GEOFF BENNETT: And, for more, we're joined now by two women who traveled to Washington to advocate for Epstein survivors.

Liz Stein is an Epstein survivor.

She's now an advocate and educator working to combat human trafficking nationwide.

And Jennifer Freeman is special counsel for the Marsh Law Firm, which represents a number of Epstein survivors.

Thank you both for being here.

JENNIFER FREEMAN, Attorney For Jeffrey Epstein Survivors: Good to be with you.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Liz, I will start with you.

As I mentioned, you are among the survivors now speaking out.

What do you hope to accomplish by sharing your story publicly?

LIZ STEIN, Jeffrey Epstein Survivor: I think that what we accomplished today is something that we haven't been able to accomplish so far.

I think that a lot of the survivors have told their stories in different ways.

And we have been telling our stories all the way back to 1996, when Maria Farmer first reported what was happening with Epstein.

So we have been telling our stories for years, but we have been telling them individually.

And bringing us all together today for the rally and the press conference really gave us a sense of unity and a sense that our collective voices couldn't be ignored.

GEOFF BENNETT: A sense of unity.

The Epstein case has fueled conspiracy theories.

It's fueled political fights.

The president today referred to it as a Democratic hoax.

What does it feel like as a survivor to see your lived trauma reduced to political fodder?

LIZ STEIN: Well, I think it's important for people to understand that this is not a political issue.

This is a crime.

And the crime is sex trafficking.

And so to have -- we had 20 Epstein survivors gathered today.

To have so many women coming forward with similar stories, we don't know each other.

We have never met each other, most of us.

Yet we have this commonality.

And it's being ignored and downplayed.

The amount of emotional turmoil that you go through in coming out and telling your story, the risk to your safety, your life changes forever when you become public.

So no one is doing this for any reason other than to find the truth and to seek justice.

And the fact that this is being downplayed and brushed off as some kind of hoax or some kind of Democratic ploy is really just insulting.

And it's shifting the narrative to a place where it doesn't belong.

GEOFF BENNETT: Jennifer, Liz mentioned one of your clients, Maria Farmer, who sued the federal government for failing to stop Epstein decades ago.

In light of today's advocacy, what concrete actions are you seeking?

JENNIFER FREEMAN: We are going to press that lawsuit.

It's a very important case.

It's to hold the government accountable for what they really failed to do.

Maria Farmer, the original whistle-blower of the Epstein matter, came forward in 1996, as Liz noted, and she went to the FBI.

She did what every citizen is supposed to do when their crime is being committed, especially against children.

And she reported to the FBI.

And what did they do?

Absolutely nothing.

That's unacceptable.

That's clear negligence.

GEOFF BENNETT: Congress last night, as you both well know, released thousands of pages of documents related to the Epstein case.

Most of them were already public.

There could be more to come.

From your perspective, is that enough, or do survivors need something more concrete in order to feel real accountability?

LIZ STEIN: We want substantive information released.

And what was released last night is a lot of what's already been released.

And it's not new information.

So I think that what would really impress us would be if we saw some transparency and something more than just a show.

GEOFF BENNETT: Same question.

Does it feel like accountability or justice, or is this the beginning of what's really needed?

JENNIFER FREEMAN: I hope this is the beginning.

I hope there is follow-up action.

I hope that this is finally going to be taken seriously, beginning with the Epstein Transparency -- File Transparency Act, which is to release the files.

And if the files don't get that -- released that way, we're going to seek them in litigation.

And I'd always put litigation as the last resort, but the problem has been is that no one has been paying attention.

We have done so many different things to try to move this matter forward.

I made a FOIA request, several FOIA requests.

And, in response, what did the government do?

They told me they will get back to me no later than November 2027.

That's unacceptable.

GEOFF BENNETT: Why do you feel like your requests are being met with that level of obstruction?

JENNIFER FREEMAN: I wish I understood that better, because this really -- as we have noted, this is not a political issue.

This started with Maria Farmer in 1996 under the Clinton administration.

There have been five administrations since then of different stripes.

There's no reason why it should be politicized at every turn.

GEOFF BENNETT: Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of facilitating and participating in Epstein's abuse, is now serving out her sentence in a low-security prison camp.

This was after being interviewed by Trump's DOJ.

As a survivor of their crimes, how does that strike you?

LIZ STEIN: First of all, I think it's an unprecedented move for anyone who is convicted of charges -- these charges.

And it really makes me question what the motive is and what the message that the Justice Department wants to send to us and to send to our nation about people in power.

And it's been really upsetting and concerning to the survivors that Ghislaine Maxwell is being given any weight whatsoever, and we haven't been spoken to.

This is a woman who faced federal perjury charges in her indictment, and the charges were severed because they didn't want the testimony from these charges to unduly influence the jury.

And when she was ultimately convicted of the other counts, they were dropped.

And so we have never gotten to the bottom of that.

And so I think that looking towards someone who has a vested interest in what they're saying because their freedom hinges on it and someone who has already not been transparent before, I just don't understand why any weight would be given to anything that she said.

GEOFF BENNETT: In the meantime, you have turned your experience into advocacy, working closely with other survivors, including children who have endured sexual abuse.

What message do you want to share with other survivors who might be watching today and wondering how to move forward?

LIZ STEIN: Something that I wish I could tell my younger self, there was so much fear in me telling anyone, that I never did.

And so, if I could go back to my younger self, I would say, tell someone.

And if they don't listen, tell someone else.

And if they don't listen, just keep telling, because eventually someone's going to listen.

And standing in your truth is a really powerful thing.

So even if all of your cries for help go unanswered, you at least stood in your truth and you spoke it.

That is a strength that is -- yes, I just don't have words.

GEOFF BENNETT: Liz Stein, Jennifer Freeman, thank you both.

LIZ STEIN: Thank you.

JENNIFER FREEMAN: Thank you.