Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., plans to bring Haley Robson, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, as his guest to Tuesday’s State of the Union address, spotlighting ongoing calls for accountability in the notorious sex-trafficking case.
Robson, who was exploited by Epstein as a minor in the early 2000s, later said she was pressured to recruit other underage girls for him, per Fox News.
According to 2006 police documents, Epstein paid her for arranging these encounters.
“I probably recruited 24 girls. Those girls brought other girls too. They were all underage,” Robson told a Netflix documentary series about Epstein. She described being haunted by guilt for years after escaping his influence.
Khanna defended the decision to bring Robson, emphasizing the importance of centering survivors.
“Haley Robson was 16 years old when she survived Epstein’s abuse. This campaign to malign her and the other survivors on the night of the State of the Union is shameful,” he said in a statement. “Attack me all you want. Do not attack the survivors. I am honored to bring her as my guest to Trump’s State of the Union. Their courage moved a nation.”
Top Democrats are using the State of the Union to apply pressure on President Donald Trump over the handling of Epstein-related documents.
Polling by SSRS suggests half of the public remains dissatisfied with how authorities managed the case, while an IPSOS survey indicates that 75% believe the government may still be withholding information about Epstein’s associates.
Khanna, who helped push Congress to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, believes the Department of Justice still holds unreleased information that could help identify co-conspirators. Other prominent Democrats are following suit.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced he would bring Dani Bensky, an Epstein survivor, to demand justice. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., invited survivor Annie Farmer but will attend a separate Democrat-led counter event at the Lincoln Memorial rather than the Capitol.
Khanna called for prosecutions, citing ongoing international investigations into individuals connected to Epstein.
“It’s time for the Department of Justice to begin investigations and prosecutions,” he said, pointing to cases in Britain, Norway, and France.
By centering survivors like Robson at a major political event, Khanna and other Democrats hope to keep the spotlight on Epstein’s crimes and push for continued accountability.
