Name: LIVE: House's Adelita Grijalva speaks on Epstein files vote push
Uploaded: 2025-11-18T17:05:46.000Z
Duration: 29 min 32 s
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People who carried out and aided in these horrific crimes thought their wealth and power meant that they would never have to answer for them.

Basic passive voice

They thought the system was rigged for them and not against them, but against their victims.

But we have a chance now to prove them wrong.

We have the chance to say that in America, you will be held accountable.

Doesn't matter if you're rich, doesn't matter if you're a Republican or a Democrat.

If you hurt people, you will answer for it.

Powerful people like the President of the United States and the speaker of the House have tried very hard to keep the whole truth from coming out.

50 days to take her seat in Congress just to delay accountability.

And next, we're going to need your help on the other side of the Capitol making sure that Senate leadership doesn't delay this any further.

They need to schedule a vote on this so this can get passed into law.

Because at the core of this, this isn't about Congress members or senators or the media.

This is about real victims, but also about their families who deserve justice and who deserve accountability.

And together, we're going to make this happen.

We've got a little bit more work ahead of us, but

my hope is that Leader Thune will do the right thing and bring this legislation to the floor of the Senate and allow a vote.

Next up, we have Representative Robert Garcia.

First, let me just start by saying that today, especially all of our thoughts are with every single survivor and victim of Jeffrey Epstein.

These are incredible women who, many of whom were abused when they were children at the hands of powerful men in our country and censoring them.

And the work that you're all doing should happen every single day as we debate in the Congress what our next steps are as it relates to holding people and the powerful accountable.

I, of course, want to thank all the advocacy groups that are here.

I especially want to thank Congresswoman Grijalva, who has been a great friend, but

also a true leader and champion of ensuring that this process move forward.

I serve as the lead Democrat on our Oversight Committee, and

our investigation on the Epstein files is driving a lot of this work.

And I'm grateful to Congressman Khanna, Congressman Massie for their incredible leadership in this vote that's about to happen here in just a couple hours.

But we also want to be very clear, once this vote happens and goes to the Senate, we are expecting the Senate to take this vote up.

And Leader Thu needs to do the right thing by the survivors and call for for a vote immediately.

In addition to that, we want to make it very clear to the President, he has been fighting this vote for months.

After saying that he would release the files during the campaign after his Attorney General said the files were on her desk, he then flip flops and has been doing everything in his power to stop the release of the files and stop justice for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's horrific sexual trafficking ring.

But now the president seeing a loss in the House, has flip flopped.

We're not going to forget his opposition and we need to be clear eyed that this new investigation that he has launched is likely another way of trying to stop the release of the files to the Congress, to the public and for justice for the women and girls who have been fighting on this issue every day.

I want to remind the President as well that he has the power to release the files today.

He has the power to release the files without a vote.

In fact, a few months ago, the Oversight Committee put in place a subpoena for all of the files through the Department of Justice and still they have released nothing.

And so at the end of the day, Donald Trump today can bring justice for the survivors and he refuses to do so.

It's important, and this is a message directly to Leader Thune.

He needs to understand that this issue is bigger than what we're just doing here in the Congress.

There are millions of girls and women that are watching our actions across the country and the world.

There are millions that are survivors themselves of sexual abuse.

There are millions that are being abused in their workplace or in their home.

And they're watching us and asking, will our government, will our leaders actually do anything about this abuse or are they going to continue to hide and protect the men and abusers at the highest levels of government and power?

And if the Epstein survivors who were abused by the most powerful cannot get justice, how can the millions of women and survivors across the country and world expect justice for themselves?

And so this is a very important moment for the country.

And lastly, I'll say this, I'm often asked, what's next?

This is directly from the survivors and I've been talking to them pretty regularly, including one just two days ago.

They have all asked us to look where they believe the truth is, and

that is in the financial and bank records of the most powerful financial institutions in this country that have the information and where the money was transferred from those powerful men who paid and were involved in the trafficking of these girls.

So if you are the president of a bank, if you are a leader of a financial organization, and

you are hiding information as it relates to, to justice for these women, the Oversight committee is coming after those documents.

Next up, we have Representative Kelly Morrison.

Please join me in welcoming her to the podium.

I'm Kelly Morrison, Congresswoman from Minnesota's third District.

Good to be here with all of you this morning on this incredibly important day.

Thank you so much to the Sexual Violence Prevention association for bringing us together.

So much gratitude to Teresa for being here today.

Your bravery, selflessness and advocacy are truly remarkable.

Your courage to speak out and stand up for others is the only reason we are in this position today, finally able to try and bring the justice and transparency that is far too long overdue.

And thank you to the Sexual Violence Prevention association for delivering this letter today, bringing nearly 50 organizations dedicated to ending child abuse, sexual violence and human trafficking together to call on Congress to pass the Epstein Files Transparency act and demand the release of the files.

Because that is exactly what today is about.

Standing up against child abuse, sexual violence and human trafficking.

Today is an opportunity for us to send an important message here in D.C.

Today is our opportunity to say, no matter who you are, no matter how rich you are, no matter how powerful you are, you are not above the law.

No amount of money, power, connections or corruption can buy you a free pass to abuse children or sell human beings.

For decades, the government and people in power have been complicit in covering up the horrific abuses of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

The time has come for the victim, victims and survivors to get the justice and the transparency they are asking for and deserve.

The time has come for the perpetrators to be held accountable.

The time has come for the corrupt leaders who were complicit in facilitating this to be exposed.

The time has come for the American people to get the transparency they have demanded.

And we have to ask ourselves, if we don't get this right, right, if we don't release the files and bring justice to the victims and hold the perpetrators accountable, what message would that send?

We are putting the rich and powerful on notice.

We are saying, you cannot and will not get away with exploitation and abuse.

There is nothing more deeply American than the notion that everyone has equal rights under the law.

And today, we are reasserting our rights as Americans.

I met with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell alongside members of the Democratic Women's Caucus earlier this fall.

We have seen seen the lengths the rich and powerful will go to cover up their crimes.

But these women are putting everything on the line simply to ensure that we never allow this to happen to anyone else ever again.

So today, every single member of the U.S.

house of Representatives will go on record to say whether they will be complicit in a cover up, protecting pedophiles and the corrupt rich and powerful, or if they stand on the side of justice, truth, transparency, and

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LIVE: House's Adelita Grijalva speaks on Epstein files vote push

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