Women who endured the abuse of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are experiencing a wave of emotions after U.S. President Donald Trump approved a bill compelling the Justice Department to make public all documents and communications tied to the case.
Some survivors fear this sudden political shift and worry it could be used for the wrong reasons.
Yet even with these concerns, many still look toward the possibility of long-awaited accountability and emotional closure.
“I went through so many emotions when not only the Senate passed it, but when Donald Trump actually signed it. It was overdue by years,” said survivor Haley Robson.
“And in that moment I felt thrilled and hopeful, but a part of me still wondered, what’s the catch?” she said.
Both the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the legislation this week after Trump unexpectedly abandoned his months of resistance and agreed to sign it.
The bill orders the Justice Department (DOJ) to reveal all Epstein-related files and communications, along with details of the investigation into his 2019 death in federal custody within 30 days.
It permits redactions tied to protecting Epstein’s victims and any ongoing federal probes, but the DOJ is barred from withholding information because of “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.”
It remains uncertain how much new material will emerge from the files, collected over more than twenty years of inquiries into Epstein’s abuse of numerous girls and women.
Some of his accusers hope the documents will help them piece together memories blurred by trauma.
Marina Lacerda says she was only 14 when Epstein began abusing her at his mansion in New York, but she still struggles to remember much of that time because it was one of the darkest periods of her life.
