Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have urged US lawmakers to back a bill that would force the release of records on the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.
Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman who is pushing the measure, said they required just two more lawmakers from the Republican side to force a vote in the House of Representatives.
Survivor Anouska De Georgiou urged members to support the release of the files, maintaining that "the only motive to oppose this bill would be to conceal wrongdoing".
"The days of sweeping this under the rug are over", she said during a press conference on Capitol Hill.
Ms De Georgiou, a British woman, described herself as a survivor of both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime girlfriend and associate.
"You have a choice: stand with the truth or with the lies that have protected predators for decades," Ms De Georgiou said.
Jena-Lisa Jones, another survivor, said she was just 14 when she was abused by Epstein in Palm Beach, Florida.
"I had never been more scared in my life than I was that first time that he hurt me," she said.
"I remember crying the entire way home."
Ms Jones said she was "just a little kid" at the time, and did not think anyone would believe her story - noting that she had seen photos of Epstein with famous people in his home.
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'That day changed my life forever'
Hayley Robson, another survivor, described being asked by a classmate to give Epstein a massage.
"When I got into the massage room, Epstein undressed and asked me to do things to him," she said.
"That day changed my life forever."
Ms Robson, who was 14 at the time, said she was paid $200 and told to bring other girls to his house to give him massages.
"I felt I had no choice: if I disobeyed him, something bad would happen," she said.
Ms Robson said the curtain should be lifted on the files.
"Every congressman who goes against this bill should be outed," she said.
The measure, which would require the US Justice Department to release all of its unclassified Epstein records, is also being proposed by Ro Khanna, a California Democrat.
Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has criticised the bill and said it lacks language that would protect the identities of victims.
He and other Republican leaders are working hard to defeat the initiative, and have tried to persuade members of their party not to support it.
As part of their efforts to head off the bill, a committee in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday released more than 33,000 pages of files on Epstein.
Watch: US government 'holds the truth' - Taylor Greene
But Mr Khanna and Mr Massie said that most of those files were already in the public domain.
The White House has also said it opposes the measure.
Epstein affair posing challenges for Trump
The Epstein affair has presented political challenges for US President Donald Trump, after many of his backers endorsed conspiracy theories about the disgraced financier, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Mr Trump has repeatedly referred to the case as "the Epstein hoax" without elaborating further.
Officials in his Justice Department had promised to release sensitive documents on Epstein - but reversed course in July, stating that "no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted".
Though the U-turn incited anger within Mr Trump's base, he has largely brushed off questions about the fallout - fuelling further conspiracy theories.
The US President socialised with Epstein in the 1980s and 1990s, but the pair fell out in the early 2000s. There is no evidence that he engaged in any illegal activities with the financier.
Should the two lawmakers secure the backing of 218 members, a majority in the House of Representatives, it would force a vote on the issue.
'Corrupt' forces blocking release of files
Mr Khanna said "corrupt" forces were aligning to block the release of the files.
"There is something that is rotten in Washington," he said.
Mr Massie, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, said that he and his colleagues were standing with the survivors.
"There are real survivors," he said.
"There are real victims to this criminal enterprise, and the perpetrators are being protected because they are rich and powerful," he said.
