‘Our stories are in the files’: Epstein survivor reacts to First Lady’s address

[0:00] First Lady Melania Trump's rare public statement on Thursday caught many, including survivors, [0:05] off guard as she denied ties to Jeffrey Epstein and called on Congress to give survivors a public [0:10] hearing to testify about their experience. Each and every woman should have her day to tell her [0:19] story in public if she wishes, and then her testimony should be permanently entered into [0:28] the congressional record. Joining me now is Epstein survivor Marina Lacerda. She was listed [0:35] as minor victim number one in the Epstein federal indictment, enabling prosecutors to charge Epstein [0:41] with sex trafficking in 2019. Welcome, Marina. I'm curious what your first thought was when you [0:48] heard the First Lady calling for congressional hearings for Epstein victims to publicly share [0:52] their stories. Thank you for having me here today. I think, you know, all the survivors are very [0:59] confused why it took her so long to give this speech and the statement. We, well, I myself think [1:06] there's something way more than this. I think there's something behind why she wants us to give [1:12] a testimony in front of the whole public. We have shared our stories over and over again, [1:18] and it's very confusing why we have to do it in a public hearing. And here's something that you and [1:24] other survivors have issued, and it was a statement calling Melania's messaging, quote, [1:30] a deflection of responsibility, not justice. What do you mean by that? [1:37] Well, it's very simple, right? When the attention is shifting over to President Trump, and maybe it's [1:46] going to be shifting over to, you know, the First Lady in the next couple of days, I think she's trying [1:51] to shift the attention back to us. We have done all the work, Alex. We have been, all the survivors [1:58] have been in different platforms sharing their whole story. If the public wants to hear our story, [2:03] all they have to do is go into our platforms and hear our story. Sharing our story in a public hearing [2:09] will not give us any results, right? We have all these names. We have the files out there. Nobody [2:15] has done anything. It will not make a difference if we share our stories. And sharing our stories publicly [2:21] does not mean, and only then, it'll be the truth. Our stories are in the files. We gave FBI statements. [2:29] We have our 302s. Everything out there is the truth. We don't need to set the record straight [2:34] to the public for it to be the truth. And I can see exactly why you feel that position, [2:41] and it certainly is justified. But just to push back, there are some who say, [2:45] Marina, that revelations from survivors that continue more of them could help advance [2:51] investigations and maintain public pressure. But here's the question. Why does it seem the [2:56] burden of that keeps falling on survivors? It goes back to me saying, we need to take the [3:03] attention off, you know, with what's really going on and then shift it to us. Because when the war was [3:10] going on, nobody was really paying attention to the survivors in the Epstein files. And I think [3:15] reality here is, where are the rest of the files? We need to release the rest of the files. Okay? [3:21] And not only that, we have these prominent names out there who have done some serious crimes. [3:28] We have not investigated them. The question here is, why are these men not testifying? And why do [3:33] we have to testify? We've already testified in front of Congress. Some of Congress, about seven or eight [3:39] of us have done it back in September. And it was my first time when I actually had to, you know, [3:44] break my silence. It is very confusing why we have to do that again. We already do it in many [3:49] different podcasts. We share our stories openly. We do a lot of work on our side. It is not up to us [3:56] to name the names of the perpetrators when they're already out there and to share our stories [4:00] in a public hearing. It's very confusing. I myself don't mind sharing my story in a public hearing. [4:07] But I think it's only fair, if we do so, that the perpetrators will do the same. [4:13] Last question. What does accountability even look like to you, Marina? Is there something that would [4:18] help you and other victims finally close the door on this dark chapter in your lives? [4:24] We need to hold people accountable for what they did. We need to open up investigations [4:28] on many men that are on those files. We need to open up investigation on the women who have, [4:35] you know, have said these allegations about various men. We have not looked into that. [4:42] We are completely ignoring that and now trying to shift the attention back to us saying that we [4:47] need to do a public hearing and say our story in front of Congress. If that is so, if we are going [4:53] to do that, what is going to be the result? Are the men that have been on the files and have [4:58] been named, are they going to testify as well? Because it's very confusing to ask us to testify [5:03] all over again.