Democrats press Epstein accountability at Dallas convention
Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico appeared in Dallas on Thursday alongside Epstein survivors Annie Farmer and Sharlene Rochard at an exhibit of Justice Department files related to Epstein, accusing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of “ignoring” survivors of the convicted sex offender’s abuse. The event came as Republicans gathered in the city for their first midterm convention.
Talarico, who is challenging Paxton for the U.S. Senate seat in the November general election, framed the issue as a test of political courage. “When did pedophilia become a partisan issue? When did holding sexual abusers accountable become controversial?” he said.
Talarico said survivors of Epstein’s abuse had requested to meet with Paxton but the attorney general had refused. “Our attorney general here in Texas has the power to get justice for these survivors, and he’s refusing to do so,” Talarico said. He added: “Ken Paxton has two choices: he can stand with these survivors and get justice, or he can continue to cover up Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. The choice is entirely his.”
The exhibit, which has previously been shown in New York, features row upon row of shelves holding about 3.5 million pages of Justice Department files related to Epstein. Critics say some of the documents released by the government revealed victims’ names and that some material has been withheld.
Speaking in Dallas, survivor Sharlene Rochard said: “Questions remain about what hasn’t been released and why. Releasing only half of the documents is not transparency, and it cannot be where accountability ends.” She urged continued investigation regardless of political affiliation: “I urge people to read the files, to follow the evidence, no matter where they lead. And when those leads reach someone wealthy, famous, politically connected, Republican or Democrat, keep following them, because justice that stops when it reaches power is not justice.”
Talarico has emerged as one of Democrats’ best chances of winning one of the Republican Senate seats the party needs for a majority in the chamber. He is among several Democrats appearing in Dallas this week to counter the Donald Trump-led convention.
Democrats have made clear in recent days that highlighting Trump’s longtime friendship with Epstein will be part of their midterm strategy. On Wednesday, Gina Hinojosa, the Democrat running against Texas Governor Greg Abbott, visited the same exhibit.
“It’s really incredible that we live in a country where the justice system is so broken at every level that there has not been accountability of what we know was extensive sexual abuse, exploitation that happened for decades,” Hinojosa said, according to the Associated Press. She added: “And that powerful people who run this country are still living their lives without having been held to account.”
Elsewhere in Dallas, Democrats condemned Trump’s Wednesday night speech promising a $5,000 “dividend” to all U.S. adults if Republicans win the House of Representatives and Senate in November.
Beto O’Rourke, a former U.S. congressman and presidential candidate, told a roundtable hosted by Bloomberg News in Dallas: “I think people will take it for what it is — it’s a gimmick, it’s a bribe. It’s another promise that the president will be unable to fulfill … It adds to the stink of desperation that is emanating from that convention centre.”
At a press conference in a hotel near the convention centre, Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California told reporters: “Donald Trump is a known liar. This is the biggest liar to ever serve in government, period.” Garcia said the proposed dividend “is not happening,” citing earlier unfulfilled Trump dividend promises tied to tariffs, the Department of Government Efficiency, and Air Force One.
“There’s no one in the country that thinks somehow this new dividend is actually going to happen,” Garcia said. “What the American people want is the president to actually focus on lowering the costs of gas, groceries and expand healthcare. The president has done the opposite. He’s made everything more expensive, and so he needs to stop lying and actually get to work.”
Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania described Republicans’ first midterm convention as a failure. “I think you can take a look at the arena last night, you can see the empty seats,” she said. “He is weak. His approval rating has plummeted. His numbers on the economy: a disaster. His numbers on this war: a disaster. His numbers of the personal economy for everyday Americans: a disaster. This is a spectacle really laced with fear.”
Democrats also faced questions about their colleague Sen. John Fetterman’s surprise appearance in a video at the Republican convention. Dean said she has known Fetterman and his family for years “but what we have seen in his service as a senator is something very different than what I got know around John. You can see in his work ethic that he’s just not present.”
Dean said she held a one-to-one meeting with Fetterman in his office a couple of months ago, but it was “a disappointing conversation” and “he was not listening to me.” She added: “I am gravely disappointed with John and that stunt … I will tell you from the ground from suburban Philadelphia, my constituents are livid. Those who went out and knocked doors for him are absolutely livid.”