huffpost Press
Virginia Giuffre's Family Says Congressman Helped Cover Up The Epstein Files. Now Trump's Super PAC Is Going After Them.
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President Donald Trump’s super PAC is sending mailers into a contested Colorado House district suggesting the family of Virginia Giuffre, one of the most prominent victims of billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is lying about their dealings with Rep. Jeff Crank (R-Co.). In an ad released earlier this month, Giuffre’s brother and his wife spoke about how Crank refused to meet with them to discuss the release of the Justice Department files about the investigations into Epstein. “Jeff Crank covered up Epstein’s crimes to protect Donald Trump,” her brother, Sky Roberts, says in the ad. “He has no business being in Congress.” But the mailers, sent out by No Going Back PAC, which is entirely funded by Trump’s political operation, call the ad “completely false.” The mailer notes Crank eventually voted to release the files. But that vote to release came only after Crank, alongside most other House Republicans, worked to block efforts to force a vote on the issue and refused to sign on to a discharge petition forcing a vote. Once it became clear the discharge petition would succeed, the White House gave House Republicans permission to vote for the files’ release, which all but one of them did. Before that, Trump’s White House had vigorously fought the release of the files, which mention Trump dozens of times. Trump and Epstein were close friends until they fell out sometime in the mid-2000s for murky reasons. Roberts and his wife, Amanda, live in the district, which covers Colorado Springs and its suburbs. They met with Crank’s district staff to discuss the issue in September 2025, but all further attempts at communication went unanswered for more than a year, they said at a press conference at the time of the ad’s release. Crank’s team finally responded to them only after the ad was released, when his district director attached a “ha ha” emoji to one of Amanda Roberts’ last messages to him. Giuffre, who met Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, while working at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, was one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, alleging he trafficked her to Andrew Mountbatter-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew. She died by suicide in April 2025. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied her allegations. “Virginia, our sister, taught our family one important lesson: stay grounded in your truth,” Sky and Amanda Roberts said in a statement to HuffPost. “No political ad can change the facts: Jeff Crank failed to sign the discharge petition supporting the Epstein Files Transparency Act and voted twice to block it from reaching the House floor. We stand by our original comments because the public deserves truth and transparency, and our sister deserved justice and accountability through prosecution. Jeff Crank failed to stand with our family, and he continues to fail the constituents he swore an oath to represent. We will not be distracted by political attacks, and we will not be silenced.” MAGA, Inc., which funds No Going Back PAC, did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment. Crank’s campaign did not respond to a message seeking comment. Crank is running against Jessica Killin, an Army veteran who served as chief of staff to second gentleman Doug Emhoff during President Joe Biden’s administration. While the district is traditionally the heart of conservatism in Colorado, it has become more friendly to Democrats in recent years. While Trump won it by a whopping 22 percentage points in 2016, he won it by just nine points in 2024. Public, nonpartisan polling of the race has been non-existent. An internal Democratic survey of the race released earlier this week found Killin with a narrow two-point edge over Crank. “As if it wasn’t enough for Trump’s most obedient lackey, Jeff Crank, to cover up the Epstein files and refuse to meet with Sky and Amanda, he’s now being boosted by Trump-funded ads that attack a grieving family who spoke their truth,” said Emily Daglgleish, Killin’s campaign manager. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
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