Right-wing firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein still fear naming their abusers, but she would do it.
The Georgia congresswoman appeared with a rare bipartisan group of lawmakers, as well as victims of the disgraced financier, on Capitol Hill on Wednesday as they pushed for the release of the Epstein files.
During the press conference, survivors were asked why they had not named other Epstein associates who abused them. Those in attendance indicated they still live in fear, but the congresswoman said she would have no problem doing it.
“It’s a scary thing to name names, but I will tell you, I’m not afraid to name names,” Greene said. “So if they want to give me a list, I will walk in that Capitol on the House floor, and I’ll say every damn name that abused these women. I can do that for them, and I’d be proud to do it.”
The teary victims of Epstein surrounded the MAGA darling as she spoke.
Her comment came as survivors at the event shared some of their stories, called for justice, and even signaled they could share their own list of names.
“We know the names. Many of us were abused by them. Now together as survivors, we will confidentially compile the names we all know where were regularly all in the Epstein world,” survivor Lisa Phillips said.
She said it would be done by and for survivors and said they were currently reaching out to survivors too scared to come forward but know who they were trafficked to.
Phillips said she was unsure how they would release it or if they would, and urged the Justice Department to release the names.
Greene was warmly applauded for her support during the gathering.
“As you’re questioning ‘why can’t they just name the names?’ what you don’t realize is they just told their stories of being raped and being abused, being victimized, being manipulated, being coerced, and basically held in a prison of captivity of sexual abuse while they were young,” Greene said.
“In Jeffrey Epstein’s home and the places they went with him, they saw the most powerful people in the world in his pictures, and they saw him with those people,” Greene added. “Can you imagine how terrifying it would be to name names like that? These are some of the richest, most powerful people in the world that could sue these women into poverty and homelessness.”
Greene is one of only four Republican House members who has signed onto the discharge petition to force a House vote for the release of the Epstein files.
She was the first GOP member to sign the petition after Republican Rep. Thomas Massie filed it.
Her move bucked GOP House leadership and the White House, which has pushed back against the legislation from Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna, forcing the release of all material with some redactions to protect victims.
The discharge petition needs 218 votes. All 212 Democrats are expected to back it, so it needs six Republicans. So far, it has four, including Greene and Massie, who were joined by Reps. Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace.
It was bizarre to see Greene, a close Trump ally, appearing with Khanna, one of the most progressive House members.
“She has shown so much courage on this issue,” Khanna said of Greene. “I saw some people coming here calling her names. We’ve got to stop that. We’ve got to stop the partisanship on this issue.”
Khanna said Epstein’s survivors speaking out was actually helping the country come together.
“I’ve never done a press conference with Marjorie Taylor Greene before,” Khanna said with a laugh. “This country is divided. It’s exhausted. This is one thing, one thing that we can come together on.”
He argued his effort was not against Trump, and he would like nothing more than a Truth Social post from the president after the press conference to release the files.
Instead, when asked about the push to release the files, Trump on Wednesday called it a Democrats’ “hoax.”
Massie has also been one of Trump’s biggest GOP critics on Capitol Hill, but he had nothing but kind words for Greene on Wednesday, calling her the “bravest woman in Congress.”
He noted that his three other Republican cosponsors to push the release of Epstein files were all women.
“These are women standing up for women, and Marjorie was the first to do it,” he said. “I think she deserves all of our gratitude for breaking that barrier and leading the way for the other Republicans. Hopefully, they can find their spines as well.”
Greene called it an issue that “does not have political boundaries” and one that “Republicans and Democrats should never fight about.”
She said it grieved her to watch the debate take place among her colleagues and even the administration.”
Greene is one of Trump’s biggest supporters. Her comments come as questions remain over the president’s own relationship with Epstein, whom he once called a terrific guy.
The MAGA lawmaker declined to discuss Trump when asked about it at the event while showing her support for Epstein’s victims.
She said there were victims abused by Epstein but also a small group that was abused by other men, and they were going to discuss at another time and place whether they want to name names.
As she was answering reporter questions, she was interrupted by a woman who identified herself as a survivor and thanked the congresswoman for speaking out despite the hostilities to survivors.
