After Years of Silence, New House Bill Targets the Tactics Used to Shield Epstein

House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., introduced the Survivors Voice Act on Wednesday based on a months-long investigation into government failures in the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking operation.

The Daily Signal first reported this month the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was drafting a bill defining human trafficking to prevent offenders from using loopholes and to ensure that someone who signed a nondisclosure agreement still can, and will still be required to, report sexual misconduct.

“The federal government for decades failed the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes. We sadly cannot undo the harm and abuse inflicted upon these women. However, we have an obligation to take action to reform our laws to ensure survivors are protected and abusers can be held accountable,” Comer said in a statement Wednesday.

The bill defines grooming in federal law to mean conduct that is intended to establish an emotional connection with a minor, including manipulation, trust-building, or influence in order to facilitate acts of sexual conduct.

The bill says a nondisclosure agreement is void and unenforceable if it prohibits any person, including the alleged victim of sexual abuse, from disclosing information about that sexual abuse. The legislation would apply to existing agreements retroactively.

It further establishes a duty to report grooming to law enforcement. The legislation says “a guardian, trustee, executor, administrator, receiver, conservator, or any person acting in any fiduciary capacity for any person including an officer, director, employee, agent, or other participant in the management or conduct of the affairs of such a person” must report grooming of a minor.

“During our investigation, we’ve learned how powerful men weaponized nondisclosure agreements to silence survivors of sexual abuse,” Comer added. “The Survivor’s Voice Protection Act ensures individuals with information about sexual abuse and survivors can speak freely about these crimes, despite any nondisclosure agreements.”

He added: “The bill also takes steps to prevent the grooming of minors and ensure accountability for those seeking to exploit children.”

Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., joined Comer as original cosponsors of the bill.

The House Oversight Committee’s review of the federal government’s investigation of Epstein and Maxwell conducted 19 depositions and transcribed interviews, including with well-known individuals such as former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

The committee released approximately 65,000 pages of documents from the Epstein estate, the Department of Justice, interview transcripts, and Epstein’s bank records.

The Justice Department initially charged Epstein in 2008 with operating a sex-trafficking ring, luring dozens of underage girls to his mansions in Palm Beach, Manhattan, and elsewhere.

In 2008, Epstein avoided federal prosecution by entering into a nonprosecution agreement in Florida, pleading guilty to state-level charges of soliciting prostitution and procuring a minor for prostitution. He served 13 months in jail.

More than a decade later, federal prosecutors in New York arrested Epstein in July 2019 on new federal sex-trafficking and conspiracy indictments. But before his trial could take place, Epstein died by what is believed to be suicide in his Manhattan prison cell in August 2019.

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