Billionaire retail mogul Les Wexner is preparing to emphatically deny knowledge of or participation in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes at a congressional deposition in Ohio on Wednesday.
Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee are expected to hold a news conference Wednesday. Watch live in our video player above.
In a statement to Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee released ahead of the deposition, Wexner says he is an ethical man, philanthropist and community builder who was “duped by a world-class con man.”
READ MORE: Billionaire Les Wexner is being deposed in the Epstein files probe. Here’s what documents show about their relationship
The 88-year-old former owner of Victoria’s Secret and other brands says he is eager to set the record straight. “And while I was conned, I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide.”
Who is Les Wexner, and why is he being deposed?
Wexner, 88, is the retired founder of L Brands.
As one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent former friends, Wexner has spent years answering for their decades-long association. In court documents, prominent Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre claimed Wexner was one of the men Epstein trafficked her to.
Wexner’s name appears more than 1,000 times in the Epstein files, which his spokesperson said is not unexpected given their longstanding relationship. The documents shed new light on his relationship with Epstein — which ended bitterly after Wexner and his wife Abigail learned he’d been stealing from them — while raising many new questions.
Wexner has consistently denied any knowledge of or involvement in the millionaire financier’s crimes and says he never met Giuffre. He told L Brands investors in 2019 that he was embarrassed that he ever got close to someone “so sick, so cunning, so depraved.”
He has said he plans to cooperate with a subpoena from Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy.
Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue.
