Top Democrats call Les Wexner’s Epstein testimony ‘bogus’ after Ohio deposition
NEW ALBANY, OHIO: Democratic lawmakers are calling billionaire Les Wexner’s testimony "bogus" following a high-stakes deposition in Ohio regarding his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
While Wexner claimed he was a victim of a "master manipulator" and was unaware of any crimes, Democratic lawmakers argued that the massive transfer of wealth between the two men makes his denial of a close friendship impossible to believe.
Democrats challenge Les Wexner’s testimony on Epstein ties
Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the panel, told reporters that he found Wexner’s attempt to downplay the relationship completely unbelievable.
“I do not believe when Mr Wexner says that he was not having a personal relationship or a friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” Garcia said, adding, “I think that is bogus, personally.”
Garcia further stated there was “no question in my mind that there was a relationship and that Mr. Wexner is very aware, likely aware, of what was going on.”
Despite Wexner being 88 years old, Representative Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts noted that the billionaire was mentally sharp, stating, “I think he’s lucid. I think he’s certainly capable of answering these questions. There’s no, there’s no deterioration in his medical faculty. So he’s a competent witness. He’s just not telling the truth.”
Lawmakers question $1B Wexner-Epstein transfers
The committee focused heavily on the estimated $1 billion in assets that moved from Wexner to Epstein over the years, with Garcia highlighting the scale of the wealth Epstein accessed, noting, “We know of approximately over a billion dollars, it looks like. It's about a billion dollars that was either transferred, provided in stocks, or given directly to Mr Epstein by Wexner.”
Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas expressed total skepticism that such a fortune could move without Wexner's knowledge, stating, “It is almost inconceivable to be missing the amounts of money that are missing and somehow, Mr Wexner have no idea.”
Meanwhile, Representative Dave Min of California criticized the lack of Republican involvement in the deposition and blamed the current administration for interfering.
“The fact that we've had so little cooperation from the Republicans on the House Oversight Committee that the DOJ has actively tried to obstruct this investigation, that is shameful. And it will go down as a permanent mark on the records of people like (Attorney General) Pam Bondi and Donald Trump,” Min said.
Les Wexner denies knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein crimes
During the closed-door session on Wednesday, February 18, Wexner insisted he was entirely in the dark about Epstein's illegal behavior and severed ties in 2007 after discovering financial theft.
In his prepared remarks, Wexner said, “The other life (Epstein) led, that we now know was full of unthinkable crimes, he most carefully and fully hid from me.”
He admitted to visiting Epstein’s private island once for a few hours with his family but claimed he “never witnessed nor had any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity."
However, Representative Yassamin Ansari of Arizona pointed out that Wexner's money was linked to other suspicious payments, including those to a gynecologist at Ohio State University.
“This was obviously a very, very close relationship and so far what we have seen is a denial of that relationship,” Ansari said.
Garcia concluded by noting the investigation would continue, stating, “We have more people to speak to, folks that are involved with Mr Wexner and that had done business with them.”
