Epstein Victims Say The Trump Administration's Handling Of The Case Adds To Their Anguish

They feel, arsenic 1 of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims put it, for illustration they’re “being erased.”

While a civilian warfare rages successful MAGA world complete President Donald Trump’s determination to disavow conspiracies that his astir ardent supporters stoked astir Epstein being portion of a heavy authorities sex-trafficking cabal, nan women who were victimized by nan billionaire opportunity their suffering is being sidelined by earthy politics.

Four Epstein victims who said pinch NBC News opportunity nan Trump management should beryllium exposing immoderate powerful men who shared Epstein’s penchant for susceptible young women, not putting nan brakes connected immoderate early prosecutions.

“You ne'er really heal,” said Danielle Bensky, 38, who was a budding ballerina erstwhile she said Epstein abused her 2 decades ago. “And pinch what’s happening now, it feels for illustration we’re being erased. All nan brave women who came guardant … each nan activity that we did to show nan world what happened to us, it’s each being erased.”

The victims said pinch NBC News precocious arsenic Trump tried to mollify supporters angered by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s announcement that nan “client list” she claimed to person connected her table did not exist, and that Epstein’s decease successful 2019 while awaiting proceedings connected sex-trafficking charges was a jailhouse termination and not a execution to soundlessness him, arsenic galore believe.

Faced pinch what critics and friends are calling a terrible threat to his presidency, Trump has alternately dismissed nan furor arsenic a “hoax” ginned-up by Democrats and ordered Bondi to merchandise “pertinent” expansive assemblage transcripts and different documents that could shed much ray connected nan scandal.

On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump wrote a bawdy day missive for Epstein much than 2 decades ago. NBC News has not seen nan original letter, and Trump has called it “a clone thing.”

Bensky said her bosom sank earlier this period erstwhile Bondi, who had amplified Trump’s run promises to “demolish nan heavy state,” released a two-page memo stating location was nary grounds of an “incriminating customer list” of men who had activity pinch young women procured by nan financier and that her agency would not prosecute anyone other successful nan case.

Danielle Bensky.Courtesy Danielle Bensky

“I felt a activity of sadness,” Bensky said. “All those years of trying to summation justness conscionable negated. It was conscionable 2 pages saying they were done investigating pinch nary specifications astir what happened to each of us. It’s for illustration we ne'er existed.”

For different victims, Epstein’s reappearance successful nan news is for illustration tearing nan scab from a wound.

“The reality is, trauma is ne'er a 1 and done,” Epstein unfortunate Teresa J. Helm said by email to NBC News. “It’s complex. It tin return a life to repair oneself. Various things tin initiate a trauma response, and that’s conscionable regular life.”

Helm, who said she was hired to springiness Epstein massages and was sexually assaulted by him successful nan early 2000s, now useful pinch intersexual battle victims for nan National Center connected Sexual Exploitation. She said immoderate dream she had for getting a measurement of justness is now gone.

“When a person’s abuser(s) are many times flashed successful position astatine immoderate fixed moment, and particularly erstwhile promises of justice, and promises of structures of powerfulness yet being held to relationship — to past fundamentally person nan doorway unopen successful your look and nary longer unfastened for business — past what?” Helm wrote successful her email.

Teresa Helm arrives astatine tribunal during nan proceedings of Ghislaine Maxwell successful New York successful 2021. Carlo Allegri / Reuters

Attorney David Boies represented 1 of Epstein’s best-known accusers, nan precocious Virginia Giuffre, who claimed successful a 2016 deposition that Epstein and his now-imprisoned accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell forced her to person activity pinch respective powerful men, including Prince Andrew.

The British royal acknowledged associating pinch Epstein and agreed to a colony pinch Giuffre but denied nan allegations.

Maxwell has filed a petition with nan Supreme Court to vacate her 2021 condemnation for recruiting and grooming teenage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse.

Boies said Trump, Bondi and others successful nan management person only themselves to blasted for reviving nan Epstein saga.

“It’s coming up now because nan management made specified a large woody that they were going to merchandise a database of clients and, each of a sudden, they did a 180-turn saying we will not merchandise anything,” Boies said. “If they ne'er said thing location would person been only middling liking and conspiracy thinking. It’s nan inconsistencies that fueled things.”

Boies said that arsenic acold arsenic he knows location was nary archive successful nan raft of grounds he reviewed that was labelled a “client list.”

“I deliberation they ought to merchandise nan worldly aft promising, and if they don’t, group will judge they are hiding thing and that cannot beryllium tolerated,” he said.

Alicia Arden was a 27-year-old exemplary and aspiring character erstwhile Epstein assaulted her successful 1997 astatine a edifice successful Santa Monica, California, she said.

“I get upset erstwhile I perceive his name,” Arden said of Epstein.

Arden said Epstein had identified himself arsenic a talent scout for Victoria’s Secret and she wanted to meet him. Epstein was a apical advisor to erstwhile Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner but was not a talent scout for nan retailer.

Alicia Arden delivers a connection astatine nan Allred, Maroko & Goldberg rule offices successful Los Angeles successful 2020.Chris Pizzello / AP

“I really wanted to beryllium successful nan Victoria’s Secret catalog,” said Arden. “But past he grabbed me, tried to tear disconnected my clothes, and said he wanted to ‘manhandle’ me. I ran retired of location and he chased aft me.”

Arden, who revenge a constabulary study aft nan brushwood pinch Epstein, said she supports Trump but believes “there’s a cover-up of immoderate benignant going on.”

“Pam Bondi was saying backmost successful February location was a database and past she said nan database was connected her table and now location is nary list,” said Arden, who lives successful Santa Monica. “She doesn’t want thing to travel retired and I don’t understand why. Maybe nan database is much horrifying than we think.”

Another victim, who has spoken publically astir really Maxwell recruited her to springiness Epstein seductive massages, told NBC News she was “terrified” erstwhile Bondi announced location was nary “client list” and that she would not prosecute anyone else.

“In nan past, I was retired location talking astir what happened, and now I don’t want my sanction retired location successful relationship pinch thing to do pinch Epstein because I’m acrophobic of what they could do to maine and my family,” said nan woman, who agreed to speak to NBC News connected nan information her sanction not beryllium utilized because she fears retribution from nan Trump administration.

“I americium not amazed Trump is now saying we should extremity talking astir Epstein,” she said. “These group are trying to protect themselves.”

Bensky said that what’s happening now is for illustration “Ground Hog Day for nan #MeToo Movement” and threatens nan strides each victims person made successful confronting their abusers.

“We request transparency and accountability for nan liking of our daughters and early generations of young girls,” she said.

Now a choreographer who useful pinch teenage creation troupes, Bensky said she has for galore years recovered solace by utilizing “some of nan aforesaid devices I usage successful my choreography to get into a meditative state.”

“Of late, I’ve been moving pinch a group of young dancers successful Hawaii and I sometimes deliberation astir really location are truthful galore girls retired location being victimized,” Bensky said. “I find myself thinking, really do I show my students that nan world isn’t ever acheronian and painful? Because I sat successful sadness for a agelong time.”