Victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein questioned the Trump administration’s motives for seeking to unseal grand jury testimony in letters to the court made public Monday.
They wrote to U.S. District Judge Richard Berman to speak up for themselves and fellow victims they suggested were not being adequately considered in the government’s quest to make the papers public. Two of the victims submitted their letters anonymously and the third, Annie Farmer, spoke through her lawyer. Lawyers who represent “numerous survivors” of Epstein also submitted a letter.
“I am not sure the highest priority here is the victims, justice for the victims or combatting child exploitation, or at least I do not feel this way,” one of the anonymous victims wrote, asserting the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI’s priority seems to be protecting “wealthy men.”
The other anonymous victim said their decision to speak out comes with “disdain, disgust and fear” over how the DOJ has handled its efforts to release the “Epstein Files.”
“Dear United States, I wish you would have handled and would handle the whole ‘Epstein
Files’ with more respect towards and for the victims,” that victim wrote. “I am not some pawn in your political warfare.
“What you have done and continue to do is eating at me day after day as you help to perpetuate this story indefinitely,” they continued.
The Trump administration’s renewed efforts to release fresh information about Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, follows sharp criticism from his political base that has long called for greater transparency around the case.
The Justice Department announced earlier this year that Epstein did not have a “client list” and confirmed his 2019 death was indeed a suicide, angering conspiracists who believe the government has concealed the truth about Epstein and Maxwell’s sex trafficking scheme.
President Trump has grown increasingly frustrated as his supporters have pressed for more information or the appointment of a special prosecutor. In recent weeks, top DOJ officials have opened talks with Maxwell.
Farmer’s lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, said the known Epstein victim “strongly supports” the release of the transcripts but urged against redacting third-party names.
“It is obviously impossible for two people to conduct a decades-long sex-trafficking enterprise involving thousands of victims without other individuals who participated in and facilitated these unspeakable atrocities,” McCawley wrote.
She said that unsealing the transcripts is “necessary” to understand the “full scope” of the sex trafficking scheme and “those who enabled it.” To unseal the grand jury papers would allow new information to emerge without forcing the victims to “expose” it themselves, she said.
Farmer testified at Maxwell’s trial, and her sister, Maria, also previously came forward as a victim of Epstein, according to the New York Times.
The anonymous victims each argued the attention to Epstein has gone too far.
“The latest attention on the ‘Epstein Files,’ the ‘Client List’ is OUT OF CONTROL and the ones that are left to suffer are not the high-profile individuals, IT IS THE VICTIMS,” the first anonymous victim said. “Why the lack of concern in handling such sensitive information for the victims sake?”
Neither of those two victims explicitly called for the transcripts to remain under seal, but both urged great caution in determining what information should be released.
The lawyers representing “numerous” victims criticized the administration’s efforts to unseal the transcripts without notifying the victims and earning their backing, suggesting it reinforces the perception that the victims are “at best, an afterthought to the current administration.”
“Several victims have already died by suicide, drug overdose, or under tragic circumstances tied directly to the trauma caused by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” the lawyers wrote. “These survivors have already endured profound violations of their rights and dignity, both during the years of Epstein’s abuse and in the years following.
“To now compound their trauma by sidelining them from critical decisions — especially in this climate of heightened concern—is inconsistent with both the letter and the spirit of the [Crime Victims Rights’ Act],” they said.
Epstein’s estate took no position on the government’s request to unseal the documents.
Tuesday is the deadline for Epstein’s victims to respond to the government’s request to unseal the papers, and the judge said he would rule “expeditiously” afterward.
Updated at 4:58 p.m. EDT.