Jeffrey Epstein survivor Lisa Phillips didn’t hold back after President Donald Trump brushed off the renewed push to release Epstein files as a “Democrat hoax that never ends.” Appearing on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 on Wednesday night, Phillips said the remark left her “shocking and upsetting,” adding that for years Trump acknowledged there were “thousands” of pages and promised transparency. “I couldn’t believe that he said that… I was just confused by it,” she told Cooper.
Trump’s jab came just minutes after survivors gathered on Capitol Hill demanding the Justice Department unlock everything it has on Epstein and his network. Outside the Capitol, victims and lawmakers made their case for a full release, while inside the White House, Trump dismissed the whole effort as a partisan ploy, saying it was a “Democrat hoax that never ends.” The timing only fueled outrage, with survivors saying the comments were “devastating” to hear.
“We just want some accountability and we haven’t received any”: Epstein abuse survivor Lisa Phillips, who spoke out on Capitol Hill today, is calling on lawmakers to release the files. pic.twitter.com/Kfkmu1XmaQ
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) September 4, 2025
Phillips stressed that survivors aren’t targeting Trump, they’re targeting secrecy. She told Cooper the campaign this week was “a cry for us, being fed up and wanting answers,” and that what survivors want now is basic accountability after years of waiting. Her message echoed what women said all day in front of cameras on the Hill: this is about truth, not politics.
The push comes as Congress turns up the pressure. Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna launched a discharge petition to force a vote on legislation compelling the DOJ to release more records, arguing the public deserves to see the full picture. Survivors stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the lawmakers, recounting abuse and urging transparency as a path to real accountability.
🚨MAJOR BREAKING: Epstein survivors just announced they will release their own list of names.
“We know who abused us. We saw who came and went. This list will be survivor-led—for survivors.”
The government stalled.
Now the victims are doing it themselves. pic.twitter.com/MtoazxpZb2
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) September 3, 2025
Some survivors say that if the government won’t produce a comprehensive roster, they’ll start building one themselves. Phillips told reporters survivors have discussed compiling their own “client list” of names they encountered or documented over the years, though she cautioned there are no immediate plans to publish it due to safety and retaliation concerns. That threat, even if only a last resort, underscores how fed up they are with the pace of disclosures.
Trump, for his part, has argued that thousands of pages have already been released and that the rest is a political distraction. But the survivors’ message is simple: dribs and drabs aren’t enough. After the House Oversight Committee dumped more than 33,000 pages this week much of it material already in the public domain—advocates said only a complete release will cut through conspiracy theories and finally answer lingering questions about who enabled Epstein and how.
Jeffrey Epstein victim:
“I was 10 years old. I was raped three times a day, sometimes. I was not the only girl on that island… there was a constant stream of girls being raped over, and over, and over again.”
All of those files need to be released.
— SOVEREIGN BRAH 🇺🇸🏛️⚡️ (@sovereignbrah) September 3, 2025
If you’re wondering why this battle is boiling over now, it’s the collision of timing and tone. On the day survivors stood in the sun telling stories most people couldn’t bear to hear, the President called their cause a hoax. Phillips said the remark didn’t just sting, it confused her, given past assurances about transparency. It also rallied survivors, who left Capitol Hill with a sharper message and a louder microphone on primetime TV.
Survivors say they’re done waiting. They want Congress to force the DOJ’s hand, they want every page out, and they want the politics turned down so the truth can finally stand on its own. Whether or not the administration budges, Phillips’s TV moment turned a day of advocacy into a headline and dared Washington to prove it’s listening.
