Author: Nolan D. McCaskill and Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congressional Democrats on Tuesday introduced legislation they said would eliminate the statute of limitations that protects sex traffickers such as the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Theresa Legge Fernandez joined the families of Epstein victims and Virginia Giuffre in announcing the proposal. The proposal — the Virginia bill — is named after one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, Giuffre, who committed suicide last year.
The bill’s fate in the Republican-controlled Senate and House of Representatives is unclear.
However, a bipartisan effort last year succeeded in forcing the Justice Department to release all unclassified documents from the Epstein investigation.
“Virginia’s dream was to inspire survivors and empower them to come forward in a world that often distances themselves from abuse and pushes them into the shadows. She wanted to bring light,” said Skye Roberts, Giuffre’s brother.
A tearful Roberts, speaking at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol, was asked about a photo that had been released showing former Britain’s Prince Andrew with his arm around Giuffre.
“I think he should appear before our Congress,” Roberts responded, adding, “He has a lot of questions to answer.”
Democrats’ new bill would end the statute of limitations for adult victims or their survivors to bring civil lawsuits, including many of Epstein’s alleged victims. It expands victims’ legal recourse in other ways, including covering applicable sex crimes committed outside the United States if a U.S. court has jurisdiction.
Although Epstein died in 2019, transparency and accountability for victims of his abuse led to oversight investigations and the passage of the Epstein Dossier Act.
The U.S. Department of Justice said it had released nearly 3.5 million pages of documents, but some were heavily redacted. Lawmakers began reviewing the unredacted documents on Monday.
Schumer has been calling for all unreleased documents, which he says number in the millions, to be made public as well.
The House Oversight Committee interviewed Epstein aide Ghislaine Maxwell in a private deposition on Monday. Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls, declined to answer questions. She is serving a 20-year sentence.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will each testify behind closed doors later this month in the committee’s investigation into Epstein.
(Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill and Richard Cowan; Editing by Alistair Bell)