James Talarico appears with Epstein survivors Annie Farmer and Sharlene Rochard.
James Talaricocalled onTexas Attorney General Ken Paxtonto sue the U.S. Department of Justice over the "mishandling" of the Epstein files during a Thursday morning news conference with Epstein survivors.
Talarico joined the survivors at theDonald Trumpand Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room — a traveling tribute to the survivors and an installation that details the relationship between the two men. The installation is part of a traveling exhibit displaying millions of pages of Epstein-related records in Dallas.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
"When did pedophilia become a partisan issue? When did holding sexual abusers accountable become controversial?" Talarico said. "When did [Paxton] decide it was okay to ignore these survivors?"
Talarico called out Paxton's unwillingness to agree to survivors' requests to meet. Annie Farmer and Sharlene Rochard, two survivors, echoed the Austin Democrat's call.
Farmer thanked Talarico for "standing with us in holding the DOJ accountable for these failures."
"We have invited Ken Paxton to do the same; hopefully, he decides to join us," Farmer said. "I'd like to remind people of the fact that these government failures have occurred across five presidencies, because I am tired of the oversimplified polarization of this case. The truth is, of course, more complicated."
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Farmer also criticized U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, saying that Cornyn declined to meet with survivors and instead voted to confirm U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, who they argue allowed for the nonconsensual release of survivors' photos and names.
The American-Statesman reached out to Cornyn and Paxton for comment.
“If James Talarico was really concerned about the survivors of Epstein's horrific crimes, his campaign infrastructure wouldn’t have taken over $11.5 million from Epstein’s long time associate, Reid Hoffman," Noah Jennings, a spokesperson for Paxton, told the American-Statesman. "Now, James Talarico continues to lie to Texans about his radical record with the help of Epstein money. It's disgusting that the man claiming to run a campaign against billionaires is bought and paid for by Epstein’s billionaire buddy."
Notably, Jennings' comment refers to Hoffman's $11.5 million donation this year to Lone Star Rising, a super PAC backing Talarico. Super PACs cannot legally coordinate with candidates, and Talarico has said he does not have control over how the PAC operates.
%20(1).png)