Epstein Victim Slams Trump’s ‘Offensive’ Hoax Claim
Annie Farmer says Donald Trump’s comments were sending a “terrible message.”
Jeffrey Epstein survivor Annie Farmer has torn into Donald Trump’s description of the ongoing furore over the Epstein files as a “Democratic hoax”—branding his words “offensive.”
Trump’s attempted dismissal of the matter came during an Oval Office photo-op, in response to reporters’ questions about a rumored meeting at the residence of Vice President JD Vance to discuss how to deal with the scandal that is engulfing his administration.
Trump tried to wave the matter off, declaring: “The whole thing is a hoax. It’s put out by the Democrats because we’ve had the most successful six months in the history of our country.
“And that’s just a way of trying to divert attention to something that is total bulls--t.”
Donald Trump continues to downplay his friendship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Davidoff Studios Photography/Getty Images
In response, Farmer—who, with her sister Maria, first alerted the FBI and NYPD to Epstein in 1996—said the remark “sends a terrible message to the wider community about how seriously we take child-sex crimes.”
Speaking to CNN’s Kaitlin Collins on Thursday night, Annie Farmer said: “It‘s offensive. This is not a hoax. You know, there has, there have been so many people that have come forward and shared their stories.
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“I hate that it has been politicized the way it has because I think we lose sight of the bigger picture in that.
“And, you know, I think this is really about people using their power to harm others, and that is not a political issue.”
Annie Farmer (left) thanked CNN host Kaitlin Collins for continuing to cover the story.
TheDailyBeast/CNN
The Farmer sisters have been prominent in speaking out about allegations they have made against Epstein—who died in his cell while awaiting trial for sex offenses in 2019—Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and Trump. Trump has distanced himself from Epstein and has never been accused by authorities of any wrongdoing in relation to the disgraced financier.
Maria Farmer alleged in a 2019 lawsuit that she was “violently sexually assaulted” by Epstein and Maxwell in 1996. Her sister, Annie, also accused Maxwell of groping her when she was 16 in another lawsuit—though both were withdrawn in 2020 as part of a deal to receive restitution from Epstein’s estate in a compensation fund for victims, according to NBC News.
Annie Farmer told CNN that she and other survivors have spent weeks trying—in vain—to learn what, if anything, the Justice Department is doing to protect the trove of sealed testimony and evidence from political meddling.
Annie Farmer testified in court against Ghislaine Maxwell in June 2022.
Anadolu/Lev Radin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
She said she had “reached out” to the prosecutors who secured the guilty verdict against Maxwell, but “they knew so little because they have not been involved in this process.”
Farmer also revealed she had sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche—once Trump’s personal lawyer—who late last month held two meetings with Maxwell, days before she was moved to a cushy prison.
“I wrote [to him] saying, you know, these are my concerns about what‘s happening,” she said.
“And there has not been a response.”
However, Farmer added she was not alone in that, among Epstein survivors.
“Even though so many politicians are talking about this, I don‘t think anyone has actually been contacted.”
Todd Blanche, Trump’s deputy attorney general, met with Maxwell last month—Blanche was once Trump’s personal lawyer.
Ken Cedeno/Reuters
Farmer’s frustration landed amid reports that senior Trump officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, did meet—inside the White House, not Vance’s residence—to map out next steps for containing the scandal. The meeting was reportedly quietly moved from the Naval Observatory to keep it secret.
Those reports contradict Vance’s insistence Wednesday that chatter about such talks was “completely fake news.”
Farmer said the secrecy only deepens survivors’ fears that politicians are treating the case as a partisan issue, rather than a quest for accountability.
“People on both sides care about the safety of children,” she said.
“I really hope that that Trump understands that a message is being sent beyond just the individuals involved in this case to the wider community about… the seriousness of these types of crimes.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House, the Justice Department, and Todd Blanche for comment.
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