![\"Courtney](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AP25246644694242-1756927467.jpg\")
Anouska de Georgiou, left, hugs Marina Lacerda as victim Courtney Wild speaks during the news conference [Jose Luis Magana\/AP Photo]<\/p>\nSurvivors\u00a0who endured abuse at the hands of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein gathered on the steps of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, to demand greater transparency from the federal government.<\/p>\n
Their appearance came as a bipartisan group of legislators pushed to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a bill that would force Attorney General Pam Bondi to publish all unclassified information about the Epstein case.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, those legislators appeared side by side with the survivors, who shared their stories with supporters on the Capitol steps.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about ending secrecy wherever abuse of power takes root,\u201d said Anouska De Georgiou, a model who has spoken publicly about her experiences as a teenager being\u00a0groomed and raped by Epstein.<\/p>\n
She called upon Congress not only to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act but to commit to helping survivors of sexual violence through legal aid and other forms of support.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be clear, the only motive for opposing this bill would be to conceal wrongdoing,\u201d de Georgiou told the lawmakers. \u201cYou have a choice. Stand with the truth or with the lies that have protected predators for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anouska de Georgiou, left, hugs Marina Lacerda as victim Courtney Wild speaks during the news conference [Jose Luis Magana\/AP Photo]<\/p>\n
Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell in 2019, but he is believed to have abused hundreds of underage girls during his decades as a high-powered financier.<\/p>\n
Questions have lingered over how he could have evaded justice for so long and whether his vast network of powerful contacts played a role.<\/p>\n
Donald Trump was among those Epstein appeared to have encountered socially, and the case has become a thorn in the side for the United States president.<\/p>\n
As he campaigned for re-election last year, Trump teased he would release more files from the federal Epstein investigation should he win a second term. In September 2024, for instance, he told podcaster Lex Fridman he would \u201ctake a look\u201d at releasing the files.<\/p>\n
But since he took office in January, Trump\u2019s supporters have been underwhelmed by the lack of revelations in the documents his administration has released.<\/p>\n
Certain administration statements have also fuelled the conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein\u2019s crimes. Rumours have long swirled that Epstein kept a client list to blackmail powerful people in government and industry.<\/p>\n
And in February, Attorney General Bondi told Fox News such a list was \u201csitting on my desk right now\u201d.<\/p>\n
But in July, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation jointly denied<\/a> the existence of a client list and said there was no evidence of blackmail.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Republican House Representative Nancy Mace suggested that Britain\u2019s Prince Andrew, a former associate of Epstein who was accused of sexual abuse by Virginia Giuffre, should be prosecuted for crimes on US soil.<\/p>\n \u201cA cold dark cell. Prince Andrew in handcuffs. Sends the right message,\u201d Mace said on X.<\/p>\n Andrew, who denied wrongdoing, was not charged with any crime. He reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre in 2022.<\/p>\n