Epstein survivors float release of unofficial client list
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Teresa Helm, a Jeffrey Epstein abuse survivor, speaks at the Stand with Survivors Rally at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 3. Photo: Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images.
Jeffrey Epstein survivor Lisa Phillips suggested Wednesday that victims of the convicted sex offender are contemplating publishing a list of people involved in their abuse if the Justice Department doesn't make more documents public.
Why it matters: The Trump administration has faced tremendous public backlash for concluding that there is no official Epstein client list, and if victims release their own list of names, it could trigger another fight between MAGA loyalists and federal officials.
- "Several of us Epstein survivors have been discussing creating our own list of names," Phillips told reporters at a Capitol Hill press conference.
- "We know the names. Many of us were abused by them," she added.
- Phillips said the list would be compiled "by survivors and for survivors," and that the public should "stay tuned for more details."
State of play: A potential list drafted by the survivors would be the first such compilation identifying the "enablers" who helped Epstein exploit women, per attorney Brad Edwards, who represents multiple victims.
- In response to a reporter asking if the victims believed the DOJ had internal evidence of Epstein curating names to blackmail, Edwards said "there's not a list."
- "I don't think he wrote the names of those people down," Edwards said, as the survivors of Epstein's abuse nodded their heads in agreement.
Driving the news: Phillips suggested making an unofficial client list during one of several press conferences held on Capitol Hill Wednesday by survivors advocating for Congress to pass several bills that could offer additional protections for victims of sex trafficking.
- The rally came a day after the House Oversight Committee released over 33,000 Epstein-related documents subpoenaed from the DOJ.
- Congressional leadership hoped the massive release would decrease public pressure for additional files, but the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia (Calif.), said most of the files had already been made public.
The other side: President Trump rejected the transparency push from lawmakers and survivors Wednesday afternoon because of the "thousands of pages of documents" that have already been released.
- "This is a Democrat hoax that never ends ... nobody's ever satisfied," the president said.
- Multiple Epstein survivors addressed the president's ongoing claims that their transparency efforts were a "hoax" at the rally Wednesday morning, reiterating that speaking about their trauma is not politically motivated.
The intrigue: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is collecting members' signatures to force a vote that would require Congress to release all of the Epstein files.
- Massie accused Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) of attempting to block his discharge petition on Wednesday by introducing a competing resolution that "doesn't really do anything."
Context: Johnson added an Epstein-related bill to the House schedule for Wednesday that would direct the Oversight Committee to "continue its ongoing investigation" into Epstein, which Massie called a "meaningless" vote on Tuesday.
Zoom in: "Now the Speaker of the House just offered a fig leaf to my colleagues," Massie said Wednesday.
- "They're going to vote on a non-binding resolution today that does absolutely nothing."
- It's unclear if Massie's discharge petition will garner the additional two signatures it needs to trigger a House vote.
Go deeper: House Oversight releases redacted batch of Epstein files
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from President Trump and attorney Brad Edwards.
