Several Jeffrey Epstein abuse survivors will attend tonight's State of the Union Address in Washington D.C. as guests of lawmakers. Elizabeth Stein will be the guest of U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM). Stein is also an advocate, human trafficking specialist, and prominent voice in the demand for transparency and accountability in the Epstein case. Drawing on her lived experience, Stein has helped lead efforts to expose systemic failures that allowed abuse to occur and has advocated for the full release of the Epstein files. While Fernández will not be attending the address, her office says she will be participating in "alternative programming focused on families harmed by the [Trump] administration’s policies." Both U.S. Senators that represent New Mexico, Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján have announced they will not attend the address. Both are Democrats.
Another New Mexico Democrat, U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury's guest for the address will be State Representative Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe). Romero co-led the passage of New Mexico House Resolution 1 to establish the Epstein Truth Commission which will investigate Epstein's alleged crimes in New Mexico. The commission aims to find out why the federal government never searched Epstein's Zorro Ranch despite allegations of sex crimes and an anonymous tip of two bodies buried near the ranch. Last week, the New Mexico State Attorney General announced it would reopen its investigation into Zorro Ranch and work collaboratively with the Epstein Truth Commission. The federal government asked the state of New Mexico to halt its investigation in 2019.
Stansbury said that bringing Romero to the State of the Union is about “centering the voices of survivors and those seeking justice and accountability." She added that Romero is “a fierce and fearless leader in the fight for justice in New Mexico."
President Trump's first State of the Union of this term comes as new polls show that most Americans think the country is worse off than it was a year ago. 55 percent of those polled say Trump's policies have resulted in a change for the worse, a new high in that category.
