[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 26, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E490-E491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TESTIMONY OF MS. JENA-LISA JONES, ``SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE:
EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD''
______
HON. YASSAMIN ANSARI
of arizona
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Ms. ANSARI. Mr. Speaker, on May 12, 2026, Oversight Committee
Democrats convened the first-ever hearing to solicit testimony from
survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes. The
hearing, ``Survivors
[[Page E491]]
Fight for Justice: Exposing Epstein's Crimes in Palm Beach and Across
the World,'' marked a critical step forward in the fight for justice
and accountability.
On behalf of all the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine
Maxwell's crimes, I rise to include in the Record the testimony offered
by Ms. Jena-Lisa Jones:
Chairman, Ranking Member, and Members of Congress, my name
is Jena-Lisa Jones. I was 14 years old when I was abused by
Jeffrey Epstein in Palm Beach. It has taken me many years to
find my voice. For a long time, I stayed silent because I was
afraid--and because I did not understand why this happened to
me. When I finally came forward, I made a commitment to use
my voice responsibly. I am here today to do exactly that.
Last September, I went to Washington, D.C., alongside other
survivors, with a simple request: transparency and
accountability. We asked you to help us understand how
Jeffrey Epstein was given a non-prosecution agreement, even
though the government had evidence that he had sexually
abused dozens of children, including me. We asked how he was
allowed to leave jail in 2009 and continue harming young
girls. We asked for answers--answers that would hold our
government accountable for its actions. We still do not have
those answers.
Instead, what we received caused harm all over again,
including to many of our survivor sisters who had never come
forward before and who never wanted their names or abuse to
become public. The Department of Justice released documents
that exposed our names, our Social Security numbers, and
deeply personal information. Survivors' identities were made
public. Husbands learned about the abuse of their wives for
the first time. Children learned about the abuse of their
mothers from reporters, from strangers on the internet, and,
in some cases, from other kids at school. Some survivors
learned that friends had also been abused only because they
saw their names in those documents. Others saw the most
intimate details of their own trauma publicly exposed. Our
privacy was violated. The government promised us, over and
over again, that our information would be protected and
properly redacted. Those promises were broken.
This is not the transparency we asked for. It is not the
transparency our government should ever have wanted, allowed,
or defended. In fact, this was not transparency at all. This
was re-traumatization. We came to you seeking answers for why
our rights were violated in 2007. And in the process of
asking for those answers, our rights were violated again. I
want to believe that each of you in this room is listening
because you truly care--not just about us, but about every
child in this country who survives sexual abuse.
If Congress and the Department of Justice truly want to do
right by survivors, the path forward is not complicated:
acknowledge the failures--when Jeffrey Epstein was set free
in 2009, and again when our privacy was shattered earlier
this year. Take responsibility. And provide meaningful
remedies to the women who have been harmed, over and over
again. Please do not force us to relive this through more
litigation against the very government that promised to
protect us, You are the government too. You have the power to
make this right--to ensure the Department of Justice does
right by survivors and gives us some measure of justice,
however small, for these profound violations of our privacy.
Please, pass a law requiring the Department of Justice to
compensate victims for the harm that was caused by releasing
their names and information. That would show that this is
truly about helping victims. With respect to your ongoing
investigations, please remember this: Jeffrey Epstein is
dead. Ghislaine Maxwell is in prison.
But for many of us, this is not in the past--and it may
never feel like it is. It continues to live on through
repeated exposure, through ongoing investigations, and
through being asked, again and again, to relive what we
endured.
Mr. President, do not pardon Ghislaine Maxwell. If there
are other men who hurt women, then hold them accountable.
But please--leave the survivors alone. If you have
subpoenaed someone to testify before your committees and she
tells you she is a victim, listen to her. Believe her.
Respect her trauma. Sharing our stories should be a choice--
the choice I was able to make today. It should never be
something survivors are forced to do. The girls who were
groomed by Ghislaine Maxwell and abused by Jeffrey Epstein
should not be treated like criminals. Please, I implore you:
learn the stories of the women who have been harmed before
you force them to testify--before a room full of strangers--
about the worst moments of their lives. Jeffrey Epstein
destroyed so many of our lives, and Ghislaine Maxwell helped
him do it. Do not blame their survivors for the crime of
abusers. That is not how this story should end. Find a way to
bring closure to the story of Jeffrey Epstein--to allow
survivors, and this country, to finally begin to move forward
so that one day (and I pray soon) Jeffrey Epstein's name is
no longer something we are forced to hear every single day. I
am not here today only to talk about the past. I am here for
the children who are sitting in classrooms today--children
who may be vulnerable, confused, and unsure of what is
happening to them.
When I was a teenager, I did not have the language to
understand what was happening to me. I did not know who to
tell. I did not know where to go. Many of us didn't. We were
young, and we were manipulated. We were left without the
tools or the support systems we needed. That is something
Congress can change.
Every middle school and high school student in this country
should receive education on the signs of sexual abuse and
exploitation--what it looks like, how to recognize it, and
how to safely report it. Schools should have trained adults
and accessible resources so that no child feels as lost or as
alone as we did. I have worked with other survivors to start
a nonprofit organization called The Survivors, Inc., because
not everyone who has been abused has access to strong legal
representation, therapy, or support systems. I became a
certified life coach because I believe in giving others the
support I wish I had. Through The Survivors, we are able to
provide life coaching services to people who have been abused
so they can begin to find their way forward. I am proud of
that work. But individual efforts are not enough. Real change
requires leadership at the national level.
You have the power to make sure that what happened to us
does not happen again on this scale. I believe one of the
most important places to begin is in our schools. Train
teachers. Educate students. Give children a place to turn
when they feel they have nowhere else to go. Together, we can
do better--for the next generation--through education,
awareness, and making sure help is always within reach. Most
importantly, I can't imagine how busy you must be, so thank
you all for taking the time to be here today.
____________________