Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Today, some of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims spoke about the years of abuse they suffered - and what they hope happens next.

At an emotional, two-hour news conference in the Washington DC sunshine, some described a "disturbing world" in which they were duped into jobs as teenage masseurs and then abused.

Another, Haley Robson, said she was forced to recruit more teenage girls from school - and was paid for every one she found.

Epstein had a framed photo of himself and Donald Trump on his desk and he bragged about the two men's friendship, it was revealed. But - speaking at the same time in the White House - Trump characterised the push to release more information about the Epstein case as a "Democrat hoax" (see below).

Survivors said Epstein was protected. But now, they are creating "their own list" of his associates - and Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene said she would read it in Congress, if asked.

We'll be closing our coverage soon - thank you for reading. You can see our main story on all today's testimonies here.

Image source, Reuters

At today's news conference, victims stood in front of a lectern that said: "Epstein Files Transparency Act". That's the name of a bill that some lawmakers want to pass in Congress.

Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie has filed a discharge petition, external to start the process - such a petition enables 218 members to provide signatures to bring a bill before the House for a vote.

Massie - together with Democrat Ro Khanna - want lawmakers to vote on legislation to compel the Justice Department to release all of the Epstein files (as a reminder, another 33,00 were released on Tuesday).

All 212 Democrats are expected to endorse the discharge petition, but it still needs six Republicans to vote for it.

Republican leaders have been discouraging members to sign. But four Republicans - Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert have done so.

Massie posted on X, external that the White House is "threatening anyone who helps bring true transparency and justice for the survivors".

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Trump clearly did not appreciate being asked about Epstein during his Oval Office meeting with Polish President Karol Nawrocki - and sought to move the conversation on as quickly as possible (see clip above).

To the US president and members of his administration, the Epstein issue has become a distraction.

Trump would much rather speak about other matters - particularly the use of federal assets to fight crime and his immigration crackdown - and his foreign policy efforts.

It's a pivot we've seen many times before.

While Trump and Epstein appear to have been friends for some time, Trump has been largely dismissive of the files, and the White House has said he "kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep".

Ghislaine Maxwell, for her part, told US officials earlier this year she did not witness any inappropriate conduct by Trump.

But with some Republican lawmakers and significant numbers of his Maga base clamouring for more answers, it is likely that this issue will continue to bedevil him for some time.

Image source, Reuters

As we just reported, one of Epstein's victims, Lisa Phillips, earlier said they were compiling their own private list of Epstein's associates. She later suggested it may be too dangerous for them to release it.

But Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was at the news conference, said she would be prepared to name them, using her shield from prosecution for comments made in Congress.

"I am not afraid to name names," she said. "If they want to give me a list, I will walk in that Capitol, on the House floor and say every damn name... I will be proud to do this."

Image source, Getty Images

One of Jeffrey Epstein's victims, Lisa Phillips, earlier said that survivors are creating "their own list" of Epstein's associates - adding "stay tuned".

It has previously been suggested that unreleased Epstein files could contain a so-called client list that might implicate high-profile associates, besides Ghislaine Maxwell, in his criminal operation.

In a memo earlier this year, the justice department and FBI stated that no such list existed. And no evidence of a list has emerged in any of the files released so far.

However, the purported list is widely discussed online and features in various conspiracy theories about Epstein.

It is also sometimes conflated with discussion around the wider Epstein files, and remarks by Attorney General Pam Bondi have fuelled confusion.

A statement by Bondi's justice department - saying that there was no client list - appeared to contradict her comments earlier in the year.

When asked by Fox News interviewer about the rumoured list in February, she responded: "It's sitting on my desk right now to review."

Bondi's spokesman later clarified that she had been referring to overall files in the Epstein issue.

Image source, Reuters

The news conference has ended, and questions have finished. Here is some of what we learned from more than two hours of testimony from victims of Jeffrey Epstein.

Marina Lacerda spoke publicly for the first time about her abuse from the age of 14 to 17. Originally from Brazil, she was working three jobs to help her family when she found out about a $300 (£223) job to give "an older guy a massage". But her dream job became her "worst nightmare", she said.

Jena-Lisa Jones recounted her fear when she was abused at the age of 14. "I had never been more scared in my life than I was that first time that he hurt me," she said.

Haley Robson, who was 16 when her abuse began, recounted how Epstein then forced her to bring more young girls to him from her high school - to give him massages. She was then treated as a criminal, she said.

Anouska De Georgiou said said was told by Epstein and Maxwell that if she talked - "or if there was trouble" - she would face severe consequences "including death".

Chauntae Davies says Epstein bragged about his friendship with Donald Trump. "He had a framed picture on him on his desk, with the two of them."

The survivors called on the DOJ to release all the files on Epstein. The survivors are working on their own list of Epstein's associates, but later suggested they may not reveal the names, as they are scared for their safety.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Away from this news conference, Donald Trump was just asked about the testimony of Epstein victims and the calls - including from within his own party - that more information be released.

Trump swiftly responded, characterising it as a "Democrat hoax" to shift attention away from his administration's perceived victories.

"Nobody is ever satisfied," he said. "They're trying to get people to talk about something that's totally irrelevant to the success that we've had since I've been president."

"I think it’s enough," he added. "We should take about the greatness we’re having."

Some of Epstein's victims addressed Trump's claims of a hoax earlier.

One, Haley Robson - a registered Republican - said that such claims "just makes you want to explode inside".

"Please humanise us," she pleaded.

Image source, Reuters

Anouska De Georgiou says she has been threatened, and has been followed by people in cars, even when she drives her daughter to school.

"The fear is very real for us", she says.

De Georgiou says she was told by Epstein and Maxwell that if she talked - "or if there was trouble" - she would face severe consequences "including death".

Annie Farmer then says her sister was threatened by Maxwell.

Farmer says she and her sister gave an interview to Vanity Fair about what happened, but "the story was crushed". That was because of Maxwell and Epstein's power, she says.

There were direct threats to her sister's wellbeing and safety from Maxwell, she adds.

Marina Lacerda, who is speaking publicly for the first time about Epstein's abuse, is asked why she chose to speak today.

"It is not okay for us to be silenced," she says.

"My hope is to stop this abuse for the future, people that are coming up, for women, my daughter for example. This is therapy for us too. We want to be heard."

Lacerda says victims are "tired" of watching the news and seeing that the Epstein case being describe as a hoax.

Asked if she had a direct message for President Trump who has described parts of the case as a "hoax".

"This is not a hoax, it's not going away," Lacerda says.

Image source, Reuters

A journalist asks about the list of names the survivors are compiling.

Survivor Lisa Phillips, who discussed the list earlier, says they are reaching out to survivors who are "too scared to come forward".

She says the Department of Justice needs to release a list of Epstein's clients. The Department of Justice and FBI have previously stated that no client list exists.

The journalist presses Phillips - why don't you say the names.

Phillips replies that survivors are scared to do so - "look what happened to survivors who have revealed names", she says.

A lawyer for the victims adds that people are scared to be sued or attacked - "nobody protected them the first time."

Image source, Reuters

When asked about the relationship between Epstein and Trump, Chauntae Davies says Epstein's "biggest brag forever was that he was very good friends with Donald Trump".

"He had a framed picture on him on his desk, with the two of them," Davies says.

There's now a question about the prison where Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's associate who was sentenced to 20 years, is being held.

Annie Farmer says she was shocked to hear that Maxwell was moved to a lower security prison, and says she and other survivors found out through the news.

Anouska De Georgiou then says she was "horrified" that Maxwell had been transferred to transferred to what she calls a "holiday camp".

"This woman abused children," she says, and adds that Maxwell was "present for some of my abuse at the hand of Jeffrey Epstein".

She says the prospect that she might be pardoned is "one of my worst nightmares".

Victims are now taking questions.

A reporter asks what their reaction are to Trump saying earlier this year that elements of the Epstein story are a "hoax".

Haley Robson answers, saying she is a registered Republican and that the Epstein case is not a hoax. We are real human beings and this is real trauma, she says.

Robson says when she hears the president say that it makes "you just want to explode inside... to say that it's a hoax... please humanise us."

She says she would be more than happy to meet with Trump to tell him her story.

The president has previously said news about his relationship to the late convicted sex offender is a "hoax" mostly spread by his political opponents.

Image source, Reuters

Lisa Phillips is now speaking about her time on Jeffrey Epstein's island in the Caribbean.

She says she was taken to his island in 2000, while she was on a photoshoot on a nearby island, when she got a "glimpse into a very large and disturbing world".

She says his reach "went to the very top of fashion, arts and entertainment". She says the abuse "did not just happen to underage girls in Florida" - she says hundreds were also abused in New York.

She says he was not an just a "serial predator", but an "international human trafficker". And yet, she says, he was protected.

She says she and the other survivors are "not asking for pity, we are here demanding accountability. And I'm demanding justice".

She says Congress must choose whether it will protect predators or survivors.

She adds that the survivors have been discussing "creating our own list" - and says they will compile a list of people they know were part of Epstein's world.

"We know their names," she says. "We all know."

Image source, Reuters

Haley Robson was 16, "making good grades and high aspirations for college", when she was recruited by a classmate to give "an old rich guy" - Epstein - a massage.

"That day changed my life for ever... when I got into the massage room, Epstein undressed and asked me to do things to him."

"I have never been more scared in my life," she says.

She says when it was over, he gave her $200, then told her to bring him more girls to his house to give him massages for more money.

She says he gave her an ultimatum, and kept calling him. "I felt I had no choice - if I disobeyed him something bad would happen."

She says that out of fear she started to bring him other girls from her high school - and he paid her $200 every time she brought a girl to him.

One day the step mum of one of the girls called the police - and the police treated her like a criminal. "Why was he so protected?" she asks.

She says the files must be released - "lift the curtain on these files, and be transparent".

She says people just make up stories, rumours and "that only happens because the government has not released truth."

"Unseal all the documents," she says. Every congressman who goes against this bill should be outed, she says.

Jena-Lisa Jones is speaking about her abuse at the hands of Epstein, which started in 2003 when she was 14 in Palm Beach, Florida.

"I had a terrible home life, but I was such an innocent kid then," she says.

"I had never been more scared in my life than I was that first time that he hurt me," she adds. "I remember crying the entire way home."

She recalls being inside his home, seeing photos of Epstein with famous people. She says she "was just a little kid" when she was abused and was afraid no one will believe her.

She directly appeals to President Trump, saying he promised to help people like them.

"Please President Trump, pass this bill and help us. Make us feel like our voices are finally being heard."

Image source, Reuters

The family of Virginia Giuffre are now speaking.

Virginia's brother Sky Roberts says a bill - that is attempting to secure the release of more files - is about "justice against the rich and powerful who have stolen something from these women, and many children at the time - their freedom".

"This is not a political issue... this is about humanity," Roberts says.

His voice cracking, he says Virginia said it best: "I have physical and mental scars that will never heal...

"The only time I can begin to heal is when their freedom is taken from them, just like they did to me, and literally thousands of other victims."

Marina Lacerda, originally from Brazil, is speaking for the first time publicly about what happened to her.

She was only 14 when she met Epstein - "the summer of high school". She was working three jobs to help her family, when she found out about a $300 (£223) job to give "an older guy a massage".

But her dream job became her "worst nightmare".

She dropped out of high school before 9th grade because she needed to be at Epstein's house so often, she says.

From the age of 14 to 17, she worked for Epstein "instead of receiving an education".

She hoped to get a proper job with him, like as his assistant, but then one day "he finally told me I was too old".

She says she can't remember parts of her own story, no matter how hard she tries.

"There are people out there who know more about my abuse than I do," she says. The government has the documents "that could help me remember" and help her heal.

She said she was never called to testify, and does not know why.

"Why did he get away with it in 2008, why was he able to go on with the abuse of hundreds of girls... why didn't they let me testify to stop him?" she says.

Image source, Reuters

Annie Farmer, 46, says she and her sister are among Epstein's victims.

Annie says she was 16 when she was flown to New Mexico in 1996, to spend a weekend with Epstein and Maxwell. She says her sister reported what happened to her, and her own abuse.

She also "sensitive" photos were stolen, and were reported. She says "30 years later, we still don't know" why those reports weren't properly investigated.

She says for so many years Epstein's abuse seemed to be "an open secret", and people looked the other way "because it benefited them to do so".

She says there is a perception that there are two Americas: "One for those with power and privilege, and one for everyone else, passing this Epstein transparency bill is one important step that can be taken to prove to Americans that the government does not side with perpetrators."

Anouska De Georgiou, who is British, introduces herself as a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

She says "the days of sweeping this under the rug is over, we the survivors say no more".

She says the birth of her daughter pushed her to testify, to "use my voice, the voice that had been silenced".

She urges members of Congress to support the bill to end secrecy, saying the "only motive to oppose this bill would be to conceal wrongdoing".

She speaks directly to President Donald Trump, and asks him to use his influence and power to help them.