Today, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) and Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, led Judiciary Democrats in sending a letter to Chairman Jim Jordan calling on him to allow survivors of convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and their co-conspirators to testify before the Committee. Committee Democrats stressed that victim testimony would provide a vital platform for survivors to share their experiences and inform lawmakers in efforts to enact bipartisan reforms to fix the justice system failures that enabled Epstein’s crimes.

“We write to request that the Committee on the Judiciary provide survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators’ abuse the opportunity to share their testimony with the Committee. The release of Justice Department files related to the sex trafficking ring led by Epstein, while necessary, is not a substitute for the voices of these survivors. The House Judiciary Committee has an important role to play in addressing the institutional failures that enabled these horrific crimes and failed to protect the women and girls he trafficked and abused,” wrote the members.

While the House Oversight Committee’s recent subpoenas for Epstein documents—coupled with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s upcoming testimony before the House Judiciary Committee—represent important steps toward getting all the facts surrounding Epstein’s criminal sex trafficking ring, many questions remain, and many voices still need to be heard. Earlier this month, Judiciary Democrats, together with Rep. Thomas Massie, led an effort to subpoena key information and testimony on Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and the Trump Administration’s cover-up that was ultimately blocked by Committee Republicans.

In their letter, Judiciary Democrats urged Chairman Jordan to allow survivors to testify and share their stories so that the Committee can gain a more complete understanding of the systemic breakdowns and shortcomings that enabled Mr. Epstein’s network to operate for so long, including potential gaps in law enforcement practices, prosecutorial discretion, victim protection protocols, reporting requirements, and institutional oversight. This knowledge could inform future bipartisan legislative efforts to prevent such crimes from occurring in the future.

“We respectfully urge you to hold a hearing that gives these survivors the opportunity, at their discretion, to testify, while working with experts and advocates to ensure that the hearing process is respectful, safe, and centered on the needs of those testifying,” concluded the Members.

Full text of the letter is available here.