‘I can’t answer that’: Epstein survivor struggles to say if Trump knew of ‘arrangement’ at Mar-a-Lago

Trump is expected to sign the Epstein Files Transparency Act under political pressure; however, the White House has not yet indicated when he will sign it.

As the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation await President Donald Trump‘s consequential signature of a bill passed by Congress to compel the full release of FBI files related to his years-long sex crimes, some are speaking out.

One of those survivors, Sharlene Rochard, shared that when Epstein was abusing her as a teenager, she would often attend parties at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

“There were a lot of model parties at the Mar-a-Lago. Different people would set them up; different magazines, and the limo would come, and you’d jump in the limo and you’d go,” Rochard told MS NOW’s “The Briefing with Jen Psaki.”

When Psaki, former White House press secretary during the Biden administration, asked Rochard if Trump was “aware” of the “arrangement,” Rochard struggled to answer the question.

Taking a noticeable pause, Rochard said, “Um…I don’t know if he was aware…actually, I can’t answer that, sorry.”

Rochard then turned to fellow Epstein survivor Amanda Roberts, unsure of how to answer the line of questioning.

“I think this is important for people to understand that people were in their teens and were…a young model and you were — you were handled by a predator. Let me ask you something else, because, again, it’s much bigger than a couple of people. Were you trafficked to other people?” asked Psaki.

Rochard appeared visibly worried, prompting Roberts to tell her, “You can say yes, but you don’t have to name names.”

Psaki added, “You only share what you want to share. You don’t have to be sorry for anything. And I’m asking you this because I think it’s important to understand…that it’s not about just one person or two people. It’s much bigger than that.”

Rochard then carefully explained, “Terrible things had happened to me within my time with — dealing with Jeffrey Epstein. I had encounters with people that I would rather not have.”

Many of Epstein’s survivors, who were underage girls at the time of their abuse, have expressed fear of speaking out about certain details of their abuse out of fear of litigation from powerful figures involved.

President Trump is expected to sign the Epstein Files Transparency Act under political pressure; however, the White House has not yet indicated when he will sign it.

Despite making a campaign promise to release the Epstein files during the 2024 presidential election, Trump has slowed the release after being repeatedly mentioned in documents from Epstein’s estate. Additionally, Trump’s Department of Justice initially reversed course and issued a memo stating that the files would not be publicly released.

In recent weeks, Trump has called the Epstein controversy a “hoax” orchestrated by Democrats and ordered U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch a federal investigation into Epstein’s relationships with other high-profile figures aside from him. Despite his years-long friendship with Epstein, Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge or involvement in Epstein’s sex crimes.