Haley Robson stood on the Capitol steps this morning holding a photograph of herself as a teenager—the child she was when Jeffrey Epstein’s network trafficked her to powerful men.
“I want everybody to take a look,” she told the assembled press. “I know everybody sees us today as grown adults, but we are fighting for the children that were abandoned and left behind in the reckoning. This is who you’re fighting for. This is who Congress is fighting for.”
Behind her stood more survivors, each holding similar photographs of themselves as children. At 2PM today, the House of Representatives will vote on legislation forcing the Department of Justice to release all its Epstein files within 30 days—a vote survivors were told for years would never happen.
They made it happen anyway.
The path here required something Washington rarely produces: a genuine bipartisan coalition that survived direct presidential pressure. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Thomas Massie, and Rep. Ro Khanna—spanning the political spectrum—gathered 218 signatures on a discharge petition that forced this vote against the wishes of House leadership and the White House.
Trump had called Greene a traitor for refusing to remove her name. This morning, Greene responded by redefining the term.
“Let me tell you what a traitor is,” she said. “A traitor is an American that serves foreign countries and themselves. A patriot is an American that serves the United States of America and Americans like the women standing behind me.”
Greene didn’t say Trump’s name. She didn’t need to. Her presence alongside Massie and Khanna sent a different message—that some issues transcend party loyalty.
Robson directed her own message to the President, repeating a phrase that became the morning’s defining moment: “I am traumatized. I am not stupid. I am traumatized. I am not stupid. You have put us through so much stress.”
She referenced the 50-day delay in swearing in Rep. Adelita Grijalva, whose signature became the crucial 218th on the discharge petition. The delay—officially about the government shutdown—postponed the vote survivors had fought years to achieve. Trump reversed his opposition to the bill only Sunday night, when it became clear the House would pass it overwhelmingly with or without his blessing.
Annie Farmer—who was abused by Epstein and Maxwell alongside her sister Maria—methodically dismantled any attempt to make this partisan. She walked through nearly three decades of institutional failure across five presidencies:
“In 1996, when my sister Maria bravely blew the whistle on this group by reporting to the FBI what Epstein and Maxwell did to both of us, they hung up the phone on her and there was no follow-up of any kind. Bill Clinton was president,” Farmer said. She continued through George W. Bush’s sweetheart deal, Obama’s denial of FOIA requests, Epstein’s death in custody under Trump, Biden’s closure of the co-conspirator investigation, and back to Trump’s current administration transferring Maxwell to a prison camp with documented special treatment.
“This is not an issue of a few corrupt Democrats or a few corrupt Republicans,” Farmer said. “This is a case of institutional betrayal.”
Sky Roberts spoke through tears about his sister Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, who died by suicide earlier this year. “Today we find ourselves in a place of deep sorrow, shattered by the loss of our beloved sister, yet we are honored and privileged to carry her voice forward and continue her relentless fight alongside her fellow survivor sisters.”
He looked directly at lawmakers. “We demand justice, accountability, and support for survivors. Your vote carries that weight.”
The emotion in the room was palpable as survivor after survivor told their stories—holding up photographs, speaking clearly about what was done to them, refusing to let shame silence them any longer.
Robson made an extraordinary offer to Greene. If the congresswoman decides to read names of alleged abusers on the House floor—using congressional immunity to bypass legal threats—Robson will stand beside her. “No security needed. I will hold your hand. I will hold your coat in solidarity with you.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal has also volunteered to participate. The moment captured what survivors have built: a cross-partisan alliance treating child sex trafficking as a human rights issue beyond political calculation.
Today’s 2PM vote represents a victory survivors were told was impossible. But they’re clear-eyed about what comes next.
“The real test will be, will the Department of Justice release the files?” Robson said. “Or will it all remain tied up in investigations? Will the CIA release the files? Will a judge in New York release the information? That’s information that needs to come out.”
The House vote compels DOJ to release all unclassified Epstein files within 30 days. But the bill still needs 60 votes in the Senate, where Majority Leader John Thune hasn’t committed to bringing it to the floor. Some senators are already facing pressure to vote no or amend the bill in ways that could stall or kill it.
Even if the Senate passes it, Trump must sign rather than veto. Then the files go through DOJ review, where portions could be classified as “ongoing investigations” or redacted beyond recognition.
Survivors know these obstacles. They’ve spent decades navigating systems designed to protect the powerful rather than the vulnerable. What they demonstrated this morning is that they won’t stop—not after today’s vote, not after the Senate, not until every file is public.
Ro Khanna thanked his Republican colleagues for their courage. “We’ve fought the president, the attorney general, the FBI director, the speaker of the House and the vice president to get this win,” he said, acknowledging they’re now “on our side today.”
The transformation of Marjorie Taylor Greene—from hardcore Trump loyalist to someone standing with survivors against direct presidential opposition—shows the power of survivor testimony to break through partisan barriers. Her evolution may point toward something larger: the possibility that when confronted with the reality of child trafficking, Americans can find common ground.
At 2PM today, the House will vote. Survivors will watch from the gallery, holding photographs of the children they were. They’ve already achieved what Washington said couldn’t be done.
The fight for full transparency is just beginning. But for the first time in decades, survivors aren’t fighting alone.
The House votes on the Epstein Files Transparency Act at 2PM ET today. Follow live coverage at Narativ.org.
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