In a new TV ad, family of Epstein victim accuses Rep. Jeff Crank of helping cover-up by not forcing vote

Nick Coltrain, The Denver Post on Oct 5, 2026

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Family members of Virginia Giuffre, a prominent victim of Jeffrey Epstein, accuse U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank in a new ad of covering up the sex trafficker’s crimes and ties to society’s elites in the latest salvo of an increasingly competitive congressional race.

Sky and Amanda Roberts, the brother and sister-in-law of Giuffre, say in the ad — which was put out by the campaign of Crank’s Democratic opponent, Jessica Killin — that they tried to meet with Crank, but Crank refused. The Republican represents their Colorado Springs congressional district and is in a tight reelection race with Killin.

Crank also did not sign a discharge petition that would have forced a vote on releasing federal files associated with Epstein and had initially voted to block the Epstein Files Transparency Act from consideration on the House floor.

He did join with nearly every member of Congress to vote yes once it did reach the floor in November, however. Crank’s campaign pointed to that vote in a statement responding to the ad Monday, and it also referenced a meeting the family members had with Crank’s district director in September 2025, at Crank’s district office.

Still, Sky Roberts says in the ad that “Virginia deserved better.”

“Jeff Crank covered up Epstein’s crimes to protect Donald Trump. He has no business being in Congress,” Sky Giuffre says.

President Donald Trump had a longstanding, well-documented friendship with Epstein, whose public persona was that of a prominent financier. Trump later banned Epstein from his club, Mar-a-Lago, because Epstein was being a “creep,” according to the White House.

Giuffre had previously worked at Mar-a-Lago and Trump said last year that Epstein “stole her” from him.

Giuffre was one of the most vocal of Epstein’s accusers. Epstein hired her as a masseuse when she was only about 16. Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, then allegedly turned her to sexual servitude and forced her on Epstein and others, including Prince Andrew of Great Britain. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who has since been stripped of his royal titles, settled with Giuffre for an undisclosed sum, including a “substantial donation” to her organization to benefit sex-trafficking survivors, according to the Associated Press.

Giuffre was also credited with helping to land Maxwell in prison for her crimes related to the sex-trafficking ring. Epstein died in jail while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

Giuffre died by suicide in Australia in 2025. Her family has since promised to continue her fight for justice.

The new ad was first reported by The New York Times. Sky Roberts told the Times that the family was eventually able to speak to about 20 lawmakers from both parties to urge that more information be released by Epstein’s operation and who was involved, but not to Crank. They did later meet with Crank’s district director, a fact backed up by communications released Monday by Crank’s campaign.

“It is deeply unfortunate that Washington Lobbyist Jessica Killin is preying on a grieving family with the help of the Washington Democrats,” the Crank campaign statement says. “Congressman Crank voted to release the Epstein files in the only up or down vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.”

The statement then refers to Killin’s background as a member of the Biden administration, where she was chief of staff to former second gentleman Doug Emhoff and a deputy assistant to then-President Joe Biden, whom the campaign says “sat on these files for years.”

“It took a Republican Congress to release these files and provide the first transparency into this issue,” the campaign statement says. “The statements contained in this ad are intentionally vague, and are purposefully so, because the fact pattern does not support desperate Lobbyist Jessica Killin’s desired political attack.”

All members of Colorado’s delegation joined Crank in voting for the files’ release, but in the months prior to that, the Republican House majority did not advance a vote. U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert was one of just four Republicans who joined Democrats in signing a discharge petition forcing the November vote.

According to the Times, about 35 ads have been aired this election cycle that mention Epstein. This is the first that features the surviving family members of one of his most prominent victims, however.

The 5th Congressional District, which covers El Paso County, has been reliably Republican since its creation in the 1970s. Shifting demographics and Trump’s widespread unpopularity have made it look like one of the more competitive districts this cycle. It has been targeted by national Democrats as a potential flip.

Killin, a retired U.S. Army officer, pledged in a statement to “fight to release the Epstein files, expose the truth, and deliver the justice that survivors and their families deserve.” She planned to appear with the Robertses at a news conference at noon Monday in Colorado Springs.

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