, for these profound violations of our privacy. Please, pass a law requiring the Department of Justice to compensate victims for the harm that was caused by releasing their names and information. That would show that this is truly about helping victims. With respect to your ongoing investigations, please remember this: Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Ghislaine Maxwell is in prison. But for many of us, this is not in the past--and it may never feel like it is. It continues to live on through repeated exposure, through ongoing investigations, and through being asked, again and again, to relive what we endured. Mr. President, do not pardon Ghislaine Maxwell. If there are other men who hurt women, then hold them accountable. But please--leave the survivors alone. If you have subpoenaed someone to testify before your committees and she tells you she is a victim, listen to her. Believe her. Respect her trauma. Sharing our stories should be a choice-- the choice I was able to make today. It should never be something survivors are forced to do. The girls who were groomed by Ghislaine Maxwell and abused by Jeffrey Epstein should not be treated like criminals. Please, I implore you: learn the stories of the women who have been harmed before you force them to testify--before a room full of strangers-- about the worst moments of their lives. Jeffrey Epstein destroyed so many of our lives, and Ghislaine Maxwell helped him do it. Do not blame their survivors for the crime of abusers. That is not how this story should end. Find a way to bring closure to the story of Jeffrey Epstein--to allow survivors, and this country, to finally begin to move forward so that one day (and I pray soon) Jeffrey Epstein's name is no longer something we are forced to hear every single day. I am not here today only to talk about the past. I am here for the children who are sitting in classrooms today--children who may be vulnerable, confused, and unsure of what is happening to them. When I was a teenager, I did not have the language to understand what was happening to me. I did not know who to tell. I did not know where to go. Many of us didn't. We were young, and we were manipulated. We were left without the tools or the support systems we needed. That is something Congress can change. Every middle school and high school student in this country should receive education on the signs of sexual abuse and exploitation--what it looks like, how to recognize it, and how to safely report it. Schools should have trained adults and accessible resources so that no child feels as lost or as alone as we did. I have worked with other survivors to start a nonprofit organization called The Survivors, Inc., because not everyone who has been abused has access to strong legal representation, therapy, or support systems. I became a certified life coach because I believe in giving others the support I wish I had. Through The Survivors, we are able to provide life coaching services to people who have been abused so they can begin to find their way forward. I am proud of that work. But individual efforts are not enough. Real change requires leadership at the national level. You have the power to make sure that what happened to us does not happen again on this scale. I believe one of the most important places to begin is in our schools. Train teachers. Educate students. Give children a place to turn when they feel they have nowhere else to go. Together, we can do better--for the next generation--through education, awareness, and making sure help is always within reach. Most importantly, I can't imagine how busy you must be, so thank you all for taking the time to be here today. ____________________

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TESTIMONY OF MS. JENA-LISA JONES, "SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD" Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 89 (Tuesday, May 26, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 26, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E490-E491] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TESTIMONY OF MS. JENA-LISA JONES, ``SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD'' ______ HON. YASSAMIN ANSARI of arizona in the house of representatives Tuesday, May 26, 2026 Ms. ANSARI. Mr. Speaker, on May 12, 2026, Oversight Committee Democrats convened the first-ever hearing to solicit testimony from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes. The hearing, ``Survivors [[Page E491]] Fight for Justice: Exposing Epstein's Crimes in Palm Beach and Across the World,'' marked a critical step forward in the fight for justice and accountability. On behalf of all the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes, I rise to include in the Record the testimony offered by Ms. Jena-Lisa Jones: Chairman, Ranking Member, and Members of Congress, my name is Jena-Lisa Jones. I was 14 years old when I was abused by Jeffrey Epstein in Palm Beach. It has taken me many years to find my voice. For a long time, I stayed silent because I was afraid--and because I did not understand why this happened to me. When I finally came forward, I made a commitment to use my voice responsibly. I am here today to do exactly that. Last September, I went to Washington, D.C., alongside other survivors, with a simple request: transparency and accountability. We asked you to help us understand how Jeffrey Epstein was given a non-prosecution agreement, even though the government had evidence that he had sexually abused dozens of children, including me. We asked how he was allowed to leave jail in 2009 and continue harming young girls. We asked for answers--answers that would hold our government accountable for its actions. We still do not have those answers. Instead, what we received caused harm all over again, including to many of our survivor sisters who had never come forward before and who never wanted their names or abuse to become public. The Department of Justice released documents that exposed our names, our Social Security numbers, and deeply personal information. Survivors' identities were made public. Husbands learned about the abuse of their wives for the first time. Children learned about the abuse of their mothers from reporters, from strangers on the internet, and, in some cases, from other kids at school. Some survivors learned that friends had also been abused only because they saw their names in those documents. Others saw the most intimate details of their own trauma publicly exposed. Our privacy was violated. The government promised us, over and over again, that our information would be protected and properly redacted. Those promises were broken. This is not the transparency we asked for. It is not the transparency our government should ever have wanted, allowed, or defended. In fact, this was not transparency at all. This was re-traumatization. We came to you seeking answers for why our rights were violated in 2007. And in the process of asking for those answers, our rights were violated again. I want to believe that each of you in this room is listening because you truly care--not just about us, but about every child in this country who survives sexual abuse. If Congress and the Department of Justice truly want to do right by survivors, the path forward is not complicated: acknowledge the failures--when Jeffrey Epstein was set free in 2009, and again when our privacy was shattered earlier this year. Take responsibility. And provide meaningful remedies to the women who have been harmed, over and over again. Please do not force us to relive this through more litigation against the very government that promised to protect us, You are the government too. You have the power to make this right--to ensure the Department of Justice does right by survivors and gives us some measure of justice, however small, for these profound violations of our privacy. Please, pass a law requiring the Department of Justice to compensate victims for the harm that was caused by releasing their names and information. That would show that this is truly about helping victims. With respect to your ongoing investigations, please remember this: Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Ghislaine Maxwell is in prison. But for many of us, this is not in the past--and it may never feel like it is. It continues to live on through repeated exposure, through ongoing investigations, and through being asked, again and again, to relive what we endured. Mr. President, do not pardon Ghislaine Maxwell. If there are other men who hurt women, then hold them accountable. But please--leave the survivors alone. If you have subpoenaed someone to testify before your committees and she tells you she is a victim, listen to her. Believe her. Respect her trauma. Sharing our stories should be a choice-- the choice I was able to make today. It should never be something survivors are forced to do. The girls who were groomed by Ghislaine Maxwell and abused by Jeffrey Epstein should not be treated like criminals. Please, I implore you: learn the stories of the women who have been harmed before you force them to testify--before a room full of strangers-- about the worst moments of their lives. Jeffrey Epstein destroyed so many of our lives, and Ghislaine Maxwell helped him do it. Do not blame their survivors for the crime of abusers. That is not how this story should end. Find a way to bring closure to the story of Jeffrey Epstein--to allow survivors, and this country, to finally begin to move forward so that one day (and I pray soon) Jeffrey Epstein's name is no longer something we are forced to hear every single day. I am not here today only to talk about the past. I am here for the children who are sitting in classrooms today--children who may be vulnerable, confused, and unsure of what is happening to them. When I was a teenager, I did not have the language to understand what was happening to me. I did not know who to tell. I did not know where to go. Many of us didn't. We were young, and we were manipulated. We were left without the tools or the support systems we needed. That is something Congress can change. Every middle school and high school student in this country should receive education on the signs of sexual abuse and exploitation--what it looks like, how to recognize it, and how to safely report it. Schools should have trained adults and accessible resources so that no child feels as lost or as alone as we did. I have worked with other survivors to start a nonprofit organization called The Survivors, Inc., because not everyone who has been abused has access to strong legal representation, therapy, or support systems. I became a certified life coach because I believe in giving others the support I wish I had. Through The Survivors, we are able to provide life coaching services to people who have been abused so they can begin to find their way forward. I am proud of that work. But individual efforts are not enough. Real change requires leadership at the national level. You have the power to make sure that what happened to us does not happen again on this scale. I believe one of the most important places to begin is in our schools. Train teachers. Educate students. Give children a place to turn when they feel they have nowhere else to go. Together, we can do better--for the next generation--through education, awareness, and making sure help is always within reach. Most importantly, I can't imagine how busy you must be, so thank you all for taking the time to be here today. ____________________