Rep. Summer Lee Joins Oversight Dems for Epstein Investigation in Palm Beach

Footage of Hearing

PALM BEACH, FL - MAY 12, 2026 - Today, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12), a member of the House Oversight Committee, joined Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Democratic colleagues for a field hearing in Palm Beach, Florida as part of the ongoing congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's horrific crimes. The hearing featured testimony from survivors and key witnesses, including survivor advocates and legal experts. Members held a press conference at the conclusion of the hearing.

In her opening remarks, Rep. Lee centered the voices of survivors, including Dani Bensky, who was just 17 when she was lured into working for Epstein under false pretenses; Roza, who was trafficked across borders and abused for years; Courtney Wild, who fought a legal battle against a Department of Justice that failed to protect her; and Jena-Lisa Jones, who has raised alarms that the DOJ's limited release of files may point to a cover-up.

"For decades, survivors have worked in good faith with law enforcement to try and expose Epstein and his co-conspirators, only to have their interests and needs ignored," said Rep. Lee. "The DOJ seems perfectly capable of concealing the names of these rich and powerful in the files that have been released but they did not give that same level of care to the actual survivors. This is glaring proof of the two-tiered system of justice in this country."

Rep. Lee called out a series of institutional failures: the 2008 non-prosecution agreement that allowed Epstein to continue abusing victims while on work release; the DOJ's release of survivors' personal identifying information without notification; and the failure to indict any co-conspirators beyond Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell despite documented evidence of others' involvement. She also criticized Todd Blanche's statement that the Epstein files "should not be a part of anything going forward." She further noted that former Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta spent more time negotiating with Epstein's high-powered attorneys, including Kenneth Starr and Alan Dershowitz, than he did listening to survivors.

"The DOJ has failed to indict any other perpetrators of sex trafficking beyond Epstein and Maxwell, despite all the complaints and reports that other individuals were implicated and involved," Rep. Lee continued. "This is about a system that asks survivors to carry the burden of proof, the burden of patience, the burden of pain-while people with wealth and power are given time, protection, and silence. We have a responsibility to all survivors who are still waiting, to the ones who never got justice, and to the ones watching right now to say that this ends here, and we take that very seriously.

Palm Beach is a significant location for the investigation. It is where Epstein's crimes first came to light and where prosecutors offered Epstein a sweetheart deal that enabled his continued abuse. Palm Beach is also home to Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's primary residence and private club. Multiple women, including Virginia Giuffre, were reportedly recruited for Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. According to the Wall Street Journal, spa employees from Mar-a-Lago, typically young women, were sent to Epstein's nearby residence. In a 2019 email to journalist Michael Wolff, released by Oversight Democrats, Epstein wrote that "of course Trump knew about the girls."

Footage from the hearing can be found here.

Rep. Lee has consistently advocated for the release of the Epstein files and justice for the survivors. She recently participated in a roundtable with survivors, has successfully forced a motion to subpoena the DOJ to release the files, and introduced articles of impeachment against former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Education and Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, she has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.7 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania's infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 4,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.