Epstein Files Accuser Told FBI Trump Unzipped His Pants and Struck Her as a Teen, Congressman Goldman Says

Representative Dan Goldman told Congress that an accuser alleged Donald Trump unzipped his trousers and struck her during a sexual assault when she was between 13 and 15, citing FBI interview records in the Epstein files. The New York Democrat read the account during a House speech on 18 March 2026.

Goldman argued that the FBI found her account credible and that the Justice Department had tried to conceal it. The allegation is unproven, and his reading of the FBI's intentions is his own interpretation. The White House has called the allegations baseless.

What Goldman Read to Congress

Goldman identified the account as coming from an FBI interview conducted on 7 August 2019, in which the accuser said she was between 13 and 15 when she was left alone with Trump.

Reading from the interview record, Goldman said Trump allegedly unzipped his pants and put her head down to his penis. According to the account, she bit him, after which he allegedly struck her and said words to the effect of getting her out of the room.

At the end of his remarks, the presiding officer reminded members to refrain from 'personalities toward the President', according to the Congressional Record.

Epstein Files Disclosure Dispute

The Justice Department released three previously withheld FBI interview reports related to the woman on 5 March, about two weeks before Goldman's speech. Goldman said she had given four FBI interviews and accused the department of initially trying to hide reports of three of them. He said pressure from the media and Congress had forced their disclosure.

He also cited the attorney general's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee the previous month that 'there is no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime'. Goldman said Pam Bondi had 'falsely testified under oath' and called her statement 'a lie'.

Goldman and Representative Ted Lieu had called in February for a special counsel to investigate Bondi, accusing her of perjury. The Hill reported that roughly 50 pages related to the woman's interviews had not been publicly released.

Goldman's View of FBI Credibility

Goldman pointed to a 21-page PowerPoint presentation that he said the FBI made to prosecutors. 'They would not have done so if they did not find the evidence credible', he said.

An allegation's inclusion in the presentation does not by itself establish that investigators corroborated it or reached the conclusion Goldman described. An accusation recorded in an interview, its repetition in a briefing and an investigative finding are distinct forms of information.

What the Fact-Check Established

A Snopes fact-check published on 20 March rated a claim about Goldman's speech 'Mostly True' because he did give such a speech on the House floor. It did not assess the accuracy or credibility of the accuser's story.

The caveat concerned online descriptions of the girl as definitively 13: because the files are redacted, her age is unclear, and Goldman and the documents he cited put it at between 13 and 15.

Snopes traced a separate presentation containing the accusation through a letter co-written by Goldman and Lieu. The FBI declined to comment when Snopes asked about the credibility of the accusation and how allegations were selected for presentations.

The White House Response

After the reports were released in March, the White House called the allegations 'completely baseless accusations, backed by zero credible evidence', according to a statement from press secretary Karoline Leavitt to Politico. The Justice Department also cautioned that some documents in the Epstein files include 'untrue and sensationalist claims' about Trump.

The Speech Resurfaces on X

Goldman's 18 March speech returned to attention late on 18 October, when an X account called MAGA Fox posted a summary of it as though it had just taken place. The post had been viewed about 500,000 times, according to X's counter.

Its wording matches posts that circulated in March. It gives the girl's age as 13 rather than between 13 and 15 and states as fact that Bondi lied to Congress and committed perjury, which was Goldman's accusation. The congressional record establishes what Goldman said in the House, not whether the conduct he described occurred.