Dems call Wexner’s claim of ignorance to Epstein’s crimes ‘not credible’

Democrats accused Ohio billionaire Les Wexner — who featured prominently in the Epstein files — of not being truthful Wednesday during a closed-door deposition before a House Committee about his association with the sex offender.

“He has basically alleged that he saw no evil, heard no evil despite being in the room with Jeffrey Epstein over and over and over,” Rep. Dave Min of California, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said at a news conference during a break in the deposition. “And it’s really just not credible.”

The committee voted last month to subpoena Wexner, who was a longtime client of Epstein’s and widely considered a key figure who facilitated the convicted sex offender’s connections to the rich and powerful.

Democrats spoke to reporters outside Wexner’s home near Columbus, Ohio, during a midday break in the deposition, which wrapped up later in the afternoon.

In his opening statement to the committee, which MS NOW obtained from his spokesperson, Wexner said he was “naïve, foolish, and gullible to put any trust” in the late financier and acknowledged the “unfathomable” pain that Epstein inflicted on his victims.

“To my enormous embarrassment and regret I, like many others, was duped by a world-class con man,” Wexner said. “I cannot undo that part of my personal history even as I regret ever having met him.”

Wexner’s declaration of ignorance of Epstein’s crimes drew deep skepticism from House Democrats, although they stopped short of saying he’d done anything wrong.

“It’s clear that Mr. Wexner is trying to downplay how close Jeffrey Epstein and Mr. Wexner actually were,” ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., told reporters.

“And we should be very clear that there would be no Epstein island, there would be no Epstein plane, there would be no money to traffic women and girls — Mr. Epstein would not be the wealthy man he was without the support of Les Wexner,” Garcia said.

Wexner, founder of the company that once controlled the Limited, Victoria’s Secret, PINK and Bath & Body Works, was named in several documents in the Epstein files, including at least one that refers to him as a “co-conspirator.” One of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, said in a deposition that she was trafficked to Wexner.

Wexner has not been charged with any wrongdoing. He has repeatedly denied Giuffre’s accusation, saying he had no knowledge of Epstein’s abuse. Wexner has said that he cut ties with Epstein after the late financier was indicted on sex crimes in Florida.

Garcia said Wexner testified that he has not been questioned by the FBI of the Justice Department about his ties to Epstein.

“How outrageous is that?” Garcia said. “He’s someone that’s been named by survivors, someone that’s in the files more than most people, someone that’s clearly the financial benefactor to Jeffrey Epstein — and has not been contacted or interviewed by the FBI or the DOJ? What the hell is going on? That is shameful.”

Julianne McShane and Syedah Asghar contributed reporting.