Annie Farmer, one of the women who has been outspoken about the abuse she endured when she was younger, is reacting to the process in Congress for the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Farmer joined CBS News' with more.

Washington

Annie Farmer, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse and advocate for legislative action, reacted to the recent congressional decision to release unclassified files related to the Epstein case. Farmer described feeling relieved and proud of the collective effort that led to this milestone, while also expressing cautious optimism about how the Department of Justice will handle transparency given past challenges with redactions.

Farmer emphasized that publicizing the investigation will validate survivors and help prevent future abuse by exposing how Epstein's network operated. She also reflected on the personal impact of the abuse and highlighted the potential for post-traumatic growth, encouraging other survivors to find strength and healing through advocacy and collective action.

Epstein abuse survivor Annie Farmer reacts to votes on Epstein files

Now Annie Farmer is one of the multiple survivors who advocated for this bill and survived Epstein's abuse I spoke with her a short time ago Welcome Annie a great to have you with us today. And what is a significant moment? I'm curious how you feel now that both chambers of Congress have agreed to release the unclassified files and President Trump just needs to sign it. I think we feel incredibly relieved that we're here and I think proud that of the work that so many people did together to make this happen And I think there's a little bit of anxiety about what comes next, you know, we want we feel hopeful but nervous about how the DOJ will really handle transparency in this case. Tell me more about that well I think you know there's just been a history in this case of heavy redactions of really having to fight to make people follow through with things or follow, you know, follow the law and so You know, I just I again, I think it's incredibly it's an incredible accomplishment that we're here Nobody expected. I mean it was just a week ago I think I was you know being told that it was very unlikely. This would make it to the floor of the Senate, right? And so when we were, you know celebrating yesterday afternoon We never expected that this would happen so quickly that it would be on President Trump's desk And so this is a this is a victory for us your sister Maria In fact was among the first to publicly accuse Epstein back in the 90s, but his crimes continued So what difference do you think it will make? Publicizing some of the investigation and the contents now. Oh, I think it makes an incredible difference Not only you know for those individuals like my sister who spoke out and the validation that yes, you know, this was wrong And these people's the people that were harmed should never have been harmed because this should have been stopped earlier But also to understand this network to understand how it was allowed to go on for so long I think that can prevent abuse in the future President Trump could have released the DOJ files earlier. He resisted the release from Congress He's now supporting it. What do you make of his shift? I think it is somewhat confusing. It was unexpected and You know, I'm glad it happened I think there was so much pressure I know I heard him saying we want to move on and you know, I've said we do to believe us We want to move on as well And there's one way to make that happen, which is to to release this information One thing that struck me listening to survivors on Tuesday was them showing images of themselves at a young age when they were taken into Epstein's kind of scheme Your site you were 16 at the time and they all spoke about losing so much What did you lose and now as a psychologist with trauma survivors? What message do you hope survivors take from witnessing all this? Yeah, I think that when you go through something like that at such a young age you can you know Lose a sense of safety sense of trust But I think that you know What I really hope that people see in this is that there is the so much potential for post-traumatic growth, right? like the way that people have Being there with this incredible group of women yesterday I can't tell you how honored I felt to be amongst this group and to hear them speaking out so boldly and so strongly I think that you know, I just I hope people take a lot from that in terms of what is possible in the healing process and What you can do with your voice well Annie. I'm so sorry. This is something you went through Of course, you didn't deserve that but I appreciate you speaking with us and using your platform now to help others any farmer Thanks for your time today. Thanks so much for having me

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Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated attempts to kill the effort to release federal files related to Jeffrey Epstein, House Republican leaders are planning to hold a vote this week on legislation to force the issue.

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