Les Wexner speaks in deposition regarding Jeffrey Epstein.
Provided by: Republican Watch via YouTube
Billionaire retail mogul Leslie Wexner said this week in Congressional testimony about the notorious sex offender that Jeffrey Epstein would “remove President Donald Trump’s name” as one of the many celebrities he claims to know.
Wexner, 88, who was one of Epstein’s major clients and backers, said that Epstein “presented (Trump) to me as a friend,” according to a video deposition released Thursday by House Democrats.
But Wexner, a retired founder of Victoria’s Secret’s former parent company L Brands, said he did not believe that Trump and Epstein were actually friends. And he denied seeing or hearing anything about Trump having sexual relations with anyone introduced to him by Epstein or his convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
He also told lawmakers that Trump and Epstein sometimes attended fashion shows for lingerie companies, but suggested it was a “coincidence” and that he couldn’t remember “anything that brought them together.”
“I remember because President Trump always introduced himself to me, and I always thought it was strange that he would be at a fashion show, because he has nothing to do with fashion,” Wexner said.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The deposition comes as the Justice Department’s recent release of millions of additional Epstein-related files raises new questions about the late sex offender’s ties to a growing list of celebrities.
Video of Wexner’s nearly five-hour deposition Wednesday in New Albany, Ohio, where he lives, was shared on the YouTube account of the House Oversight Committee’s Republican majority.
Democratic members of the oversight committee, who traveled to Ohio for depositions, said no Republican members were present.
They also expressed skepticism about Mr. Wexner’s claim that he had virtually no social relations with Epstein and vowed to continue investigating.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the committee’s ranking member, told reporters Wednesday that “I find it unbelievable that Mr. Wexner is saying that he did not have a personal or friendly relationship with Mr. Epstein.”
Asked if he had any relationship with Trump, Wexner laughed and said he had no connection. Although they occasionally interacted at fashion shows, “we didn’t know each other,” Wexner said. “I’d be shocked if he remembered me.”
Mr. Trump said he had never discussed Mr. Epstein with Mr. Wexner.
But when asked if Mr. Epstein had ever discussed it with Mr. Trump, Mr. Wexner paused and said, “I would explain it. He would take it down by name.”
“So he said something like, ‘I know (former President Bill) Clinton, I know the Pope, or I know God…It was name deletions like that, but by no means, I can’t remember specific places, but Jeffrey deleted a lot of names.'”
Asked to clarify that Epstein specifically mentioned Trump, Wexner appeared to backtrack. “No, I say it’s possible, but I don’t remember,” he said.
Wexner also said that Epstein did not share any information about Trump’s sexual activities.
The comments revealed in the video deposition are consistent with a prepared statement Mr. Wexner gave to the committee, in which he claimed that he had been “duped” and “duped” by Mr. Epstein, but that he was not involved in any criminal activity and had no knowledge of it.
In his deposition, Mr. Wexner also denied meeting with prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre in Mr. Epstein’s presence. Giuffre claimed that Wexner sexually abused her.
Mr. Wexner said in a prepared statement that he has never been unfaithful to his wife in the 33 years they have been married.
