[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 26, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TESTIMONY OF MR. SPENCER KUVIN, ``SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING
EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD''
______
HON. DAVE MIN
of california
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Mr. MIN. 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 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 Mr. Spencer Kuvin into the Congressional Record:
Ranking Member, and Members of Congress, my name is Spencer
Kuvin, and I have represented numerous survivors of sexual
exploitation and trafficking over the years, including the
first victim to come forward in the Epstein investigation
here in Palm Beach. I am here today because what happened
during the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein was not simply a
failure of judgment--it was a systemic failure of justice.
In Palm Beach County, credible evidence of widespread
sexual abuse involving minors was presented to state
prosecutors. Law enforcement initially identified dozens of
victims. The conduct was organized, repeated, and
devastating. Yet instead of a prosecution that matched the
scale of the harm, what followed was a secret agreement that
minimized the abuse and insulted the children who had been
abused.
Despite the efforts of some fantastic Federal agents, the
U.S. Attorney's office in the Southern District, decided to
have secret meetings with Epstein's attorneys. The U.S.
Department of Justice in conjunction with the Palm Beach
County State Attorney's Office colluded in secret to quietly
shelve this case with minimal state charges that branded and
treated 15 and 16 year old child victims as ``prostitutes''--
a sweetheart deal for Epstein and four named, as well as
``unnamed'' co-conspirators. The Southern District U.S.
Attorney at the time, Alex Acosta, spearheaded what every
attorney looking at it subsequently would describe as the
worst non-prosecution agreement every entered by a U.S.
Attorney. This sent a message. It told victims that even when
the evidence is strong, accountability is negotiable if
you're rich and powerful.
This awful non-prosecution agreement effectively shut down
further federal charges for the events they were
investigating in Florida. As I mentioned that tragic deal was
negotiated and signed in secret. Not only was it kept secret
from the world, it was kept secret from me as an advocate for
multiple victims at the time and it was kept secret from the
victims of the crime. I was forced to file motions with the
court to compel its disclosure, and even take the matter up
to the appellate court before it was finally provided to the
victims, a full year after it was signed.
The victims were not consulted.
Their advocates like me, were not consulted.
Victims were never given an opportunity to be heard.
This was not just a moral failure--we believed it was a
violation of law. Under the Crime Victims' Rights Act,
originally passed in 2004, and subsequently amended in 2006,
2008 and 2015, victims have the right to confer with
prosecutors and the right to be treated with fairness and
respect. Yet those rights were ignored at the very moment
they mattered most--when decisions were being made that would
determine whether justice would ever be pursued.
The result was predictable. Survivors were retraumatized--
not only by the abuse they endured, but by a system that
excluded them from the process designed to protect them. And
the public was left questioning whether justice can be
trusted when powerful interests are involved.
This failure by the Department of Justice was the subject
of litigation in the case of in In re Wild. What that case
ultimately exposed is a gap in the law--one that must be
closed.
Today, I want to offer a clear path forward.
First, Congress should amend the Crime Victims Rights Act
to make explicit that victims must be notified and given a
meaningful opportunity to confer before any non-prosecution
agreement or deferred prosecution agreement is finalized.
Second, there must be enforceable remedies. Rights without
remedies are not rights--they are suggestions. Victims should
have standing to challenge agreements reached in violation of
the Act, and courts must have the authority to review and,
where appropriate, void those agreements.
Third, transparency must be the rule, not the exception.
Secret agreements that extinguish criminal liability--
particularly in cases involving multiple victims--should not
exist in our system of justice.
And finally, there must be accountability. When prosecutors
fail to uphold victims' rights, there must be consequences
sufficient to ensure that these failures are not repeated.
This is not about relitigating the past.
It is about ensuring that what happened here never happens
again.
The survivors in this case showed extraordinary courage.
They came forward. They told the truth. They trusted the
system.
The system failed them.
Congress now has the opportunity--and the responsibility--
to fix it.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions.
____________________