00:00Oversight Democrats are here because we're launching a new phase of our Epstein investigation.
00:05Our committee, of course, has been leading on this over the last year.
00:09Now we're here, of course, in Palm Beach, of course, just miles away from Mar-a-Lago,
00:15from key locations where this Epstein investigation has taken us,
00:19because from the very beginning we know that Florida has been a key place
00:24where so much of the horrors and crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell have happened.
00:30The survivors of Jeffrey Epstein deserve to be heard,
00:34and as a committee, we should always uplift their stories,
00:38and I want to thank them, of course, for being here today.
00:41We know that many of our witnesses today that you'll hear from were actually failed by their own government.
00:48We will hear how the FBI ignored Maria Farmer's courageous report in 1996.
00:54We will hear how Alex Acosta, the future Secretary of Labor at the time,
00:58overruled some of his own prosecutors and worked with Epstein's attorneys
01:03to grant a sweetheart deal which allowed Epstein to continue assaulting women.
01:09We will learn how Epstein continued to game the system and the law
01:12to prey on women expanding his trafficking network overseas.
01:18And we will hear from people who have fought hard to bring him to justice.
01:23We're also going to hear about a continued cover-up,
01:26which is harm survivors, how some have been doxed or put into danger,
01:31ignored, re-victimized, and betrayed by this government.
01:36These stories are both horrific and outrageous,
01:40but they should also inspire us to keep fighting for the full truth.
01:45We're here because every American deserves equal justice.
01:50It doesn't matter who you are, how powerful you are,
01:54whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, how much wealth you may have.
01:58If you hurt women and girls, you will be held accountable.
02:03We should also be very clear that Epstein was not alone.
02:08Others enabled him.
02:10We know he was surrounded by lawyers, accountants, private investigators, and assistants.
02:17Many of those people who have been forced to testify for the first time
02:21because of our investigation have given us key information,
02:24whether it's been through depositions or interviews.
02:27But some, even some that we've recently spoken with,
02:31were never contacted by law enforcement in the 30 years since Maria Farmer's first report.
02:40Why is it only now that we have begun these interviews, these depositions,
02:46that folks are being contacted for the first time in decades?
02:52And that should outrage every single American.
02:58Some of these men enabled financial crimes.
03:03Others fought to hide facts about this case and to deny justice and closure for survivors.
03:09All of these people need to be called out and held accountable.
03:13And these are failures of multiple governments and administrations.
03:18Regardless of party, everyone has failed the public and certainly everyone has failed the survivors,
03:28especially those that sought justice and that had the ability and courage to file reports.
03:35Because we also know that so many others didn't have that opportunity or the support to do so.
03:44This is why we're here today.
03:46Now, before I introduce our witnesses, I want to briefly just mention a few things about the investigation.
03:52Now, Oversight Democrats launched our investigation when we forced a subpoena for the full unredacted files
03:59from the Department of Justice last year.
04:01And I especially want to thank Representative Summer Lee for her leadership to get that actual done.
04:07So thank you, Congresswoman.
04:12To this day, the Department of Justice continues to break the law and defy that subpoena.
04:18It's not just about the Transparency Act, which is so critical to moving this debate and the truth forward.
04:25But that subpoena and the defiance pushed us then, of course, including with leadership from Congressman Ro Khanna,
04:32to get the Epstein-False Transparency Act through the Congress.
04:35But let's be very clear.
04:38The DOJ continues to withhold half.
04:43Half of the Epstein files have not been released to the public.
04:49Now, we've heard testimony from Alex Acosta, former attorneys general Bill Barr,
04:54Les Wexner, Darren Indyke, Richard Kahn, folks that are key to the Epstein investigation.
04:59We've heard from former President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick just last week.
05:06And we have talked, of course, to survivors, witnesses, and whistleblowers.
05:10And we have brought critical documents to light from Jeffrey Epstein's estates.
05:14Emails, photographs, videos.
05:16We've secured bank records, documents.
05:19And we've done all this without formal committee subpoena power to properly conduct this investigation.
05:29But we're undeterred, and we're going to continue to fight until we get the truth.
05:34Today, Oversight Democrats are also publishing a new report.
05:39Now, this report uses evidence obtained by our investigation, including, and most importantly, bank records,
05:45that show how Alex Acosta's sweetheart deal let Epstein build a global network,
05:51using enablers to bring in women who he could then exploit and abuse.
05:55And this report is just the beginning of numerous reports and information that we intend to put out over the
06:03course of the months ahead.
06:06This hearing is about making one thing clear, and that is that no one is above the law.
06:11Survivors matter, and this committee will continue to demand transparency.
06:16Before I turn this over to our colleagues, I want to thank Congresswoman Lois Frankel,
06:20who has been critical in this fight for many years.
06:24Congresswoman Lois Frankel, of course, represents the community that we're in now.
06:36I want to thank her for hosting us.
06:38I also want to thank, particularly, West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James, their staff, the county, West Palm Beach PD,
06:45all for their assistance today.
06:46And I want to recognize Congresswoman Lois Frankel for a few brief remarks.
06:50Thank you, Mr. Chair.
06:51And welcome, everybody, to West Palm Beach.
06:55And we're gathered here in a chamber that's very near and dear to me, because I was mayor here for
06:59eight years,
07:00and I've had the honor of serving as well.
07:03And I'm very proud to be with my Democratic colleagues of the House Oversight Committee, of course, the various witnesses,
07:10and most importantly, the survivors whose courage and perseverance made this hearing possible.
07:17And to the survivors, I want to say, and I know I say this to everyone here, thank you.
07:21Thank you for your strength, thank you for your resilience, and thank you for your determination to tell the truth,
07:29even when the system failed you.
07:32This hearing is long overdue.
07:35Myself and Debbie Wasserman-Sheltson, we have been asking for a hearing for many years here, for many reasons I
07:41won't go into.
07:42But we're here today, because it is right here, folks, right here in Palm Beach County, more than 20 years
07:50ago,
07:51that the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's horrific crimes were first denied justice, with devastating results.
07:59In 2005, the Palm Beach Police Department, led by then-Chief Michael Ryder, I'm giving him a shout-out, a
08:07good guy,
08:08he uncovered a deeply disturbing pattern of predatory sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates,
08:17targeting women, of course, and young girls, many recruited from our local high schools right here in Palm Beach County.
08:24The police did their job. They listened to the survivors. They built a serious case.
08:30Then they brought it to then-State Attorney Barry Krischer.
08:33I call his name because his succeeding prosecutors are not involved.
08:39But instead of filing charges, was it overwhelmed by the power, by the wealth?
08:47He sent the case to a grand jury where prosecutors shockingly minimized the abuse,
08:54limited the witnesses, and treated vulnerable young girls as if they were criminals.
09:00And you can read that grand jury testimony yourself.
09:03At the urging of Krischer's prosecutors, the grand jury returned just one count against Epstein,
09:10and it is jaw-dropping solicitation of prostitution, punishable by up to 60 days in jail.
09:19How crazy and wrong, an abomination, if you ask me.
09:25Disappointed and alarmed, Chief Ryder took the case to federal authorities,
09:29and what followed was more shock and awe to the justice system.
09:34In 2008, as we've heard, Acosta approved the secret, shameful, non-prosecution deal
09:40without notifying the survivors, and then sent the case back to Palm Beach County.
09:44Epstein was allowed to plead guilty to solicitation of prostitution,
09:50solicitation for a minor for prostitution.
09:53Really? That was that?
09:55And then he got an 18-month sentence, which he served about 13 months,
10:00federal immunity from prosecution here in South Florida,
10:04immunity for unnamed co-conspirators,
10:08and work relief privileges.
10:11Listen to this.
10:11He had work relief privileges that allowed him to leave the jail each day
10:18to continue his systematic sexual exploitation of women and girls.
10:23And the most troubling, also, deal was hidden from the public.
10:28And the full extent didn't come to light until reporting from the Miami Herald
10:32and the Palm Beach Post, who brought the fight to bring the grand jury records into the open.
10:37Justice was denied without explanation.
10:41And listen, I'm hoping as we move forward,
10:43these local prosecutors must be subpoenaed,
10:47and they must be questioned under oath.
10:50Because they, I think they know the secret.
10:55So these survivors were abused first by a predator,
10:58and then failed by a justice system that too often protected wealth and power
11:02over vulnerable women and children.
11:04And let's be clear, folks, had prosecutors in Florida done their jobs,
11:09most likely hundreds of young women might have been spared unimaginable harm.
11:15So we're here again.
11:16We're going to continue to ask the questions,
11:19questions that should have been answered years ago.
11:21Why was Jeffrey Epstein, a serial predator who used his wealth and influence
11:26to exploit underage girls, given little more than a slap of the wrist?
11:34Who else should be held accountable?
11:36And what must we continue to do to make sure this never happens again?
11:41We owe the survivors and the public the answers and more.
11:45And with that, I thank you, and I yield back.
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