You have been granted access, use your keyboard to continue reading. A new ad criticizes Senator Ashley Moody, a Republican, for voting against releasing files on Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of sex crimes in Palm Beach. Marina Lacerda, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers, appears in a new campaign ad targeting Senator Ashley Moody of Florida.Credit...Eric Lee for The New York Times “I was 13 years old when I met Jeffrey Epstein,” the woman says in the ad, a chilling introduction to her story of abuse by the wealthy and well-connected sex offender.
The woman, Marina Lacerda, goes on to chastise Senator Ashley Moody, a Republican on the ballot next week, for voting against a measure to compel the Justice Department to release all of its files on Mr. Lacerda, who is 38, demands in the ad. After months of impassioned debate over the release of the files, candidates across the country are facing scrutiny for their votes on that issue and their support from donors associated with Mr.
Television or digital ads mentioning Mr. Epstein — some of which include misleading claims or lack important context — have aired in 63 congressional races this year, totaling $76 million as of Thursday, according to AdImpact, a media tracking firm. What’s unusual about the ad featuring Ms.
Moody represents Florida, where Mr. Epstein orchestrated a sex trafficking ring out of his longtime estate in Palm Beach, among other places, according to a federal indictment. Moody has avoided the political fallout from Mr.
Epstein’s crimes that has dogged some other elected officials — most notably, President Trump, who railed against a “Democrat hoax” before he reversed his position and supported making the files public. Moody, a cautious politician who gives few interviews outside Fox News, does not appear to have made any public remarks about Mr. Epstein since her appointment to the Senate in January 2025 by Gov.
She faces Angie Nixon, a Democratic state representative running an upstart campaign in a Republican-leaning state, in Tuesday’s election. Ashley Moody is the former attorney general of Florida.Credit...Jacob Langston for The New York Times “I call her the invisible senator because she is very under the radar in a way that most officials at her level are not, and it helps her avoid scrutiny,” said Cheyenne Hunt, executive director of Reckoning Action, an advocacy organization for victims of sexual misconduct. Moody arrived in Washington, the Trump administration was facing mounting pressure across the political spectrum to release all of its documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while facing charges that he sexually exploited and abused dozens of girls.
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