Mr. Speaker, on May 12, 2026, Oversight Committee Democrats convened the first-ever hearing to solicit testimony from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes. The hearing, ``Survivors Fight for Justice: Exposing…
Mr. Speaker, on May 12, 2026, Oversight Committee Democrats convened the first-ever hearing to solicit testimony from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes. The hearing, ``Survivors Fight for Justice: Exposing Epstein's Crimes in Palm Beach and Across the World,'' marked a critical step forward in the fight for justice and accountability.
On behalf of all the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes, I rise to include in the Record the testimony offered by Ms. Maria Farmer:
My name is Maria Farmer. I am the whistleblower who
reported Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, Les Wexner, and
others to the FBI 30 years ago in 1996.
Today I apologize for my appearance. I was not well enough
to attend this hearing in person and have recently been
released from the hospital. That's the result of thirty years
of fighting. For three decades, I have carried a weight that
no survivor should ever have to bear. I reported what I
believed were heinous crimes against children, and these
individuals responsible were involved in an international
pedophile ring. I reported their crimes in real time, and the
government continues to ignore me to this day.
In 1996, I reported Epstein and his co-conspirators to my
local New York City Sixth Precinct. The Commanding Officer
told me local police could only address the local arson
crimes, and he instructed me to immediately report the whole
story, spanning several states, to the FBI. He told me that
it was vitally important that I tell the whole story to the
FBI, which I did. The FBI asked me questions, said they were
familiar with some of the perpetrators I identified, and gave
me every reason to believe they would respond. That failure--
that single moment when law enforcement refused to take
action--set off a cascade of injustice and grave
repercussions to my sisters, my family, and so many others,
and to me personally, including my health and well-being.
The FBI's decades of failure and inaction led to countless
more girls and young women suffering abuse and trauma that
could have been prevented. Individuals like Virginia Giuffre,
Anouska de Georgiou, Chauntae Davies, Marijke Chartouni, Dani
Bensky, Jena-Lisa Jones, Ashley Rubright, and Jennifer Araoz
among others. Each survivor represents a life changed
forever, suffering that could have been spared if the FBI had
done their job in 1996.
The failures did not stop there.
In 2006, the FBI tracked me down, stating that they
searched for me because they knew I had reported Epstein ten
years earlier and no one else had. They urged me to testify
in a federal criminal trial against Epstein and his co-
conspirators, and they promised that they would ``get him''
this time. I trusted them again, relied upon them again, and
they betrayed me again. Rather than following through with
their promises, the government offered Epstein a sweetheart
deal and shielded powerful individuals from accountability,
and they persist in granting special treatment to certain
people to this day.
I have received death threats from Maxwell and her
associates--including one instance where they threatened to
burn my apartment down--and those threats have not stopped. I
have been subjected to more than three decades of ongoing
harassment, vicious challenges to my truthfulness, and real
danger from internet instigators, trolls and more. Meanwhile,
my numerous efforts to obtain my 1996 report from the FBI
have been rejected again and again.
In 2023, I wrote a letter to the government, asking for an
investigation of the government's actions or inactions in
response to my 1996 report. The Inspector General replied,
saying they were busy with other things but would get back to
me, and they never did. I sent multiple FOIA requests for my
FBI report records. In January 2025, in response to my most
recent request, the government said that they would get back
to me in November 2027, a delay of nearly three years. I
finally received a letter saying they looked at my complaint,
took some kind of action, and the matter was ``addressed,''
but what they did was a secret. With no other choice, I filed
an administrative claim against the government and then a
lawsuit. Since then, virtually nothing has happened, and I'm
left waiting and wondering what is next.
With the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act,
after years of efforts to get my records, an FD-71 form was
released for the first time, confirming part of my 1996
whistleblower report and vindicating some of what I had said
for years. However, the full extent of what I told the FBI
was not in that document, so the release of the Epstein Files
provides only partial relief for me. Where is the evidence I
provided of my sexual assault, and that of my sister Annie?
Why won't the FBI release my full report?
The failures of those sworn to protect us have overwhelmed
me. Doing my civic duty has cost me dearly. The stress of
this trauma, the government hiding and refusing to turn over
written confirmation of my 1996 report, along with the
ongoing harassment and
death threats, have contributed to me developing serious
health issues, including Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a brain tumor,
and recently Addison's disease. In the last month, I have
spent 23 nights in hospitals, including multiple nights in
the ICU. Along with my health, it has robbed me of my career.
In 1996, I was fresh out of graduate school, and living the
life that I had always dreamed, creating and selling art in
New York City. When I was assaulted, threatened and held
captive, my career was halted, and the trajectory of my life
was thrown off course.
So many others had their dreams shattered by these crimes,
and they could have been prevented. Individuals like Virginia
Giuffre, who is the backbone of this case and remains the
inspiration behind this fight. She's the reason my sister and
I came forward publicly, so we could stand together. She
faced also relentless attacks to her credibility, yet she
fought.
While Virginia may no longer be physically beside us, she
has been our shining star and guiding light and remains so
today. The rest of humanity owes it to her legacy to continue
this quest. We are still walking down the trail that Virginia
blazed for us.
So let me be direct about what we need. The federal
government owes us explanations, accountability for injuries
caused, and a promise of systemic change when crimes against
children are reported.
Accountability should start with the government's
acknowledgement and responsibility for their repeated
failures to act in response to my 1996 report. The government
needs to take responsibility for endangering and injuring
girls and young women. The government needs to start telling
the truth, face my lawsuit, and be held to account to me and
to all others who have been harmed. Had the FBI done their
job, thirty years of child sex abuse and trauma could have
been avoided. I want my full FBI file, including the 1996 and
2006 reports, including my art.
We also need the FBI and the Department of Justice to fully
investigate every lead in this case. We need investigation
and prosecution of everyone responsible, both men and women.
This includes the officials who enabled the 2008 sweetheart
deal, the other perpetrators and the many co-conspirators,
and anyone who is currently shielding powerful individuals
from justice.
No more protection for the guilty. There must be no
pardoning or commuting the sentence of Maxwell, who sexually
abused me, my minor sister, hurt so many girls and young
women, and personally threatened to kill me, has shown no
remorse, and has demonstrated no basis on which to believe
she would ever be truthful.
As the Epstein case whistleblower, I have waited three
decades for justice. It's a miracle I'm still fighting,
especially considering what the stress of three decades of
this case has done to my health and well-being. I will keep
fighting for justice and transparency, for a better, safer
future for the next generation.
Thank you.
