Copyright spiegel
As Helm and the other women were telling their stories in front of the Capitol, Donald Trump was being asked about Epstein by reporters in the Oval Office. "I think it’s enough," he answered curtly. Teresa Helm was not a typical Epstein victim. She was not young enough, not poor enough, not broken enough. Many were exactly that: poor and socially disadvantaged in some way. Girls who people would be less inclined to believe if they related what happened to them in the townhouse on New York’s Upper East Side or on the estate on El Brillo Way in Palm Beach. Girls whose families presented no danger. In Florida, he found them in the trailer parks of West Palm Beach, a part of town that has nothing in common with the wealthy peninsula of Palm Beach aside from the bridge that connects them. In New York, he found them in outer boroughs like Queens. It was Ghislaine Maxwell, his faithful companion, who functioned as a scout. Maxwell told Helm she was looking for an assistant to travel around the world with her: A physical therapist in training would be perfect. For the job interview, Maxwell flew her from Los Angeles to New York. A chauffeur met her at the airport and brought her to an apartment on the Upper East Side; a gift basket with cookies and fruit was waiting. She spent the next day at Maxwell's home, massaging her until she fell asleep. Maxwell, Helm says, was friendly, funny and warm-hearted. The day after that, Maxwell sent her to her "partner Jeffrey." "Make sure you give Jeffrey what he wants," Maxwell told her, according to Helm's account. "Jeffrey always gets what he wants." Epstein greeted her in the kitchen. Wearing a bathrobe. It was a common scene, if you believe the more than 150 women who have thus far accused Epstein of sexually abusing them – many of whom were minors at the time in question. Epstein, Helm recounts, brought her to his office on the upper floor. First, she massaged his feet, she says, and then he sexually assaulted her. Helm left Epstein's house hastily. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Epstein called after her, she says. She took it as a threat. If you ask Teresa Helm about the Epstein files, about what she expects from those responsible in politics and in the judiciary, she answers that she doesn’t know what "these files" mean, what is supposed to be in them. But, she says, she does know "that there has to be evidence supporting their network.” "There are clearly lots of people complicit,” says Helm. "So where are those people? Who are those people?” In the hopes of finding that out, Teresa Helm voted for Donald Trump in November 2024, believing he would uncover what others were keeping under wraps. Does she still cling to that hope today? Yes, she says. She does continue to cling to this belief. To the hope that the truth will still come to light. And that accomplices and co-conspirators will finally be held accountable.
