WASHINGTON – Dani Bensky,a woman who accused Jeffrey Epstein of abuseand is pressing for the release of more government documents about his investigation, will be among the guests atPresident Donald Trump'sState of the Union address.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, invited Bensky, who has fought for the release of all Justice Department documents about Epstein. But Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department hasstopped its review after releasing about 3 millionof 6 million pages. Trump has saidAmerica should move on.
"My survivor sisters and I have been fighting for transparency and accountability" while Trump has called their claims "a hoax," Bensky said in a statement. "Trump and his DOJ continue to coverup and protect perpetrators. We need to release of all files."
Jeffrey Epstein island photos show abandoned Caribbean estate
Schumer isalso bringing the Bronx motherof one of the first New York City students detained by federal agents during Trump's deportation crackdown.
The release of the Epstein files remain contentious despite Congress passing a law Trump signed that directed the release of all the records of alleged sex trafficking. The law contained exceptions for redactions of the names of people who accused Epstein of abuse or items that could hurt a criminal inquiry, but lawmakers contend the department must release more.
"Dani has turned unimaginable pain into unrelenting advocacy, calling onPresident Trumpto release every file and follow the law," Schumer said in a statement. "Instead, Trump's DOJ is stonewalling: slow-walking disclosures, blacking out page after page."
Epstein died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Lawmakers and people who accused Epstein of abuse aim to track downpowerful business and political leaderswho might haveconspired with him besides Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate who is now serving a 20-year prison sentence.
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The files have led to new criminal investigations in other countries, including of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and former ambassador Peter Mandleson in the United Kingdom.
"We must keep shining a light in the darkest places together," said Bensky, who was 17 and a ballerina when she met Epstein in 2004.
The department missed a late-December deadline for releasing all the records. Lawmakers have questioned redactions that left many names and pages blacked out.
Blanche has said the department wouldn't release files that reflected legal reasoning in the case against Epstein. Two of the documents that lawmakers and alleged victims have sought are a draft indictment of federal charges that weren't pursued and a report summarizing prosecution reasoning in the case.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Feb. 3 that the country should move on.
"I think it's really time for the country to maybe get onto something else," Trump said. "Now that nothing came out about me, other than it was a conspiracy against me, literally by Epstein and other people."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Dani Bensky to attend Trump speech while pushing for more Epstein docs
