[0:00]committed to ending this cover-up.
[0:05]Right now, as we speak, over 50% of the FD files
[0:09]have not been released to the public and to the Congress.
[0:13]Donald Trump and Pam Bondi are leading a White House
[0:16]cover-up to protect billionaire wealthy benefactors,
[0:21]whether it's Mr. Wexner, whether it's anybody else.
[0:25]And that has to end now, which is why we're here
[0:28]and why we're willing to go anywhere and just speak to anyone
[0:31]with information about Jeffrey Upton's horrific crimes.
[0:34]We have a lot of questions for Mr. Wexner.
[0:36]I'm going to look forward to sharing those
[0:38]with all of you as well today.
[0:39]So with that, let me turn this over to Congressman Steve Wexner.
[0:42]Thank you, Robert. Thank you for your leadership.
[0:45]It's important to remember that all the evidence,
[0:50]the documentary evidence that we've received so far,
[0:54]much of it points to this witness
[0:57]and less Wexner's involvement.
[1:00]As Robert has laid out the financial wherewithal
[1:03]for Epstein to operate in New York City,
[1:10]to operate in Florida, the Virgin Islands,
[1:12]the ability to travel,
[1:15]and in some cases, his own credibility.
[1:17]There was a period there where Epstein was saying
[1:20]that he was closely involved with Wexner's operation.
[1:25]Several of his victorious secrets,
[1:28]that he was involved in that process as well.
[1:31]So in a very real way,
[1:34]less Wexner gave Epstein credibility.
[1:39]He gave him the ability to commit some of the crimes
[1:43]that he did.
[1:44]One of the witnesses, one of the victims,
[1:46]the survivors has already indicated
[1:48]that she was assaulted at this facility,
[1:53]at the mansion here, Wexner's home here,
[1:57]that she was refused permission to leave that house
[2:03]until security had cleared that,
[2:07]because she was kept there for several hours.
[2:10]So in an investigation,
[2:13]you usually follow the documents
[2:15]and you follow the money.
[2:18]And much of that evidence and all of that money
[2:22]leads us to this location.
[2:25]During so far, and I'm just speaking generally,
[2:30]the more this deposition goes on,
[2:33]the less Wexner knows about his relationship
[2:40]with Jeffrey Epstein.
[2:42]There was a deep trust between these two men.
[2:45]There was a deep friendship there,
[2:48]not only in a business sense,
[2:50]but less Wexner gave Epstein the ability
[2:54]to handle his children's and his family's money.
[2:58]So at least that part of it,
[3:01]that part of it makes it hard to believe
[3:06]less Wexner's testimony thus far.
[3:09]It may be a question as to whether less Wexner
[3:15]was involved in the crimes directly,
[3:18]but there is no question in my mind,
[3:22]given the evidence so far,
[3:25]that less Wexner knew about this and failed to stop it
[3:31]and gave Epstein license
[3:33]and the ability to commit these crimes.
[3:42]I think that the Department of Justice has failed to do.
[3:46]We have actually sat down and listened,
[3:49]not once, not twice,
[3:51]but on multiple occasions to the survivors.
[3:54]As you saw last week,
[3:56]AG Gandhi wouldn't even turn and look at the survivors,
[4:00]let alone allow her DOJ to do their job,
[4:03]which is to investigate.
[4:05]So here we are as the legislative branch
[4:07]doing our jobs and trying to do oversight.
[4:10]Let me tell you, the survivors have said
[4:12]over and over and over, follow the money.
[4:16]That was the one thing that they told us
[4:18]as well as their attorneys.
[4:19]Follow the money.
[4:21]Well, we're following the money,
[4:23]but I'm going to be perfectly honest with you
[4:24]and tell you that we are running into dead ends
[4:26]at this moment.
[4:28]On yesterday, I was asked about this particular deposition
[4:32]and what I anticipated I would hear.
[4:35]As a trained attorney and litigator,
[4:38]once they told me he wasn't taking the fifth,
[4:41]I thought that the record would be full of
[4:43]I don't remember.
[4:45]I will tell you that once this record comes out,
[4:48]you will see that you most likely will be left
[4:50]with more questions than answers.
[4:53]It is almost inconceivable to be missing
[4:56]the amounts of money that are missing.
[4:59]And somehow, Mr. Wexner have no idea.
[5:04]The other thing that I want you to pay attention to,
[5:07]because again, as a trained litigator,
[5:10]think about some of the things that we keep hearing.
[5:13]We know that there were supposedly
[5:14]these fraudulent modeling agencies
[5:17]that were set up all over the country
[5:19]and girls would go in thinking
[5:21]that they were gonna get their chance at modeling.
[5:24]Victoria's Secret.
[5:26]We know Victoria's Secret was known specifically
[5:28]for their fashion shows.
[5:30]We know that there are reports of girls that went in
[5:33]thinking that they were potentially going in to model.
[5:37]These are not coincidences.
[5:39]There's two things that have been clear,
[5:41]is that there were always young girls
[5:44]seemingly looking for an opportunity to model
[5:47]and there were always rich and powerful people
[5:51]on the other side dangling a carrot,
[5:54]saying, I will give you the life that you're seeking.
[5:58]Yet ultimately, the stories are the same.
[6:01]They're stories of abuse.
[6:03]They're stories of trafficking at the highest level.
[6:07]And I will tell you one thing that was remembered
[6:10]for sure was when asked about Donald Trump,
[6:13]Donald Trump and Epstein,
[6:16]whether or not they had been in the same room
[6:19]and what that looked like.
[6:20]He didn't quite remember,
[6:21]but he imagined that yes, that possibly happened
[6:25]because he did remember that Donald Trump
[6:27]also would like to show up
[6:29]to the Victoria's Secret runway shows.
[6:33]Now, that was a little odd to him, he said,
[6:36]because Donald Trump was not engaged
[6:38]in fashion whatsoever, but he does recall that.
[6:42]He also said something that I feel like
[6:44]we've heard over and over and over,
[6:46]which is that Epstein liked to drop people's names.
[6:51]So he'd imagine that that may have been
[6:53]one of the names that he dropped.
[6:56]Listen, I want the American people,
[6:58]but more specifically, I want the survivors
[7:00]and anyone who is struggling right now
[7:03]to know that we see you, we feel you
[7:05]and we are fighting for you.
[7:07]We will not stop.
[7:09]If Mr. Wexner is honest about his intentions
[7:13]in helping us, then we're asking him
[7:15]if he doesn't remember, then go ahead
[7:17]and turn over all of your financial records
[7:20]because we need to follow the money
[7:22]because that is exactly what the survivors told us to do.
[7:26]And we know that the Department of Justice
[7:29]is either inadequate or just not interested
[7:34]in doing justice as it relates
[7:36]to this particular scenario.
[7:39]We in America deserve better.
[7:41]We are looking around the country
[7:43]and we're seeing CEOs that are having
[7:46]to leave their own companies.
[7:48]We're seeing people that are having
[7:49]to leave their board positions.
[7:51]We're seeing princes be prone.
[7:55]We're seeing all kinds of stuff everywhere
[7:57]except for right here at the highest levels
[8:01]of federal government.
[8:03]Whether we're talking about Donald Trump himself
[8:05]or whether we're talking about Secretary Lutnick
[8:08]and the list goes on.
[8:09]We deserve better in this country
[8:11]and we will get it.
[8:15]Good morning.
[8:17]Over the course of the last year,
[8:19]the American public has been witnessing
[8:22]what I totally call the most
[8:24]brutal cover-up in American history.
[8:27]And today was a critical part of our investigation
[8:30]to try to end this cover-up once and for all.
[8:34]We have met with the victims of Jeffrey Epstein,
[8:37]Elaine Maxwell, and the rich and powerful people
[8:40]that helped to perpetuate these crimes.
[8:42]And we have heard over and over from these victims
[8:46]the name of Les Wexner
[8:47]and the importance of following them.
[8:50]Because the story of Jeffrey Epstein
[8:52]is one that almost is the plot of a movie
[8:59]that is turned into a nightmare.
[9:02]And the real reason Jeffrey Epstein
[9:04]was able to get away with raping and abusing children,
[9:09]young women, boys, young men,
[9:12]for so many years was because of the vast amounts of money
[9:16]that he was able to acquire
[9:17]and that largely came from Les Wexner here in Ohio.
[9:21]So we're here to ask Les Wexner the critical questions.
[9:24]And it's been very interesting to see
[9:27]the types of responses that he's giving
[9:29]and his demeanor throughout the interrogating claims
[9:32]to want to provide information
[9:34]and to be called for in the investigation.
[9:37]But then quickly follows up by saying
[9:39]that he does not recall details
[9:42]around a relationship with somebody
[9:44]that he had towards Jeffrey.
[9:46]Les Wexner handed his power of attorney to Jeffrey Epstein.
[9:51]He allowed Jeffrey Epstein to live in his home
[9:55]to have hundreds of millions of his dollars
[9:57]to use his yachts and his planes.
[9:59]This was obviously a very, very close relationship.
[10:02]And so far what we have seen
[10:04]is the denial of that relationship.
[10:07]Another important theme that has come up today
[10:10]is that Les Wexner is actually tied
[10:12]to other sex trafficking and child abuse scandals
[10:18]here in Ohio, around the country.
[10:20]There are reports of payments that were made
[10:23]to a gynecologist at Ohio State University.
[10:27]And that money went through Jeffrey Epstein
[10:30]but came from Les Wexner.
[10:33]And he has been asked about this
[10:35]with no real response, no recollection.
[10:38]And again, as my colleagues have said,
[10:41]I don't think it is feasible
[10:43]or understandable or conceivable
[10:46]that any individual would not have an understanding
[10:49]of millions if not hundreds of millions of dollars
[10:52]of their own money and can't answer people's questions.
[10:55]So it is clear that this cover-up is that.
[10:58]It goes as high as the White House
[11:00]and the Department of Justice that still has not released
[11:04]the majority of the Epstein file,
[11:06]still has illegally rejected information,
[11:09]still has not begun any indictments or prosecutions
[11:12]for the very credible allegations that are in the files
[11:15]that we already have seen,
[11:17]all the way to people at universities and companies
[11:22]and back networks of elite individuals
[11:24]across this country.
[11:25]And what I can tell you very clearly
[11:27]is that oversight Democrats on this committee
[11:30]will not back down until we get every detail
[11:35]until every person who enables
[11:38]and perpetrates these crimes is held accountable.
[11:41]Thank you.
[11:44]Hi everyone, Dave Mann,
[11:46]freshman member of Congress
[11:47]out of Orange County, California.
[11:49]And before getting into office,
[11:52]I was a law professor,
[11:53]I'm a graduate of Harvard Law School
[11:55]and earlier in my career,
[11:56]I was an SEC enforcement attorney.
[11:58]So I've done quite a few of these types of depositions
[12:00]and witness interviews.
[12:03]And while I don't wanna comment
[12:04]on an ongoing deposition,
[12:05]we're gonna go back in there and ask more questions.
[12:06]I can basically say that he had basically alleged
[12:10]that he saw no evil, heard no evil,
[12:13]despite being in the room with Jeffrey Epstein
[12:15]over and over and over.
[12:16]And it's really just not credible.
[12:18]I realize he's an elderly gentleman,
[12:20]memories fade,
[12:22]but the reputation of Jeffrey Epstein is very clear.
[12:25]Everyone around Jeffrey Epstein
[12:26]knew exactly what he's up to.
[12:28]And to spend that much time,
[12:30]to give that much trust to Jeffrey Epstein
[12:33]and then just say,
[12:34]I don't remember seeing any young girls.
[12:35]I didn't hear anything about Jeffrey Epstein.
[12:38]It really is just not plausible.
[12:40]And so we're gonna keep digging,
[12:41]but I wanna just echo the comments earlier.
[12:43]This is a bit frustrating
[12:45]because we're not getting real answers
[12:46]to the questions that the American people
[12:49]deserve answers to.
[12:50]I also just wanna give kudos
[12:52]to my colleagues behind me right here.
[12:53]Robert Garcia and the Democrats
[12:56]on the Oversight Committee
[12:57]have led the effort to try to expose this cover-up.
[12:59]What we've seen is foot dragging.
[13:01]We've seen, if you remember back to Pam Bondi
[13:03]saying that this was all a hoax and a cover-up,
[13:06]that there were no Epstein files.
[13:08]Due to the efforts of ranking member Garcia,
[13:11]we have been able to pierce that myth.
[13:13]We're getting more answers,
[13:14]but we got a lot of work to do.
[13:16]And we'll just add,
[13:18]it is very frustrating
[13:19]that there are no Republicans here today.
[13:21]I wish there were Republicans
[13:22]because sex trafficking should not be a D versus R issue.
[13:26]It should be a bipartisan issue.
[13:28]Everybody should be invested
[13:29]in finding the truth right now.
[13:31]And the fact that we've had so little cooperation
[13:34]from the Republicans on the House Oversight Committee
[13:37]that the DOJ has actively tried
[13:39]to obstruct this investigation,
[13:41]that is shameful and it will go down
[13:43]as a permanent mark on the records
[13:45]of people like Pam Bondi and Donald Trump.
[13:48]Now, I'll just close with this.
[13:49]When I got off the plane,
[13:51]I saw Wexner's name all over the place.
[13:53]His name is on buildings, it's on medical centers,
[13:56]and you immediately realize
[13:57]when you come to Columbus,
[13:59]what a powerful individual this is.
[14:02]But I just want to say
[14:03]that no matter how rich or powerful you are,
[14:05]America stands for the principle
[14:07]that there's one rule of law
[14:09]that applies to anybody and everybody equally.
[14:12]And so whether Wexner is rich and powerful,
[14:14]whether Jeffrey Epstein or Donald Trump
[14:16]or Howard Lucknick are rich and powerful
[14:18]should not matter.
[14:19]We're gonna get the answers.
[14:21]People will be brought to justice.
[14:22]We will not rest until that happens.
[14:25]Thank you.
[14:25]And before I answer a couple of questions,
[14:28]two things that are really important.
[14:30]One is, it's been clear to us,
[14:33]at least the way Mr. Wexner has presented this,
[14:36]that he, according to him,
[14:38]has not been questioned by the FBI or the DOJ
[14:44]about Mr. Epstein.
[14:46]How outrageous is that?
[14:50]He's someone that's been named by survivors,
[14:53]someone that's in the files more than most people,
[14:57]someone that's clearly the financial benefactor
[15:01]to Jeffrey Epstein and has not been contacted
[15:05]or interviewed by the FBI or the DOJ.
[15:08]What the hell is going on?
[15:11]That is shameful.
[15:15]We should be ashamed as a government.
[15:17]The survivors deserve justice.
[15:20]So that's something that we are gonna continue
[15:21]to press today and certainly press
[15:24]with Pam Bonney and the DOJ.
[15:26]And the second thing,
[15:29]something that I think is critical to all of us,
[15:32]I think this community should also be asking questions.
[15:36]This community deserves to know
[15:40]why the most powerful man and one of the richest men,
[15:42]if not the richest man in Ohio,
[15:46]gave so much of his wealth
[15:49]to the largest modern sex trafficking ring
[15:53]in American history.
[15:55]Why his money was used to traffic, abuse,
[15:59]and rape women and children.
[16:02]And so I think this community has questions
[16:05]of Mr. Wexner.
[16:08]Ohio State should have questions of Mr. Wexner.
[16:12]And Mr. Wexner's involvement in our questions,
[16:15]today's not the end of our questions for Mr. Wexner,
[16:18]it's the beginning of our questions for Mr. Wexner
[16:22]and anyone in this community across Ohio or the country
[16:26]that has done business healing
[16:28]or that knows why he provided so much money
[16:31]for Jeffrey Epstein to then go on
[16:33]and commit all these horrible crimes.
[16:34]We can ask her a couple of questions.
[16:35]How hard is he?
[16:36]How hard is he?
[16:37]A couple of questions.
[16:40]First off, you mentioned that in your question
[16:42]you said that you did not have any knowledge
[16:45]of Jeffrey Epstein's time.
[16:47]You believe he died and gave him a place to go
[16:49]about his life and his work.
[16:51]Second, you said that he had savings
[16:54]and you said that Jeffrey Epstein
[16:56]had no access to a future at Mr. Wexner's state
[17:01]and that Mr. Wexner's security guard
[17:03]really led the way for the guys that they had.
[17:05]And in order for him to have a future,
[17:07]you believe that he had a future.
[17:09]Let me start by saying that I personally think,
[17:11]I do not believe when Mr. Wexner says
[17:14]that he does not have a personal relationship
[17:16]or a friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
[17:18]I think that is the focus, personally.
[17:23]I think that I can also say that we believe
[17:26]the survivors and I think the former testimony
[17:30]is critical and what happened to not just Maria
[17:35]but to Annie and the former women is horrific.
[17:40]And this idea that she gave such a description
[17:43]of what happened to her.
[17:44]And talking about we should just dismiss that
[17:46]as a lie or untrue, I think is outrageous.
[17:48]There's no question in my mind
[17:50]that there was a relationship
[17:51]and that Mr. Wexner is very aware,
[17:54]likely aware of what was going on.
[17:56]Representative Garcia.
[17:58]There have been questions that have been asked
[17:59]about the farmer incident
[18:00]and that will continue in the afternoon, yes.
[18:02]Tom Bosco with the ABC affiliate here in Columbus.
[18:04]Can you give us a little more of the flavor
[18:06]of the questioning?
[18:08]Is he combative with the questions?
[18:10]Is there a lot of conferring with attorneys
[18:12]before he answers?
[18:13]And you said he has not pleaded the fifth
[18:15]or taken his fifth amendment?
[18:16]He's not pleaded the fifth.
[18:17]I think that he's answering some questions.
[18:19]He's saying that he doesn't remember
[18:20]any other questions.
[18:23]So you know evil and you're not evil.
[18:24]Exactly.
[18:25]He's claiming that there basically was no friendship
[18:28]with Jeffrey Epstein or no real strong relationship,
[18:31]which we know by reporting that's just not true.
[18:34]It's pretty ridiculous.
[18:35]As it relates to the lawyers specifically,
[18:38]there's a lot of objections.
[18:39]A lot of objections.
[18:40]Any other questions?
[18:41]Yes sir.
[18:42]Let's watch what he admitted
[18:42]to visiting Epstein Island.
[18:44]What do you know and what has he shared
[18:45]about his activities along the island
[18:47]and any involvement with survivors there
[18:49]or here at his mansion also?
[18:51]Yeah, I asked that question today.
[18:52]He claimed that he was on the island for one hour
[18:55]and that he walked around with his family
[18:58]and I asked him if any other individuals were there
[19:00]and he said no.
[19:01]And that was a kind of a repetitive thing
[19:04]that he said as well when he asked about
[19:05]if he had been to another property.
[19:08]He said I was there for one hour
[19:10]and I go to many places for just one hour.
[19:12]And did he speak about any involvement with survivors
[19:16]even here at his mansion in New Albany?
[19:19]Not everything.
[19:20]And quite frankly, it would have been nice
[19:21]to see more remorse.
[19:22]Yes.
[19:23]Mr. Wexner is 88 years old.
[19:25]He's also been missing Wexner Medical Center
[19:28]board meetings where he's scared.
[19:30]Can you describe his demeanor, how he is?
[19:32]He's an elderly gentleman, of course, but...
[19:35]Well, I think he's lucid.
[19:38]I think he's certainly capable of answering these
[19:41]questions.
[19:42]There's no deterioration in his medical faculties.
[19:46]He's a competent witness.
[19:48]He's just not telling the truth.
[19:51]Can you all talk about why here in Ohio
[19:53]versus here in D.C.?
[19:56]Deposition locations are decided by the majority party
[19:59]and that was decided to have it here.
[20:02]Will this deposition even matter
[20:04]if Pam Bondi and the DOJ are not taking this
[20:08]as a main focus?
[20:10]Look, I think that we have...
[20:11]My first answer is yes.
[20:12]This deposition absolutely does matter
[20:14]and it's important to get...
[20:15]Remember, Mr. Wexner is under oath to tell the truth,
[20:20]so every single answer that he gives
[20:22]is a broader part of our investigation.
[20:24]This is just the beginning of our work
[20:27]in trying to get the truth on Mr. Wexner
[20:29]and so that absolutely matters.
[20:30]Any final questions?
[20:31]What happens when the DOJ doesn't do anything with it?
[20:34]Well, that's up to President Trump,
[20:36]which we're putting the pressure on.
[20:37]Yes.
[20:45]Look, I think at the end of the day,
[20:47]we need to ask the questions
[20:48]and get Mr. Wexner on the record.
[20:50]That's the most important part right now
[20:51]is we have questions
[20:53]that are gonna continue throughout the afternoon
[20:54]and get him on the record.
[20:55]We have time for a couple more questions
[20:56]without a record.
[20:57]If you feel you're not getting the answers you need today,
[20:59]what should we expect next?
[21:03]Yeah, I think what's next is
[21:05]we may have additional questions.
[21:07]We have more people to speak to,
[21:09]folks that are involved with Mr. Wexner
[21:11]and that have done business with them,
[21:12]including the doctor that we just discussed earlier
[21:16]that got transferred a huge amount of money.
[21:18]They can expect questions from us.
[21:20]Will you ask the questions?
[21:22]Absolutely, we're happy to answer them.
[21:27]Representative Garcia.
[21:29]Representative Garcia,
[21:30]when you said there are no Republicans here,
[21:32]you didn't just mean at this press conference.
[21:33]There are no Republican members.
[21:35]No, there are Republican members of Congress.
[21:37]At this deposition?
[21:37]Yes, right.
[21:38]There are Republican staff members,
[21:41]no Republican members of Congress,
[21:41]just in Congress.
[21:42]We'll take one final question.
[21:44]Wexner was named as a possible candidate
[21:46]during a lot of the documents.
[21:48]Anything that you've seen today
[21:49]makes you think he might not be
[21:51]a good candidate?
[21:52]There's nothing I've heard that,
[21:54]no, I think that is a very open question
[21:56]and I think that's part of the investigation
[22:00]is gonna continue.
[22:01]Thanks, everybody.
[22:02]Will you guys talk to us again
[22:03]once you're done with the meeting over?
[22:05]This has gotten it for now.
[22:06]We gotta go.
[22:08]Will it be done today?
[22:09]It'll be done with?
[22:10]The deposition will be done today.
[22:11]Thank you so much.
[22:32]Let's go to questions.