At least half a dozen House Democrats have invited survivors of Jeffrey Epstein to be their guests at President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday night.
They include Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., one of the authors of the Epstein Transparency Act, the law that has resulted in the release of millions of files related to the politically connected financier.
Khanna said in a statement he's bringing Haley Robson, who has said Epstein trafficked her starting when she was 16, as his guest to the address to a joint session of Congress.
“Haley’s courageous fight is proof that this isn’t about politics, it’s about exposing America’s two-tiered system of justice and bringing accountability to the Epstein class involved in the horrific abuse of young girls," Khanna said. "She and her fellow survivors’ bravery was the catalyst for changing a rotten system and finally standing up for humanity and American values.”
Robson said, “I’m honored and it came as a wonderful surprise to have been invited."
Some Epstein survivors have been critical of the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein case and the release of the files, with some accusing the Justice Department of not doing enough to prosecute possible Epstein accomplices while redacting the names of some of those people in the files that were released. Others have also complained that the Justice Department violated their rights and the Epstein Transparency Act by failing to redact all of their names in the files.
Members of Congress typically invite guests whose presence conveys political meanings. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is bringing constituents who were affected by the administration's ICE raids in Minnesota. Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., is bringing a right-wing influencer who has reported on fraud allegations against some Somali immigrants there.
Trump will have guests, as well. He invited both the men’s and women’s U.S. Olympic hockey teams, but a spokesperson for USA Hockey said the women’s team won’t be able to attend. It wasn’t clear whether the men's team would attend.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, will bring as his guests Sky and Amanda Roberts, the brother and sister-in-law of Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who died by suicide last year.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., is bringing as her guest New Mexico state Rep. Andrea Romero, who has launched an investigation into Epstein's activities in the state, where he had a sprawling estate known as Zorro Ranch.
“He was basically doing anything he wanted in this state without any accountability whatsoever,” Romero said last week, adding there's no record of federal law enforcement’s ever searching the 7,600-acre property.
Some Democrats aren’t attending the event themselves but are inviting survivors in their place.
Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., said she would be meeting with constituents during the speech and asked another Epstein survivor to appear in her place.
“I’m inviting Lisa Phillips, one of the many brave women who survived Epstein’s abuse, to attend the State of the Union on my behalf. Her presence will send a clear message: Epstein survivors will not be silenced. The powerful will not be protected. Our government will be accountable to the people it serves,” Dexter said in a statement.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said another Epstein survivor, Marijke Chartouni, who is also one of her constituents, would attend the speech in her place.
“Thirty years after the FBI first ignored reports of Epstein’s crimes, Pam Bondi’s Justice Department continues to fiddle rather than hold perpetrators to account — even as other countries act decisively,” Chartouni said in a statement released by Jayapal's office. “This injustice cannot be buried, and we will continue to make our voices heard, at every opportunity, until there is truth and accountability for every survivor of Epstein and his ring.”
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, which has been conducting its own investigation into Epstein's activities, said on X that he's bringing Epstein survivor Annie Farmer as his guest.
Farmer, he wrote, will "join other survivors and remind the President of his refusal to release all the Epstein files."
Several of the lawmakers, including Raskin, Jayapal and Stansbury, plan to hold a news conference with the survivors ahead of the address, they said in a news release.
Garcia told NBC News he won’t be at the State of the Union address himself. He's one of a number of Democrats who will go to an alternative event called the "People’s State of the Union" on the National Mall.
Others who are expected include Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Tina Smith of Minnesota and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, along with several House members, including Jayapal, Becca Balint of Vermont, Veronica Escobar of Texas and Yassamin Ansari of Arizona.
“Some Democrats are gonna be at the State of the Union. There are, others are gonna go to the Mall," Garcia said. "I think that’s a good thing. I think it’s good to have solidarity of actually both camps.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he plans to go to Trump's address "because I think it’s important to confront him face to face."
