REMAINING TESTIMONIES OF EPSTEIN SURVIVORS, "SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD"

On 2026-05-26, Representative Melanie A. Stansbury (D-NM-1) delivered a floor speech titled "REMAINING TESTIMONIES OF EPSTEIN SURVIVORS, "SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND AC" in the House.

REMAINING TESTIMONIES OF EPSTEIN SURVIVORS, "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 E493-E494] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] REMAINING TESTIMONIES OF EPSTEIN SURVIVORS, ``SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD'' ______ HON. MELANIE A. STANSBURY of new mexico in the house of representatives Tuesday, May 26, 2026 Ms. STANSBURY. 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 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 remaining testimonies offered by Epstein survivors: [[Page E494]] Ms. Marijke Chartouni Dear Ranking Member Garcia and Democratic Members of the Committee, I am writing to you as a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. What was done to me--and so many other young women and girls--was not the result of chance or individual failing. It was the result of a network that operated with impunity, protected by wealth, power, and the silence of institutions that should have stopped it. Navigating the federal investigative and justice systems as a sexual trafficking survivor gave me my first painful lesson in how institutions can fail and oppress the very people they claim to protect. I saw firsthand how systems purporting to help can actually cause harm, how institutional responses reflect who is deemed worthy of protection, and how structural barriers compound individual trauma, When institutions fail to address the concerns of sexual abuse victims, the betrayal cuts at a much higher cost. It perpetuates a cycle of abandonment, one that creates long- term psychological barriers preventing survivors from seeking the help they need and deserve. It also tells survivors implicitly and explicitly that their abuse was their fault, that their trauma didn't deserve recognition, and that their recovery wasn't worth institutional investment. I have witnessed this betrayal not only in my own experience, but in the lives of fellow survivors. My friend Maria Farmer was the first survivor to report Epstein. She filed a report with authorities in 1996 and she was repeatedly ignored. The profound sense of abandonment that followed has never fully left her. I know that feeling well. The consequences of that failure have been grave. Despite the enormous public attention the Epstein case has received, Epstein's powerful network of enablers and protectors have yet to face justice. Only Maxwell has been convicted--and even that single shred of hard-won accountability is now under threat. When perpetrators are not held accountable, a message is sent to survivors and to the public alike that exploitation is tolerated, and that victims are not believed. Today, survivors like me have little trust in the very systems structured to provide us security, accountability, and restitution. If the institutions of this government will not believe us, who will? I urge you to use the full weight of your oversight authority to ensure that the survivors of Epstein and Maxwell are heard, believed, and afforded the justice that has been denied to us for decades. This starts with accountability by the United States for the FBI's failure to act in response to, or outright rejection of, Maria Farmer's 1996 report of Epstein's crimes to the FBI. I also implore you to take every action within your power to ensure that Ghislaine Maxwell is not pardoned. Pardoning her would erase the only measure of justice we have ever received and be a devastating and unconscionable blow to every survivor. Our pain is not disposable and we cannot continue shielding the powerful from accountability. Respectfully, Marijke Chartouni Ms. Rachel Benavidez Ranking Member Garcia and Democratic Members of the Committee, I write this letter to you today strengthened by the unwavering support of my fellow survivor sisters, and I speak not only for myself, but for thousands of young women who endured abuse in silence at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and those within his trafficking network. For decades, our voices have been silenced, our stories distorted, we have faced relentless harassment, and the federal government has failed to pursue justice. But we will not be intimidated. I personally experienced severe abuse as a young woman at the hands of Epstein, and I was groomed and trafficked by Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as others. My autonomy was taken. Speaking out is not easy; to relive such moments is gut- wrenching, but I do so with the strength of my fellow survivors in my heart and with the hope that by telling the truth, we can protect young women from falling victim to those who have yet to be held accountable. This all stems from past blunders and inactions by the federal government. The United States government and law enforcement were notified decades ago of Jeffrey Epstein's disgusting crimes, including through Maria Farmer's initial 1996 FBI report--yet they failed to act. That failure to respond meaningfully and purposefully allowed Epstein's abuse to continue, resulting in irreparable harm to countless young women. Had the appropriate authorities taken decisive action when first alerted, as their job dictates, decades of survivor sexual abuse and trauma could have been prevented. This inaction cannot be forgotten, it cannot continue, and there needs to be accountability. What we are asking for is the bare minimum of justice. We have yet to see a single perpetrator or enabler within Epstein's criminal enterprise fully brought to justice. Nor has an explanation been provided as to why Maria Farmer's report to the FBI in 1996 was ignored. Instead, sensitive information about survivors has been exposed, while potential enablers have remained shielded from scrutiny. We deserve full transparency and accountability about the scale of the abuse orchestrated by Epstein and the individuals who allowed it to continue unchecked for so long. All survivors and Jane Does deserve full protection, thorough investigations need to be opened, and those who perpetrated and enabled this abuse need to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Federal institutions entrusted with justice, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, cannot continue to let survivors down. Survivors can no longer be failed by delay, secrecy, or inaction. The government must also be held responsible for its past inaction. That is why I am writing to you today. We must do better, for our sisters, our mothers, and our daughters. We demand justice. We demand accountability. And we will not rest until this is delivered. Sincerely, Rachel Benavidez Ms. Annie Farmer Dear Ranking Member Garcia and Democratic Members of the Committee, thank you for holding this hearing and giving us the opportunity to share statements on the record. My name is Annie Farmer and I was 16 years old when I met Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. My sister Maria Farmer has also provided testimony on the harm that unfolded because the FBI did not heed her 1996 report about the abuse she endured on Les Wexner's property in Ohio and the nightmare I experienced at Zorro Ranch in New Mexico. I have witnessed first hand the tremendous negative impacts that carrying this burden had on her life and the fallout of the institutional failures--of countless law enforcement officials, elected leaders, and those meant to protect survivors--for hundreds of girls and women who experienced similar abuse. I second her requests for the government to finally take responsibility for their inaction, to explain how this happened, and promise that it will never happen again. The DOJ, FBI, and law enforcement across the country must hold all those engaged in harming so many girls and women accountable to the fullest extent possible. I also want to speak directly to the Republican lawmakers who I recently learned from Chairman Comer were considering a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for her testimony. Not only is a pardon or commutation completely unnecessary-- given the potential for her to be granted limited immunity for any testimony she gives to the HOC--I have no faith that she would provide accurate information. Maxwell was previously charged for lying under oath, charges she faced specifically related to lies she told about me. Even entertaining such a pardon is a deeply insulting slap in the face to my family, the other women who testified against her, and all the victims who have clung to her sentence as the one piece of justice that we have seen in this case. The fact that a potential pardon would be causally discussed as a possibility, leads me to believe that our leaders still do not understand the institutional betrayal we've endured for three decades. For those in favor of a Maxwell pardon, I want to briefly share why it would feel so harmful to me personally. Despite my disappointment in the FBI's inaction to hold Epstein and Maxwell fully accountable, I took a leap of faith and agreed to testify about my experiences when the FBI interviewed me again in 2019. After Maxwell was arrested I spent a year in lock down attending bail hearings virtually and dreading the trial. I rearranged my work obligations repeatedly to account for changes in the schedule. I spent multiple days in a small room in the federal courthouse anxiously awaiting my testimony. I was retraumatized when I was aggressively cross- examined, and then spent that Christmas awaiting a verdict, six months waiting for sentencing, and years