Testimony from victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was too much for one lawmaker to bear.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, left the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee closed door meeting with Epstein victims early Sept. 2 after having "a very difficult time listening to their stories."

"Full blown panic attack. Sweating. Hyperventilating. Shaking. I can’t breathe," Mace wrote on social media in describing her reaction to the testimony. Mace was in tears as she left.

Mace in a February speech on the House floor accused her former fiancé and three other men of drugging and raping her and other women. Mace's former fiancé denied the accusations.

"I feel the immense pain of how hard all victims are fighting for themselves because we know absolutely no one will fight for us," Mace, who is running for governor in South Carolina, wrote Sept. 2. "GOD BLESS ALL SURVIVORS."

There has been a renewed push by lawmakers to release government records from the Epstein case after they returned from August recess. The House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena for the Epstein records Aug. 5 and began releasing some of the records Sept. 2.

The administration's attempt to close the book on Epstein - a wealthy convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges - has generated intense criticism, including from Trump's MAGA base.

New York's chief medical examiner ruled Epstein's death a suicide, but some – including many Trump loyalists – have questioned that finding and whether the government is shielding Epstein's potential clients from public view.

The Justice Department released a memo July 7 stating that a "systematic review" of documents "revealed no incriminating 'client list,'" and "no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Full blown panic attack.' Rep. Nancy Mace leaves meeting with Epstein victims in tears

Reporting by Zac Anderson, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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