Lawyers for former Victoria’s Secret mogul Les Wexner were caught jokingly threatening to “kill” him if he continued to give lengthy answers to questions during Jeffrey Epstein’s testimony during his testimony before the House Oversight Committee.
The moment was captured as the committee released nearly five hours of complete testimony from 88-year-old Wexner as part of its ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s network.
A few hours into the testimony, when Wexner gave a particularly lengthy answer, Wexner’s lawyer leaned into his ear and whispered, “If you answer another question longer than five words, I’m going to kill you, okay?”
Both Wexner and his attorney laughed at the remark, indicating that Wexner understood it as a joke. The lawyer laughed even harder as he continued to instruct Wexner to “answer the questions.”
Shortly before the exchange, the attorney urged Wexner to “answer the questions,” saying, “I’m sure we all appreciate the stories and we’re just trying to answer the questions they really want answered,” referring to the House committee.
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Leslie Wexner, the founder of Victoria’s Secret and other fashion brands, was named multiple times in Justice Department documents regarding Jeffrey Epstein.
(Getty Images)
The oversight committee heard from Wexner, the billionaire fashion tycoon known for his work revamping the Victoria’s Secret chain. Wexner described Epstein as strictly a business associate rather than a close friend.
Although Wexner was named as a co-conspirator in recently disclosed 2019 FBI documents, he said he was never directly contacted by the FBI or the Justice Department. He insisted in his testimony that he was completely innocent, saying: “I was naive, stupid, and gullible to have any faith in Jeffrey Epstein. He was a liar. Although I was lied to, I did nothing wrong and had nothing to hide. Nearly twenty years ago, I completely and irrevocably severed my relationship with Epstein when I learned that he was an abuser, a liar, and a liar.”
The committee said it would release the full testimony “without distortion,” adding that “the American people deserve to see the testimony with their own eyes — transparency is important.”
Wexner is the founder of L Brands (formerly known as The Limited), through which he acquired well-known companies such as Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Express, and Abercrombie & Fitch. He no longer has anything to do with Victoria’s Secret. He was one of Epstein’s first major clients as a financial adviser, and Epstein was given power of attorney over Wexner’s vast fortune. Wexner also sold his Manhattan townhouse to Epstein, which later turned out to be one of the sites where federal authorities accused Epstein of abusing young women and girls under 18.
Still, Wexner said he always kept his relationship with Epstein strictly professional, saying: “I don’t think I ever had lunch, dinner, a movie or coffee with Jeffrey,” adding, “My focus is on my business and my community.”
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Wexner said he severed ties with Epstein in 2007 after learning of an investigation that found Epstein had embezzled funds from him and his family. Most of the money was returned, he said.
Wexner also testified that he was unaware Epstein had been staying at a hotel on his New Albany, Ohio estate, where Maria Farmer was said to have been abused by Epstein and associate Ghislaine Maxwell. He insists he only knew Epstein lived nearby at a neighbor’s residence. Asked whether he denied Farmer’s testimony that she was abused on his property, he said, “I never met her, didn’t know she was here, and didn’t know she was abused.”
He flatly denied that Epstein or Maxwell set up women for high-profile people. He also flatly denies ever having sexual contact with anyone introduced by Maxwell and Epstein, or any sexual relationship with Epstein himself.
He further denied any sexual contact or acquaintance with another high-profile Epstein victim, Virginia Giuffre.
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Jeffrey Epstein walks side by side with Ghislaine Maxwell.
Wexner was also asked about what he knew about Epstein’s relationship with President Donald Trump. He said he did not consider them friends but said Epstein “considered him a friend.”
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Committee members also questioned a note Wexner wrote in a birthday book to Epstein in which he drew a breast and captioned it: “Dear Jeffrey, I want to give you what you want, so here’s to…your friend Leslie.”
Wexner confirmed he wrote the note but denied it, saying: “He was a bachelor, so I drew a pair of boobs, and what I’m trying to say is, I did it as a random joke.”
Wexner is the fourth person to appear before the House Oversight Committee in the Epstein investigation.
Original source of the article: Former Victoria’s Secret CEO’s lawyer jokingly threatened to ‘kill’ him during Epstein deposition