Les Wexner, the former boss of the Victoria’s Secret underwear brand, testified Wednesday before a congressional committee regarding his past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, giving a statement to Congress saying, “I did nothing wrong and have nothing to hide.”
Wexner is one of several Epstein associates subpoenaed to testify before the House Oversight Committee in their continuing investigation into the late financier’s crimes.
In his statement provided by his team, Wexner called himself “naive, stupid and gullible enough to trust Jeffrey Epstein.”
“Nearly twenty years ago I completely and irreversibly severed ties with Epstein when I learned that he was an abuser, cheater and liar,” he said.
“To my immense embarrassment and regret, I, like so many others, was duped by a world-class con man.”
The fashion magnate hired Epstein in 1991 to manage his money. Before Epstein pleaded guilty to Florida state-level adultery charges in 2008, Wexner insisted that he cut ties with Epstein in 2007 and claimed that Epstein had “misappropriated” his $46 million in assets.
The Wall Street Journal reported in 2019 that Wexner was integral to Epstein’s success at Finance, with Epstein reportedly earning $200m from the deal.
Wexner is among several people with close ties to Epstein who have been subpoenaed by Congress. Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping traffic teenage girls for Epstein, refused to answer questions during her deposition last week.
Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Marcus, said in a statement that she has invoked her right to remain silent because of her ongoing legal battle against her conviction, and that Maxwell is “willing to speak fully and honestly if President Trump grants a pardon.”
The oversight committee also subpoenaed Bill and Hillary Clinton. The former president has publicly said he flew on Epstein’s plane for humanitarian work in the early 2000s, but insists he never visited Epstein’s private island.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed by Congress in November of last year, mandated the Justice Department release all investigative files on Epstein within 30 days. It has released several tranches of documents to date and released a whopping 3.5m pages on January 30, but transparency advocates insist millions of pages remain undisclosed.
