Six women who say they were trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein or his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell made a public appeal on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., demanding the federal government release more investigative files. They also urged former President Donald Trump to publicly rule out a pardon for Maxwell. The women appeared alongside family members of Virginia Giuffre, a prominent Epstein accuser who died by suicide in April, and criticized what they called a long-standing failure to deliver justice.
Jess Michaels, who alleges Epstein raped her in 1991, described him as a “master manipulator” and said his behavior followed a calculated strategy that left young women and teenage girls defenseless. Michaels cited a “severe miscarriage of justice” and delays in accountability as her motivation for speaking out. Her remarks echoed the sentiments of other survivors who say they were also groomed and abused.
Wendy Avis and Jena-Lisa Jones, both of whom say they were 14 when Epstein abused them, condemned the silence of adults who may have witnessed the abuse. Jones stated that many people around Epstein “very clearly knew what was going on” but have refused to speak up. Avis, speaking publicly for the first time, stressed that victims like her still haven’t received justice, calling for broader recognition of the everyday people affected.
All six women, including Marijke Chartouni, Lisa Phillips, and Liz Stein, expressed deep frustration with the Justice Department. Stein accused officials of failing to protect or inform survivors and backed bipartisan efforts in Congress to force transparency. Their statements came just before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee released over 33,000 pages of Epstein-related documents.
Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie are leading a legislative push to investigate alleged mishandling of the federal probes into Epstein and Maxwell. Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, continues to deny wrongdoing. Phillips warned that if the system continues to fail them, survivors are prepared to take justice into their own hands: “We’ll compile our own list.”White House: Shutdown Layoffs Will Be ‘North Of 10,000’
White House budget director Russ Vought is projecting that over 10,000 federal employees will be terminated due to the current government shutdown.
Vought pledged to “continue the RIFs,” alluding to the reduction-in-force notifications issued by agencies to terminate government employees on Friday.
Shortly after Vought’s statement, a federal judge in California introduced ambiguity into Vought’s commitment by prohibiting the layoffs associated with the closure. The Trump administration will contest that verdict.
Approximately 4,000 government employees have been terminated, as shown by court documents; however, the budget director anticipates that the total will likely exceed 10,000, as noted by Politico.“We want to be very aggressive where we can be in shuttering the bureaucracy—not just the funding, but the bureaucracy—and we now have an opportunity to do that,” Vought added on The Charlie Kirk Show, speaking in his first live interview since the shutdown began.Vought anticipated that the layoffs would affect agencies misaligned with the Trump administration’s priorities, including environmental justice initiatives at the Department of Energy and EPA, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The remarks were made a day after President Donald Trump pledged to provide a new list of programs for elimination on Friday, should the shutdown persist until the week’s conclusion.
“We’re closing up programs that are Democrat programs that we were opposed to,” Trump said Tuesday. “And they’re never going to come back in many cases.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson warned Wednesday that the Trump administration’s effort to keep military families paid during the ongoing government shutdown is only a temporary fix that could soon expire.
During a press conference at the Capitol, Johnson said the administration’s move to reroute Pentagon funds to cover military paychecks is a short-term measure that cannot continue indefinitely, Politico reported.
“The problem we have right now is that, in spite of President Trump’s heroic efforts to make sure they get paid, that is a temporary fix,” Johnson told reporters.
“The executive branch, his help, is not permanent. It can’t be,” he added. “And if the Democrats continue to vote to keep the government closed as they have done so many times, then we know U.S. troops are going to risk missing a full paycheck at the end of this month.”
The Trump administration authorized the Department of Defense to use unspent research and development funds to pay active-duty service members during the shutdown, which began earlier this month after the Senate failed to pass a funding measure.
The move provided temporary relief for military families who were preparing to miss their paychecks.
Johnson credited the president for taking action, but said the measure does not address the larger problem.
“The reason that the way they were able to get the troops paid for this paycheck — and as I said, this is not an enduring solution, because we will run out of the funds — but there was some unspent funds in, effectively, R&D accounts in defense,” Johnson said.
“They moved that over to prioritize payment of those who are putting their lives on the line today and who have families in serious situations,” he added.
The government shutdown has resulted in thousands of federal employees being furloughed or temporarily laid off.
Those deemed “essential,” including active-duty military and federal law enforcement, continue to work but often without pay until the shutdown ends.
The House passed a short-term funding measure known as a continuing resolution on September 19 to keep the government operating through November 21.
The measure would give lawmakers more time to negotiate a comprehensive spending agreement for fiscal year 2026.
To advance in the Senate, the resolution requires 60 votes.
So far, only three Democrats have joined Republicans in voting to end the shutdown.
The moment the veil was lifted, and I saw her face, time seemed to stand still. Her eyes—those unmistakable eyes—looked back at me with a mixture of surprise and something unnameable. It was Emily, my wife, or someone who bore an uncanny resemblance to her. I blinked, expecting the illusion to dissolve, but it remained.
For a heartbeat, I considered that perhaps I was dreaming. Or maybe grief had finally taken hold of my sanity, playing cruel tricks on my mind. I glanced around the church, but no one else seemed alarmed or even remotely shocked. Daniel was smiling, lost in his love for the woman who stood beside him.
“Daddy?” Lily whispered again, concern threading her small voice. I forced myself to breathe, to focus on her, my anchor in this bewildering storm. “It’s alright, sweetheart,” I managed, though my voice felt foreign and far away.
The ceremony continued, vows exchanged like echoes in a canyon, distant and unreal. My mind raced with possibilities. Had Emily survived somehow? Was this her twin, separated at birth, or a stranger with an extraordinary likeness? Each scenario seemed more implausible than the last.
Afterwards, at the reception, I found myself watching the bride from afar, unable to summon the courage to approach. It was Lily who broke the stalemate, tugging me toward the newlyweds. “Come on, Daddy, let’s say hi.”
As we neared them, the bride turned, her eyes meeting mine once more. Up close, the resemblance was even more striking, yet there were subtle differences too. Her laughter was different, lighter, and her smile, though similar, carried a different warmth.
“Hi, I’m Clara,” she introduced herself, extending a hand. Her voice was not Emily’s, though it held a comforting familiarity. I shook her hand, trying to maintain composure. “I’m…I’m so happy for both of you,” I stammered, my heart still struggling to find a rhythm.
Daniel clapped me on the back, oblivious to my turmoil. “I can’t believe you two haven’t met before! Clara travels a lot, but it’s crazy how life brings people together, right?” His words hung in the air, a cruel irony not lost on me.
As the evening unfolded, Clara approached me again, this time alone. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she said gently, her eyes searching mine. I hesitated, the need for answers warring with the fear of what those answers might be.
“You remind me of someone,” I confessed, my voice barely a whisper. Clara nodded, a flicker of understanding in her gaze. “Daniel told me about Emily,” she said softly. “I’m sorry if my appearance has brought you pain.”
Pain. It was an apt word, but also inadequate. Seeing her was a reminder of what I had lost, but also a strange, unexpected comfort. I realized then that life, despite its cruel whims, still offered moments of grace.
As the night wore on, I watched Clara and Daniel dance, their happiness a testament to love’s enduring power. And somewhere between the laughter and music, I felt a shift within me. A loosening of the grief that had held me captive for so long.
Lily tugged at my hand, pulling me onto the dance floor. I held her close, her laughter a melody sweeter than any song. In that moment, I understood that moving forward didn’t mean forgetting the past—it meant finding joy in the present, even when shadows lingered.
Five years after losing Emily, I embraced a new kind of hope, one that allowed memories to coexist with new beginnings. And in doing so, I found a way to keep dancing, even when the music changed.