Jamie Speaks In D.C.; Endorsed by Epstein Survivors
Congressional candidate Jamie Joyce presents draft legislation to fix three flaws in the Epstein Files Transparency Act
Proposal would protect survivors, broaden records requests beyond the DOJ, and use Congress's own power to declassify, with backing from two Epstein survivors.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — June 11th — Jamie Joyce, candidate for California's 12th Congressional District, released draft legislation to repair three critical flaws in the original Epstein Files Transparency Act - a part of her omnibus bill “The MAD Act.” These are gaps that, Jamie argued, caused the law to expose survivors instead of revealing Jeffrey Epstein's network. Speaking at the Donald J. Trump and Epstein Files Reading Room in D.C., Jamie Joyce urged Congress to pass a stronger bill and offered her own draft for the taking.
During the 30 minute speech, she broke down how the current law has produced roughly 3.5 million heavily redacted pages, but few true answers. Even with Katie Phang’s recent victory in court asking for redactions to be removed and for survivors to be protected, there are still more files to seek out.
In the talk, Jamie explains that the original Epstein Files Transparency Act fell short in three ways:
A single word that failed survivors. The Act said the Attorney General "shall" release the files but only "may" redact survivors' personally identifiable information, including medical records. This effectively made survivor protection optional. Survivors' names, addresses, and former workplaces were therefore released publicly. However, her new draft makes those redactions mandatory.
Records from only one agency. Congress requested files solely from the Department of Justice. The draft directs requests to dozens of additional sources, including intelligence agencies, financial and tax regulators, and the National Archives. The MAD Act would also compel specific record types to be turned over, such as IRS reviews, FinCEN Suspicious Activity Reports, and federal visitor logs.
An unused path to declassification. The original bill released only "unclassified" material. The new draft invokes Congress's own authority to override executive classification which is maintained through court interpretation of the classification rights of the executive branch. This is the principle which courts have affirmed in the Nixon tapes case, when the public's right to know outweighed the executive's claim to secrecy.
"It was a one difference - it could have been “shall,” it could have been “must,” but it was a one word difference that failed to protect survivors’ personally identifiable information."— Jamie Joyce
Jamie discussed the proposal with survivors at the Reading Room, three of whom present voiced support and endorsed her candidacy.
Jamie Joyce is making the full legislative draft available to any member of Congress or candidate who wishes to introduce it as a separate title: Title VII. Watch the full presentation below.