Image source, Reuters

Elsewhere in the US Capitol, House Republicans - some of whom have previously been against a vote on the Epstein files - are also holding a press conference.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, the most powerful lawmaker in the House, is now speaking.

He says his political opponents are forcing a "political show vote".

"Democrats are trying to use the Epstein matter as a weapon to distract from their own party's failures," he says. "They're trying to attack President Trump," Johnson says, adding: "he has nothing to do with it."

We just finished hearing from lawmakers and Epstein survivors on Capitol Hill - with Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene leading the charge in her critiques of Donald Trump, demanding he release all the files related to the convicted sex offender.

Here's the latest:

• Greene described how Trump branded her a "traitor" for standing with Epstein survivors, to which she accused the president of ripping Maga (Trump's Make America Great Again movement) apart with his treatment of the Epstein files
• Epstein survivor Lisa Phillips told reporters that she and fellow survivors were launching a political movement she says she hopes will help uncover the systems that have protected predators "for far too long"
• Wendy, a survivor who does not mention her last name, said she and the other women who Epstein abused did not ask to be dragged into political warfare. "Standing on the right side of history is not a comfortable place to be," she added.
• The brother of Virginia Giuffre, Sky Roberts, cried as he told the crowd that Epstein trafficked his sister to a network of rich and powerful people. He says his sister made a "monumental impact" by speaking out about her abuse

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Image source, Getty Images

I’ve just arrived on Capitol Hill as the Epstein presser with survivors and lawmakers was ending.

There’s a noticeable difference between watching the presser on my phone and seeing it in the flesh - the emotion.

As survivors leave the scene, I can see them hugging one another and some are wiping tears from their eyes.

This is a day of politics, but it’s clearly an emotional one, too.

Towards the end of the press conference, Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene returned to address the crowd.

She says the Epstein row has been one of the "most destructive things" to happen to Trump's Maga movement since his election in 2016.

The Republican lawmaker, and former Trump ally, goes on to say she was a "day one" supporter of his, beginning more than a decade ago.

Watching this turn into a partisan fight has "ripped Maga apart", she says.

The press conference of lawmakers and Epstein survivors on Capitol Hill has now ended - but we're continuing to wrap up key lines from their address.

Thomas Massie, continuing to address crowds gathered on Capitol Hill, says it's now time to "pull the band aid off".

He says of the Senate that it might be "tempting for them to get cute" and they could limit the release of the documents.

But he insists that people getting embarrassed by what's released is the whole point - and Senate Republican leader John Thune needs to bring this "to the floor of the Senate".

He adds that he believes the vote today in the House of Representatives will show that.

Image source, EPA

Lawmakers are now taking questions from reporters.

Republican Representative Thomas Massie says House Speaker Mike Johnson wants to "save face", so the speaker will vote today for a bill he has "disparaged for four months".

Massie adds: "However, he wants to come onboard, we need him to come onboard."

In late July, Johnson ended the week early before an August recess after Democrats had forced several votes on releasing the Epstein files.

He then kept the House out of session for almost two months during the government shutdown, which delayed a discharge petition from Republican lawmakers. The petition allows them to go around House leadership to bring a bill - in the case on the Epstein documents - to the floor if a majority of members sign on to it.

In recent weeks, a growing number of Republicans - and once Trump allies, like Marjorie Taylor Green - have been calling for the documents to be released.

Another Epstein accuser, Lara Blume McGee, tells the crowd during her address that this is the first time she's spoken publicly about what she experienced - which she says included being groomed by the convicted sex offender.

"Today, I am here to break that silence," she says. "Sex trafficking and sexual abuse are crimes against human beings - not political talking points."

She urges lawmakers to release all the Epstein files and to allow an investigation to take place unobstructed.

"The government must never side with predators," she said.

Image source, Reuters

Survivor Virginia Giuffre's brother, Sky Roberts, is speaking on behalf of his sister, who died by suicide in April.

Giuffre was one of the most prominent survivors of Epstein's abuse.

Roberts is crying as he tells the crowd that Epstein trafficked his sister to a network of rich and powerful people.

He says his sister made a "monumental impact" by speaking out about her abuse.

He says survivors are "not political tools" for lawmakers to use.

"Vote yes," he says on releasing the files.

Cai Pigliucci
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Image source, Reuters

Many victims of Epstein have now spoken here, across from the steps of the Capitol.

One pointed to the statue of a woman on top of the Capitol dome that represents freedom, while saying she does not feel free today.

The victims have all said they think the release of the Epstein files should go beyond politics, and beyond partisan divides.

The vote to release those files is expected in the House this afternoon. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said she thinks it will be unanimous.

If that’s true, it may be hard for the Senate to ignore such a strong message. Senate Republican leader John Thune has not committed yet to putting it to a vote.

If he goes forward with that, it would need to pass by a two-third majority to be sent to President Trump’s desk.

He's said he would sign it, but there is still a long road ahead until the public - and survivors - may see these files fully released.

Image source, Getty Images

We are now hearing from Annie Farmer, one of Epstein's accusers and a key witness in Maxwell's sex trafficking trial, who says she and her older sister were abused by the disgraced financier when they were 16 and 25.

She details how the case has been through the Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden presidencies.

This is not a partisan issue, she says, it is "institutional betrayal".

"Because these crimes were not properly investigated, so many more girls and women were harmed," she says.

She adds that her sister was repeatedly threatened and "lived in fear" - a consequence of her "bravery" as a whistleblower.

Wendy, a survivor who does not mention her last name, says she and the other women who Epstein abused did not ask to be dragged into political warfare.

"Standing on the right side of history is not a comfortable place to be," she says.

Image source, Getty Images

Before Jena-Lisa Jones made her address, we heard from Lisa Phillips - another Epstein survivor.

She says they are now launching a "survivor-led" political movement, which Phillips says she hopes will help uncover the systems that have protected predators "for far too long".

She says the movement will help re-write "laws that have failed us" and "build protections for our nations' children".

Phillips has previously urged the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to release all the documents and information it has from the Epstein investigation, and has said that many victims are afraid of repercussions if they went public with names themselves.

Image source, Reuters

Survivor Jena-Lisa Jones is speaking.

She says she is begging US President Donald Trump to stop making the issue of the Epstein files "political".

"Show some real leadership," she says, adding that Trump needs to show he cares about other people besides himself.

"I voted for you, but your behaviour on this issue has been a national embarrassment," she adds.

• For context: Jena-Lisa Jones has previously spoken about her abuse at the hands of Epstein, which started in 2003 when she was 14 in Palm Beach, Florida

Image source, Getty Images

Haley Robson, another one of Epstein’s accusers, is now up.

She thanks the lawmakers Marjorie Taylor Greene, Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, saying it is an "incredible thing" for them to "go against their own party" and risk being "ostracised".

For them to put their careers at risk is "unbelievable to watch", she says.

Addressing Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene directly, she says that she will stand with her if she decides to read the names of the Epstein list on the House floor.

As she finishes her remarks, Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene says that in pushing for the release of the documents, she and her fellow lawmakers have been "crossing the political aisle that has become bigger than the Grand Canyon in America".

She says that she and her coworkers are doing this "on behalf of" the survivors of Epstein's abuse.

Greene is now calling out US President Donald Trump, after he recently branded her Marjorie "Traitor" Greene following her efforts to see the Epstein files released.

"I was called a traitor by a man that I fought for," she says, referencing Trump.

"I won my first election without his endorsement, beating eight men in a primary and I have never owed him anything, but I fought for him for the policy and for America first."

However, she says he branded her a "traitor" for "standing with these women and refusing to take my name off the discharge petition".

"Let me tell you what a traitor is. A traitor is an American that serves foreign countries and themselves, a patriot is an American that serves the United States of America and Americans like the women standing behind me."

We are now hearing from US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

She says she wants to speak "goodness and love and hope" to the women standing behind her, and all of the other unnamed survivors.

They are not victims, she says. They have fought "the most horrific fight", she says, "banding together" and "never giving up".

• As a reminder: Greene has called for the release of all Epstein files. Before his recent about-turn, Donald Trump called her a "traitor" and said he no longer supports her

Image source, Getty Images

We're hearing from lawmakers on Capitol Hill who are speaking alongside survivors of Epstein's abuse.

Democratic Representative Ro Khanna says he expects there will be an "overwhelming vote" in support of a bill forcing the Justice Department to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein.

He says it should go straight to the Senate with no amendments.

"Justice is long overdue," he adds.

The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives will vote today on whether to force the Justice Department to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein.

The Epstein files have become a major headache and controversy for President Donald Trump’s second administration over his 10 months in office.

This trove of Epstein-related files is different from last week’s release of over 23,000 pages of documents, which the House Oversight Committee received after subpoenaing Epstein’s estate.

It’s expected that the bill will pass the House, before it moves on to the Senate.

Stick with us for updates on today’s vote as well as everything you need to know about how the battle over Epstein files reached this point.