Democrats bring Epstein victims to State of the Union to pressure Trump

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Democrats bring Epstein victims to State of the Union to pressure Trump

2026-02-25 00:01:10

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A guest at the State of the Union is Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who, at 16, began helping to introduce underage girls to Jeffrey Epstein in the early 2000s after he was exploited by the same disgraced financier when she was a minor.

Haley Robson was pressured by Epstein to recruit six other underage girls to perform sex acts after meeting him in 2003, according to the 2006 filing. Police documents. After initially resisting his sexual advances, Epstein asked her to find him other girls he could use. Robson told police she was paid $200 for each time she brought a contact to Epstein’s home and told police, “I’m like Heidi Fleiss,” referring to the American woman known for running a prostitution ring in Hollywood.

Robson described her relationship with Epstein as part of Netflix Documentary series on Epstein, admitting that it took her more than two years to escape from under his influence.

“I would recruit girls who were friends,” Robson told interviewers. “I would bring it up casually, and we would drive together to his house. I would take them to his room and then I would go out. Sometimes I would wait by the pool. When the girls would leave, Jeffrey would come out and pay me. I recruited maybe 24 girls. And those girls brought other girls, too. And they were all underage.”

Jeffrey Epstein, left, pictured alongside President Donald Trump at the 2025 State of the Union address.

Jeffrey Epstein, left, pictured alongside President Donald Trump at the 2025 State of the Union address. (Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images; Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Robson recalls being “wracked” with guilt for years afterward.

When asked why he chose Robson as his guest on Tuesday, Khanna’s office referred Fox News Digital to a Online statement.

“Haley Robson was 16 when she survived Epstein’s abuse. This campaign to discredit her and other survivors on the night of the State of the Union address is shameful. Attack me all you want. Don’t attack survivors,” Khanna said. “I am honored to attend [her] As my guest at Trump’s State of the Union address. “Their courage moved the nation.”

Robson herself could not be reached for comment.

Top Democrats in Congress are trying to poke the president Donald Trump By bringing Epstein’s victims as guests to Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, tapping into an area of ​​public dissatisfaction and continuing the ways in which lawmakers have advanced Political storylines By title in recent years.

January results indicate that fifty percent of the public is dissatisfied with the way the government handled the Epstein case. According to the poll By SSRS, a political polling group.

Another poll A study by IPSOS, a public opinion research firm, found that 75% of the public believed the government was still keeping secrets from the public about Epstein’s dealings.

The former lingerie mogul faces lawmaker questioning after an internal FBI memo described him as Epstein’s co-conspirator

Epstein and Maxwell

The Justice Department released a trove of Epstein documents on December 19 after President Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Although the Justice Department released millions of files on Epstein, Khanna, who helped push Congress to vote on the bill, Epstein Files Transparency Act, He is one of many Democrats who believe there is more. He believes the Justice Department still has undisclosed information that could help lawmakers and investigators identify potential Epstein co-conspirators who made his crimes possible.

Epstein, a former financial adviser, died while imprisoned in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking of minors, leaving behind questions about who may have participated in or known about his crimes.

Khanna’s strategy will be followed by other high-ranking Democrats who have also called for impeachment, including the Senate Minority Leader. chuck schumer, lower.

“I’m proud to bring Danny Pinsky, a New Yorker and survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, as my guest to the State of the Union address to demand the truth. Danny has turned unimaginable pain into relentless advocacy. Survivors deserve justice. Trump must end the cover-up and release the full Epstein files — now,” Schumer wrote. In a letter to X.

Likewise, Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, will send an Epstein survivor to the State of the Union address in his stead.

“Annie Farmer is a courageous survivor of Epstein’s abuse. I have invited Annie to the State of the Union address so she can join other survivors and remind the president of his refusal to release all of the Epstein files.” Garcia wrote.

Garcia himself will not attend the State of the Union address. Instead, he will join A counter-event led by Democrats At the Lincoln Memorial.

Using the State of the Union address to advance a political story is not unique to Epstein.

Bundy faces questioning in the House Judiciary Committee over the Epstein files and arming allegations

In 2018, at the height of the MeToo sexual assault movement, several Democratic lawmakers brought on victims of sexual exploitation to press Trump over past comments he made about his behavior with women and highlight ongoing allegations of misconduct on Capitol Hill.

US President Donald J. Trump stands at the podium during the State of the Union address on January 30, 2018.

US President Donald J. Trump stands at the podium during the State of the Union address on January 30, 2018. (Wayne McNamee/Reuters)

Following January 6, 2021, Capitol riots, Democrats called out the officers who defended the building against the protesters, while Republicans called out family members of innocent people caught in the costly legal crossfire of the fallout.

Although those appearances generated headlines and highlighted major political topics, Khanna hopes to maintain public pressure on Epstein to do something more.

He wants trials.

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“former Prince Andrew PrinceAndrew is running Investigation and trial in Britain. In Norway, they are trying a former prime minister. “In France, they are investigating government officials and business leaders,” Khanna said.

He added: “It is time for the Ministry of Justice to begin investigations and prosecutions.”

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