Democrats at a congressional field hearing in Palm Beach, Florida, have warned Donald Trump against granting a presidential pardon to Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The hearing, held on Tuesday by members of the US House oversight committee, featured emotional testimony from several survivors of Epstein’s abuse, some of whom said they were retraumatised after the justice department failed to redact their names from the so-called Epstein files.
Robert Garcia, the ranking Democratic member of the oversight committee, described Palm Beach as “the scene of the crime”. He unveiled a report titled The Price of Non-Prosecution, which details how Epstein built a global sex-trafficking network after a controversial “sweetheart deal” with Florida prosecutors in 2008. According to Garcia, the deal allowed Epstein to evade serious charges and serve just 13 months in prison, after which he and his associates exploited the US immigration system to bring victims into the country.
Survivor Dani Bensky testified about being groomed and recruited into Epstein’s circle, noting that some victims were encouraged to recruit friends. “I had two recruiters,” she said. “One was a late teen, and the other was only 15 years old, just trying to escape her own abuse.” Other victims were recruited from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, including Virginia Giuffre, who was 16 when she was allegedly recruited by Maxwell in 2000. Giuffre later became a prominent voice in exposing Epstein, but died by suicide in April 2025.
Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother, gave tearful testimony about his sister’s determination to expose the truth. “She was only 16 years old… when she began being trafficked,” he said. “No survivor should have to risk their own safety just to be believed. But Virginia, she did it anyway.” Emails released in November suggested that Trump knew about the girls involved, with one stating “of course [Trump] knew about the girls”, though Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein’s activities.
The hearing comes as part of a broader Democratic investigation into the Epstein scandal, with Garcia promising further reports in the months ahead. The focus on Trump’s connections to Epstein, including his past friendship with the disgraced financier, has intensified during his second presidency.
