President Donald Trump on April 8, 2025

Lisa Phillips, a survivor of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, said she was shocked to hear President Donald Trump call the push to release the Epstein files a "hoax."

"For me personally, it was shocking and upsetting. I just couldn't believe that he said that just for so many years. He acknowledged that there were thousands of files, and he was going to release them. and so hearing that today, i was just confused by it," she said during an appearance on CNN Wednesday evening.

"I think he thought that we were targeting targeting him, and we weren't. I don't believe there's any evidence that he abused any of the survivors, so it wasn't a target against him. It was just a cry for us being fed up and wanting answers," Phillips added.

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She continued: "The only person that's been held accountable is a woman, and we were abused by a man who sex trafficked a lot of us. And so, we are aware there are many other men out there and we just don't understand, or we are nearing the end of our fight, pushing us to make other decisions to see if we can get some accountability."

Survivors of Epstein delivered powerful testimony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday morning, urging Congress and the White House to declassify every shred of investigative material tied to Epstein’s crimes.

Eight women, some speaking for the first time, recounted enduring trauma and demanded transparency from institutions that have long shielded the powerful in Epstein’s orbit.

In the Oval Office, Trump reiterated dismissive remarks to reporters Wednesday.

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“It’s really a Democrat hoax, because they’re trying to get people to talk about something that’s totally irrelevant to the success we’ve had as a nation since I’ve been President," he said.

Brad Edwards, attorney for Epstein survivors, told CNN that, based on Trump’s remarks, he believes the president may not understand what the word “hoax” actually means.

"I'm not sure that he knows what the word hoax means, to tell you the truth, because I've talked to President Trump years ago about this case on this topic," he said. "He provided information he knew back then the type of creep that Jeffrey Epstein was. I can't imagine that he's saying that these hundreds of women are lying about this."

Edwards added he has represented 200 women, "so all I can think is that he has now seen the files or has been advised of things in the files that he didn't know was in the files, and that I currently don't know that are in the files, because otherwise it makes absolutely no sense."

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"This about turn he's done. You're either on the side of the victims or you're on the side of evil. There is not another side to this, and he's choosing the side of evil. The side of Jeffrey Epstein. It really makes no sense."

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