logo
Virginia Giuffre left handwritten note to abuse survivors before suicide

Virginia Giuffre left handwritten note to abuse survivors before suicide

Yahoo30-04-2025
Virginia Giuffre penned an inspiring message to survivors of abuse before her death by suicide, empowering them to fight for themselves and to fight for change.
'Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, and Brothers need to show the battle lines are drawn, and stand together to fight for the future of victims,' it reads. 'Is protesting the answer? I don't know. But we've got to start somewhere.'
Giuffre's sister-in-law Amanda Roberts shared a portion of the handwritten note to Facebook, saying the family discovered it while going through journals left behind at Giuffre's Australian farmhouse. They decided to share the passage after learning that supporters and survivors through the nonprofit Strength Through Strides had met with senators at the U.S. Capitol and held a march in Giuffre's honor, People reported.
'Survivors should know that she's with you and her voice will not be silenced,' Roberts said. 'I know that it's so important, and her wish is that we continue to fight.'
Giuffre, who accused Britain's Prince Andrew and U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein of sexually exploiting her as a teenager, was found dead in her home near Perth on Friday.
'She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking,' her family said in a statement, going on to describe her as 'a 'fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking.' They also praised Giuffre's 'incredible courage' for being one of the first to speak out against Epstein and his chief assistant Ghislaine Maxwell.
Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019, on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York. He died by suicide in Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center in August 2019. Maxwell, meanwhile, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for a 2021 child sex-trafficking conviction related to Epstein.
Prince Andrew has strongly denied having any sort of relationship with Giuffre while she was underaged. He privately settled a lawsuit with her in 2022.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Former AG Bill Barr shared ‘new' details on Jeffrey Epstein's prosecution, death in House deposition: GOP chairman
Former AG Bill Barr shared ‘new' details on Jeffrey Epstein's prosecution, death in House deposition: GOP chairman

New York Post

time29 minutes ago

  • New York Post

Former AG Bill Barr shared ‘new' details on Jeffrey Epstein's prosecution, death in House deposition: GOP chairman

WASHINGTON — Former Attorney General Bill Barr shared 'new' details about the sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein — and his death in federal custody before heading to trial — during a deposition with the House Oversight Committee on Monday, according to the panel's chairman. Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) divulged to reporters that Barr's testimony to House lawmakers and committee staff had revealed 'a lot' on odd circumstances surrounding Epstein's federal prosecution and suicide. 'We asked a lot of questions about the, you know, the suicide,' Comer said, noting the 'general consensus' among Barr, FBI Director Kash Patel, independent medical experts and federal investigations is that the disgraced financier took his own life in a Manhattan lockup on Aug. 10, 2019. 5 Former Attorney General Bill Barr shared 'new' details about the sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein — and his death in federal custody before heading to trial — during a deposition with the House Oversight Committee on Monday. AP The Oversight chairman added that he personally had 'no idea' whether Epstein, 66, killed himself. 'There were blind spots in the in the cameras,' Comer said. 'It's unfortunate … there weren't people in there watching because this is such a high-profile case. … I'm very disappointed in the security. 'We've learned some new things pertaining to different aspects of it, but we've got a lot of people to depose, and we'll release all the transcripts once we get through,' he added. 5 Oversight Chairman James Comer added that he personally had 'no idea' whether Epstein, 66, killed himself. AP Barr's testimony also affirmed an FBI-DOJ assessment provided in a memo last month on the absence of any so-called 'client list' that Epstein allegedly kept of rich and powerful associates potentially implicated in his sickening crimes. The former AG also denied having ever discussed the client list with Trump and suggested that if the 45th president had been involved in Epstein's trafficking network, former President Joe Biden's Justice Department would've leaked any association. In addition to Barr, Attorney General Pam Bondi was subpoenaed for records related to the government's prosecutions of Epstein, his now-convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and a non-prosecution agreement stemming from an earlier state case against the disgraced financier in the mid-2000s. 5 'There were blind spots in the in the cameras,' Comer said. 'It's unfortunate … there weren't people in there watching because this is such a high-profile case. … I'm very disappointed in the security.' CBS 60 MINUTES That agreement was overseen by then-Miami US Attorney Alex Acosta, later Trump's Labor secretary during his first administration, and Democratic lawmakers said that they'd like to issue him a subpoena as well. Reps. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) and Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) told reporters that the Oversight panel should seek testimony from Acosta on Epstein's prosecution. 'We have more questions now than we did going in — and we want more answers and more people to talk to,' said Subramanyam. 5 Asked about their newfound focus on Epstein after nearly five years of silence, the Dems noted that Trump had campaigned on the issue of releasing information on the deceased sex criminal to the public. Department of Justice Barr was one of nearly a dozen former federal officials issued a subpoena by the Oversight panel — including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, attorneys general stretching from Biden's term to the administration of George W. Bush and two former FBI directors. Asked about their newfound focus on Epstein after nearly five years of silence, the Dems noted that Trump had campaigned on the issue of releasing information on the deceased sex criminal to the public. 'Listen, this is a promise, I will tell you, that was not made by Kamala Harris. It's not a promise that was made by Joe Biden. This was a promise that was made by Donald Trump,' Crockett said. 5 'Listen, this is a promise, I will tell you, that was not made by Kamala Harris. It's not a promise that was made by Joe Biden. This was a promise that was made by Donald Trump,' Crockett said. AP 'We'll bring in everyone that we think can add information to the investigation,' added Comer. 'This is a serious investigation. This is a sincere investigation. I hope this will be a bipartisan investigation. I would encourage my Democrat colleagues not to politicize this.'

Bill Barr testifies he didn't see info that would 'implicate' Trump in Epstein case, Comer says
Bill Barr testifies he didn't see info that would 'implicate' Trump in Epstein case, Comer says

Fox News

timean hour ago

  • Fox News

Bill Barr testifies he didn't see info that would 'implicate' Trump in Epstein case, Comer says

Former Attorney General Bill Barr told House investigators on Monday that he never saw anything that could tie President Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein's sordid crimes, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said. "He said that he had never seen anything that would implicate President Trump in any of this, and that he believed if there had been anything pertaining to President Trump with respect to the Epstein list, that he felt like the Biden administration would probably have leaked it out," Comer told reporters partway through Barr's testimony. The ex-Trump administration official is the first person to appear in the House Oversight Committee's probe into the federal government's handling of Epstein's case. Like others subpoenaed to testify after him, Barr's deposition is being conducted behind closed doors. Comer said Barr told investigators that he "didn't know anything about a client list," and did not have conversations with Trump about such a list. "Barr said he's never seen any information that showed that he was in the files, and that he would be shocked if there was anything pertaining to President Trump that was negative that the Biden administration wouldn't have leaked out prior to the presidential election," Comer said. Democrats who were in the room for the first two hours of Barr's deposition were much more vague about what went on, but they accused Republicans of taking too soft an approach. "I have more questions now than I did before going in," Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., told reporters before Comer's remarks. "Just generally, though, I think the Democratic side is doing most of the heavy lifting. I don't think we're learning much from the questioning from the House Republicans." Comer said when asked about those comments, "I think it's unfortunate that the Democrats are trying to, seems to me, politicize this." Barr served as attorney general from Feb. 2019 through Dec. 2020, during Trump's first administration. It was his second stint leading the Department of Justice (DOJ) after first holding the job under former President George H.W. Bush. Barr notably led the DOJ when Epstein died by suicide in Aug. 2019 while awaiting trial in a New York City jail. He said days later at a Fraternal Order of Police event in New Orleans that he was "appalled" and "angry" at what he said was the facility's "failure to adequately secure this prisoner." Barr told the Associated Press later that year that he was personally involved in investigating Epstein's death, specifically that he reviewed security footage from that night that he said showed no one entering the cell the night the late pedophile died. He eventually concluded Epstein did die by suicide, Barr told the outlet, owing to "a perfect storm of screw-ups" at the jail. When asked if Barr told as much to House investigators on Monday, Comer declined to "speak for" the former attorney general but added he believed the "general consensus" was that Epstein killed himself with no external foul play. Barr's testimony is part of a wider bipartisan investigation into the handling of Epstein's case, which has also reached several former attorneys general, FBI directors, and former first couple Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Bill Barr deposition kicks off House GOP's Epstein probe
Bill Barr deposition kicks off House GOP's Epstein probe

The Hill

timean hour ago

  • The Hill

Bill Barr deposition kicks off House GOP's Epstein probe

Former Attorney General Bill Barr answered questions about Jeffrey Epstein in a Monday deposition with the House Oversight Committee that kicked off the panel's probe into matters relating to the late sex offender — an interview that fueled Republican defenses of President Trump while leaving the panel's Democrats hoping to call additional witnesses. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the panel's chair who was present for the first hours of the deposition, told reporters that Barr testified that he did not know of any information that would implicate President Trump. 'What Attorney General Barr testified in there was that he never had conversations with President Trump pertaining to a client list,' Comer said. 'He didn't know anything about a client list. He said that he had never seen anything that would implicate President Trump in any of this, and that he believed if there had been anything pertaining to President Trump with respect to the Epstein list, that he felt like the Biden administration would have probably leaked it out.' Asked about reporting from the Wall Street Journal that Attorney General Pam Bondi had told Trump that he was mentioned in the Epstein files, Comer said Barr talked about how 'you go over everyone that you've ever been in communication with, or whatever, that doesn't implicate you, as far as being guilty.' Democrats on the panel who sat in on the deposition, meanwhile, asserted that they were taking the investigation more seriously than the Republicans. 'I think the Democratic side is doing most of the heavy lifting. I don't think we're learning much from the questioning from the House Republicans. It doesn't seem like this is something where they are truly caring about the victims and about trying to get to the bottom of what's happening,' Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) said. 'It seems like they are going through the motions, and they want people to believe that they are digging in,' Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) added about her Republican counterparts. 'But at the end of the day, I don't think that we've learned anything through the Republican questioning that you couldn't find in one of the articles that most likely your outlets have printed.' Comer in response said: 'It's unfortunate the Democrats are trying to, seems to me, politicize this, when you look at the basis of this, horrific crimes against young girls. And of course, the Democrats' goal is to try to dig up some type of dirt on President Trump.' The panel's Epstein investigation was spurred by the furor that followed the Department of Justice and FBI releasing a memo in July saying that it would not release any more information from the so-called 'Epstein files.' The announcement further fueled conspiracy theories that the government is shielding powerful individuals who may have been involved with Epstein's abuse of young women and underage girls. Barr is one of 10 high-profile former federal officials who the Oversight panel subpoenaed as it looks into the Epstein matter, pursuant to a Republican-led motion that came as Democrats on the panel also successfully moved to subpoena the Justice Department for the 'full, unredacted Epstein files.' Deposition dates are also set for former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — who, like president Trump, had socialized with Epstein — and other former attorneys general and FBI directors going back to the first prosecution of Epstein in 2008. Barr was attorney general in President Trump's first term when Epstein was arrested on federal charges of sex trafficking minors in 2019, and when died in his prison cell later that year in what federal authorities have repeatedly said was a suicide. He was also attorney general when Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend and associate, was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges in 2020. Maxwell was later convicted and is currently in prison. Crockett said that the questioning led her to want to seek more information from investigators in the Southern District of New York and from former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, who was the prosecutor who handled Epstein's much-criticized plea deal in 2008 and was not one of the former officials subpoenaed pursuant to the Republican-led motion in July. Comer indicated he was open to calling more witnesses when asked about the possibility of bringing in Acosta. 'We'll bring in everyone what we think can add information to the investigation. This is a serious investigation, this is a sincere investigation. I hope this will be a bipartisan investigation,' Comer said. The next deadline in the panel's investigation is Tuesday, the date by which it directed the Department of Justice to deliver all documents and communications relating to its Epstein investigation. Comer indicated that the Tuesday deadline could be pushed back. 'We're having really good conversations. You have to understand how many, you can imagine, how many documents there are,' Comer said. 'I think we'll receive the documents very soon,' Comer added, saying 'we're working together in a good faith effort.' Crockett said that if the DOJ does not comply with the deadline, Democratic leadership will talk about how to respond. 'I fully anticipate that they should at least try to substantially convey the vast majority of the request,' Crockett said. 'Because that is one of the things that the court will look at, if we have to go so far as to try to seek enforcement on this, is whether or not there was substantial compliance.' The Oversight panel has also subpoenaed Maxwell, but Comer has agreed to delay deposing her until after the Supreme Court considers her petition to overturn her conviction for sex trafficking. The Justice Department, meanwhile, has made new efforts to reveal previously unseen information — despite the president himself dismissing the Epstein saga as a 'hoax.' Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche sat down with Maxwell to try to get new information. The DOJ also made motions to unseal grand jury testimony transcripts from the Epstein case and from Maxwell's case, but both were denied.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store