Congresswoman Addressed the Subpoena Effort in a Media Availability Earlier Today

Video (YouTube)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), a member of the House Oversight Committee, issued the following statement after she successfully helped pass a motion by Congresswoman Summer Lee and Ranking Member Robert Garcia to force the Committee to subpoena the Epstein files. Congresswoman Pressley is a survivor of sexual assault and has been an outspoken advocate for survivors’ justice and reproductive freedom.

Rep. Pressley held a media availability prior to the vote to discuss their effort to subpoena the Epstein Files. Full video of that media availability is available here.

“As a survivor of sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse, I know the pain and trauma that survivors carry. The public and those victimized by Epstein and his co-conspirators deserve transparency, accountability, and healing. That’s why today, I joined my colleagues in passing a motion to subpoena the Epstein files. 

“For too long, powerful abusers and their enablers have operated in the shadows—shielded by institutions more interested in protecting predators than centering survivors. Today, we changed that. This subpoena is a win for every survivor who has been silenced, dismissed, or harmed. And it is a damning rebuke of those—especially House Republicans—who tried to obstruct our motion and instead do the bidding of Donald Trump. 

“I do not arrive at this issue lightly. As a survivor, I think about my own experience every single day. It is a life sentence, and we cannot lose sight of the people harmed. The American people deserve to know why the Epstein files are still hidden and who is being protected, and the Trump Administration must release them immediately.  

“I will never stop fighting for the truth, for justice, and for accountability. Survivors deserve nothing less.”

Throughout her time in Congress, Rep. Pressley has been a champion for justice for survivors of sexual violence and reproductive freedom.

In July 2024, Rep. Pressley reintroduced the Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (BE HEARD) in the Workplace Act of 2024. In June 2024, Rep. Pressley renewed her calls for accountability and survivor-focused solutions following the damning reports of a toxic work environment at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).  In June 2024, Rep. Pressley also sent a letter to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) requesting information about the botched closure of FCI Dublin, abuse of women while they were being transferred to other facilities, and BOP’s management of investigations into the staff sexual misconduct and abuse at FCI Dublin and other federal BOP facilities.

Rep. Pressley is also a lead co-sponsor of H.R. 5388, legislation that would prevent the Secretary of Education from rolling back Title IX protections for survivors, as well as H.Res. 560, a resolution calling for an impeachment inquiry into Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, following reporting on new allegations of sexual misconduct committed by the Associate Justice.

In April 2019, following the passage of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019, Rep. Pressley issued a statement honoring her mother, Sandra Pressley, a survivor of domestic violence. Rep. Pressley is also the lead co-sponsor of an amendment to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that would establish the first-ever grant program dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, which passed the House of Representatives in March 2021.

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