After Joining Successful Subpoena Effort, Pressley, a Survivor of Sexual Assault, Continues to Demand Transparency, Accountability, and Healing

Pressley Discussed How This Fight is Deeply Personal to Her in a Recent Interview

BOSTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), a member of the House Oversight Committee and a survivor of sexual abuse,issued the following statement after Chairman James Comer issued a subpoena to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release files relating to child sex trafficker and Trump’s longtime friend Jeffrey Epstein. This action comes after Rep. Pressley successfully helped pass a motion by Congresswoman Summer Lee and Ranking Member Robert Garcia to force the Committee to subpoena the Epstein files.

In a recent interview on MSNBC, Rep. Pressley described why her work to subpoena the Epstein files is deeply personal to her.

“This is an important step toward the healing, transparency, and accountability that our survivors and the American public demand and deserve,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “The subpoena is clear and airtight: the DOJ must release the Epstein Files. Abusers should not be protected by institutions more concerned with shielding predators than centering survivors. As a survivor who knows the pain and trauma survivors carry, I continue to call on the Trump Administration to release these files immediately, without delay, and with the privacy of survivors respected.”

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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