U.S. House Democrats who deposed Les Wexner at his New Albany mansion Wednesday say they have doubts about Wexner's denials regarding his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-California) and four other congressmembers spoke to reporters in the city's Village Center as they took a break from questioning Wexner. Garcia called Wexner's claims that he didn't have a close personal relationship with Epstein "bogus."
Garcia and fellow U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Dave Min of California, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts say they questioned Wexner with the help of Republican staff members. Garcia said no Republican congressmembers made the trip to question Wexner themselves, including Ohio U.S. Reps. Jim Jordan and Mike Turner.
Min echoed Garcia, saying Wexner wasn't giving real answers.
"Wexner has basically alleged that he saw no evil, heard no evil. Despite being in the room with Jeffrey Epstein over and over and it's really just not credible," Min said.
Min said when he got off the plane, he noticed Wexner's name all over town on buildings and the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.
"You immediately realize when you come to Columbus what a powerful individual this is. But I just want to say... that no matter how rich or powerful you are, America stands for the principle that there's one rule of law that applies to anybody and everybody equally," Min said.
Wexner sent reporters an opening statement he read at the deposition. In it, Wexner maintained that he cut ties with Epstein right before Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a child for prostitution in 2008. Wexner maintained he never witnessed or had any knowledge of Epstein's criminal activity.
"I was naive, foolish and gullible to put any trust in Jeffrey Epstein," Wexner said.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in a jail cell after he was charged with running an international sex trafficking ring.
Epstein was granted power of attorney over Wexner's vast fortune and allegedly stole millions from Wexner.
A spokesman for Wexner sent a new statement after the deposition was over.
“Mr. Wexner honestly answered every question put to him today by the committee. Mr. Wexner reiterated that has he has no knowledge of, and did not participate in, Epstein’s illegal conduct. He stands by that fervently," the statement said.
The Epstein Files released by the U.S. Department of Justice show the FBI was looking into Wexner in 2019 as a possible "co-conspirator." Wexner has not been charged with a crime.
Garcia said he heard nothing at the deposition that convinced him whether or not Wexner is culpable in Epstein's crimes.
"I think that is a very open question and I think this part of the investigation is going to continue," Garcia said.
Garcia and the other Democrats said their focus on Wexner stemmed from the financial support Wexner gave Epstein, which allegedly contributed to Epstein's crimes. Garcia said survivors of Epstein's crimes have also spoken about Wexner's involvement and concerns over the money Wexner gave Epstein.
Garcia estimates those funds totaled more than $1 billion in cash or stock holdings.
"We should be very clear that there would be no Epstein Island, there'd be no Epstein plane, there'd 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.
Crockett said the five also questioned Wexner about President Donald Trump. Crockett said Wexner didn't remember whether Trump and Epstein had ever been in the same room together.
"(Wexner) did remember that Donald Trump also would like to show up to the Victoria's Secret runway shows. That was a little odd to him, he said, because Donald Trump was not engaged in fashion whatsoever," Crockett said.
Trump owned the Miss Universe organization from the late 1990s until 2015.
Lynch said the 88-year-old appeared "lucid" during the interrogation. Wexner hasn't appeared at events celebrating the completion of the new Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center tower or at meetings of the OSU Wexner Medical Center Board of Trustees, which he chairs.
"I think he's certainly capable of answering these questions. There's no deterioration in his mental faculties. So he's a competent witness. He's just not telling the truth," Lynch said.
Garcia said Wexner hadn't invoked his 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination. However, Garcia said Wexner often answered questions by saying he doesn't remember.
The deposition was originally supposed to take place in Washington D.C., but it was moved to New Albany.
Garcia said the location of the deposition is decided by the majority party and that the Republicans decided to hold it in Ohio.
Garcia said the central Ohio community should be asking questions about why the richest man in Ohio gave so much of his wealth to what he called "the largest modern sex trafficking ring in American history."
Garcia said Wednesday is the beginning of the House Oversight Committee's efforts to question Wexner's alleged involvement and they'd be following Wexner's money. This includes questioning OSU OB-GYN Mark Landon, who the Epstein Files show received money from Epstein in the early 2000s.
"We have more people to speak to, folks that are involved with Mr. Wexner and that have done business with him, including the doctor that we just discussed earlier that got transferred a significant amount of money, they can expect questions from us," Garcia said.
Ohio U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown of Cleveland, a member of the Oversight Committee, wasn't present either. Brown's office said in a statement she had a scheduling conflict.
House Oversight Chair James Comer and Jordan's team didn't respond to a request for comment.
