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This Week in the War on Women, 8/31-9/6/25: Epstein Evildoers Edition [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-09-06

Is there anything scummier than a man who could listen to brave women tell their heartfelt stories of abuse by bad guys when they were children, and he knows perfectly well that they tell the truth, but he calls their testimony a “hoax”?

That’s $Resident $Rump, possibly the griftiest grifter ever to disgrace the Oval Office.

On Wednesday of this past week, survivors of Epstein’s abuse testified in front of the Capitol and demanded that the Epstein files be released. Early estimates reported “nearly a dozen,” but according to Democracy Now!, there were more than 20 survivors who came to Washington DC on that day and supported each other. You can listen to some of these women at the link, where there is also a complete transcript of the news segment. Here are a few excerpts from some of the women who spoke:

MARINA LACERDA: [snip] There are many pieces of my story that I can’t remember, no matter how hard I try. The constant state of wonder causes me so much fear and so much confusion. My therapist says that my brain is just trying to protect itself, but it’s so hard to begin to heal, knowing that there are people out there who know more about my abuse than I do. The worst part is that the government is still in possession right now of the documents and information about — that could help me remember and get over all of this, maybe, and help me heal. They have documents with my name on them that were confiscated from Jeffrey Epstein’s house and could help me put the pieces of my own life back together. HALEY ROBSON: [snip] When I got into the massage room, Jeffrey Epstein undressed and asked me to do things to him. My eyes welled up with tears, and I have never been more scared in my life. When it was over, he paid me $200 and requested, in exchange, that I bring a girl each time to make another $200. I told him I did not want to do that, and then he gave me an ultimatum: “Either you come here and massage me when I call you, or you bring me friends of yours to massage, and I will give you $200 per girl for each time she comes.” I felt and hoped to never hear from him again, but he called me every day. He was so wealthy and powerful, and he would not let me go. I felt I had no choice. If I disobeyed him, I knew something bad would happen. CHAUNTAE DAVIES: [snip] What I endured will haunt me forever. I live every day with PTSD. I live as a mother trying to raise my child while distrusting a world that has betrayed me. This kind of trauma never leaves you. It breaks families apart. It shapes the way we see everyone around us. But one thing is certain: Unless we learn from this history, monsters like Epstein will rise again.

So why is $Rump fighting their efforts? Several of those involved have said that $Rump is not incriminated, although $Rump has been sued for his involvement in the past (that case settled out of court with non-disclosure).

But when $Rump thought he could make political hay out of the Epstein files, his reaction was altogether different. These reports and others show a different $Rump. With apologies for $Rump’s ugly face, but posted so that you can see some of $Rump’s own answers for yourselves if you want to:

A 2002 complimentary New York magazine profile of Epstein, apparently before his proclivities were widely known by the media, quotes $Rump on Epstein (bolding mine):

“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” Trump booms from a speakerphone. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”

No idea that anything was going on, $Rump?

In 2019, $Rump criticized the 2008 deal that gave Epstein a light sentence, with his Cabinet secretary saying that new evidence and charges in New York may “more fully bring him to justice” and $Rump saying “I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you”. He further stated “I had a falling out with him a long time ago, I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years”. $Rump did not then provide details.

The Wall Street Journal in 2023, not exactly an enclave of “liberal Democrats,” tied $Rump and many people “close to” $Rump with Epstein in 2016, including some of $Rump’s donors and the Russian ambassador.

Since then, $Rump has recently claimed that he fell out with Epstein when he “stole" one of his Mar-a-Lago employees from his spa. One of Epstein’s survivors now says that she was that employee.

So obviously this is emphatically NOT a hoax. $Rump with his own words tied himself to Epstein, he at least had some knowledge of young women being used, he was accused of being involved, and he was fine with releasing the Epstein files until probably after he was told that he was in the files.

Of course, $Rump changing stories and gaslighting is his standard MO. But when he dares to accuse young women who survived human trafficking of perpetrating a HOAX? That’s a bridge too far. The evidence is already in the public record that $Rump knows none of this was a hoax, when you can connect with the news sites that recorded $Rump’s earlier statements.

Note that there are substantially more connections than I’ve posted here, but in researching this story, my computer and Internet connection went on the fritz! So I’ll have to stop here.

Purely a coincidence, right? The $Rumpian state isn’t tracking my computer activity and interfering, right? Right? Anybody?

There's an old saying that “You’re not paranoid if they’re really out to get you.” Hopefully I’m just paranoid. After all, this is just one little blog and I’m not even employed here as a reporter. And on the flip side, my Internet does seem to go down when I’m using it a lot, like finding references for WOW diaries!

Still, it’s weird.

So please see other news in the Comments, and hopefully I’ll be around to respond!

This Week in the War on Women is a group effort. Many thanks to Soaked Ferret, Angmar, mettle fatigue, and ramara for news, discussion and encouragement this week!

This Week in the War on Women is looking for writers. Please let us know in the Comments if you’d like to sign up to write one of our columns! Thank you!

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