Survivors accused Trump administration of ‘shifting the burden’ onto them while Bondi skips deposition and DOJ looks to close the book on Epstein files
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Donald Trump says he’s “OK” with the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse testifying to members of Congress but falsely claimed that they “didn’t want to go under oath.”
The president and his administration have been desperate to wind downpublic scrutiny into the well-connected sex offender and federal law enforcement’s handling of the casesagainst him and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
But insurprise remarks from the White House, First Lady Melania Trump last week denied any connections to Epstein and his crimes and urged members of Congress toprovide survivors with a public hearing.
“I’m OK with it but I understand that the women didn’t want to go under oath, that’s what I heard,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “That the women, or the victims or whatever, they refused to go under oath. Which was a little surprising.”
Survivors have not ruled out testifying, though several victims have accused the first lady of “shifting the burden” on them in an effort to protect people in power, including the president, Department of Justice and its leadership, who have rebuffed additional investigations and refused to testify to lawmakers.
“Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, filing reports and giving testimony,” a group of 15 survivors wrote in a statement last week.
“Asking more of them now is a deflection of responsibility, not justice,” they added.
Marina Lacerda, who was identified in a 2019 indictment against Epstein as “Minor-Victim 1, posted a video on Instagram after Melania Trump’s remarks questioning whether a hearing would produce anything meaningful.
“You want to retraumatize us and ask us to go in front of Congress and tell them our story, which we have told some of them already,” she said. “And then do absolutely nothing.”
In a separate statement, sisters Maria and Annie Farmer, who both have said they were abused by Epstein, said they are calling for “accountability, transparency and justice.”
