Pressley Was Involved in Successful Subpoena, Demands Transparency, Accountability, and Healing

“These powerful abusers have been protected by institutions that are more concerned with protecting predators than centering survivors.”

“When you are violated, when you are groomed, when you are exploited, when you are preyed upon, when you are violated as a child—it changes you at your core, on a cellular level. It is a life sentence.”

Video (YouTube)

WASHINGTON – In an MSNBC interview, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) described why her work to subpoena the Epstein files is deeply personal to her. Congresswoman Pressley, who is a survivor of sexual assault, demanded healing, transparency, and accountability for those harmed by Epstein and his co-conspirators.

As a member of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Pressley successfully helped pass a motion to subpoena the Epstein files and is calling for the Department of Justice to release the full, complete files without delay, with the privacy of survivors respected.

An excerpt of her remarks is available below, and the full video is available here.

Transcript: Pressley Makes Emotional Call to Center Survivors After Successful Subpoena of Epstein Files

MSNBC

July 24, 2025

JEN PSAKI: Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat from Massachusetts, she’s also a member of the House Oversight Committee. There’s so many things I want to ask you about.

Let me just ask you about some of these developments, the birthday book. What is the latest on the subpoena and trying to get access to that birthday book from the committee?

REP PRESSLEY: Well, you know, in real time, we’re having to move with a nimble strategy, to follow up any new leads as they emerge.

The fact of the matter is, Jen, that for decades, there has been a dereliction of duty here in getting accountability, truth, transparency, and justice for these survivors.

These powerful abusers have been protected by institutions that are more concerned with protecting predators than centering survivors, and that’s what I want to really focus on here.

Because I think — I fear — that we’ve lost the plot, that people have gotten so caught up in what they perceive to be the political gamesmanship and sport of this that they are losing sight of the survivors. 

And I do want to take a moment just to thank Maria Farmer for her courage and her bravery. And I am — it is infuriating that for this many decades, she has been failed by so many because of these ongoing efforts to obstruct the truth.

So it is really essential that we have the full Epstein files released. I joined Ranking Member Garcia and Congresswoman Summer Lee, Ranker for our Subcommittee, in a decisive vote to motion for the subpoena for the Epstein files, a full redacting of the victims’ names.

Today, Ranking Member Garcia sent a letter to Chairman Comer saying, without delay, transmit this subpoena to the Department of Justice.

And then, you know, the role — we’re doing our job in Oversight. You know this is our obligation, but it is the Department of Justice’s responsibility to ensure full compliance, and we’re giving them 30 calendar days to do that. 

JEN: It certainly is and, and I want, you mentioned Maria Farmer, and for people who are just tuning in later in the show, she is a survivor, and one of the first people who came forward almost 30 years ago.

And we had her on earlier in the show to talk to her about her story, for exactly the reason you mentioned, which is that there’s not enough light that is being shined — 

REP. PRESSLEY: Almost 30 years.

JEN: — on the survivors and the people who are so courageously speaking out. Let me ask you, because you are a survivor yourself, and you have been speaking out, and you’ve been involved in speaking out for survivors.

You’ve, you’ve definitely, this is, this is a line people are not all walking perfectly, even people who are well-intentioned. What do you want people to understand about what people who have survived, who have been victimized, whether through this or any other scenario, as they’re reading these newspaper articles, how they’re consuming it, how it’s impacting them?

REP. PRESSLEY: First, I think it’s important to contextualize that this smart, effective strategy by Ranking Member Garcia and Congresswoman Summer Lee yesterday was happening within the context of a Subcommittee hearing on the trafficking of children.

And so this hearing was chosen specifically to call out the hypocrisy of Republicans in shielding abusers instead of protecting and centering survivors. 

I’ve been doing the advocacy for survivors’ justice for all my life.

I’m a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and sexual violence, and it is a life sentence. I think about what I experienced every single day. 

And I know that’s true for every survivor. When you are violated, when you are groomed, when you are exploited, when you are preyed upon, when you are violated as a child — it changes you at your core, on a cellular level.

It is a life sentence. 

And so for those cynics or political watchers who see this as political gamesmanship or sport, it is certainly not that for me. Or those who would say that this is a distraction and don’t we have better things that we could be working on — no.

This healing, transparency, accountability for these survivors is important, and they deserve it, and it is long overdue. 

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