“There's a reason why predators believe they can do this.”
Rep. Summer Lee on Congressional scandals, the Epstein cover-up, and the need for accountability
Last week, two members of Congress, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) both resigned in disgrace after an avalanche of sexual assault and misconduct allegations surfaced. I wish I could tell you that multiple members stepping down in a matter of days is unprecedented, but it’s not - the last time it happened was in December 2017, when two scandal-plagued members of Congress resigned within a single week at the height of the #MeToo movement.
We are now in what I believe to be a second, and more powerful, wave of Me Too, with the Epstein Files investigation and cover-up still raging in Washington, and Americans across the political spectrum demanding accountability. Beyond Washington, another bombshell story about sexual assault has been reverberating this past week about a global online “rape academy” that shares videos and tips on how to effectively drug and rape your female partner, that saw 62 million website visits in the month of February alone. You don’t have to be a victim or survivor of sexual assault as I - and one-in-three women- are to find these stories deeply upsetting and infuriating. What gives me hope in this timeline however, is the renewed calls and actions demanding accountability and justice for victims and survivors, and the national dialogue we are having once again as a result.
Last week, I sat down with Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, who has been one of the earliest and leading voices demanding accountability on the Epstein Files in Congress, to hear how those conversations are evolving on the Hill, and to get a sense of how she and her bipartisan colleagues are building on this national dialogue and momentum to bring justice to more victims and survivors.
What struck me most about my conversation with Rep. Lee is how clear-eyed she is about what this fight is actually for. It is not only about the powerful men implicated in abusing their power to dehumanize women, nor is it about Democrats or Republicans scoring partisan points by taking out members of the other team. It is about justice for the incredibly brave survivors who have already given more than they should ever have had to, testifying at great personal risk against the most powerful people in the world, and to establish a new moral and legal imperative that ensures this level of abuse can no longer persist, nor be protected, within either party, regardless of the political outcomes.
“There’s a reason why predators believe they can do this,” Rep. Lee told me. “It’s because everything in our society tells them that even if they are caught, the consequences will be minimal. And even if consequences come, the survivor will be punished in some way for coming forward. There will be dual punishment. Those are the things we have to change.
Throughout our interview, Rep. Lee laid out a path for continued investigation of the Epstein cover-up, and detailed what she thinks needs to happen to pursue transparency, accountability, and justice on the issue. I hope you’ll watch or listen to our full conversation on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple podcasts and let me know what you think. And if you know of other voices leading on this renewed fight to end sexual violence against women in America, please send them my way - I would love to talk to them.
