Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
Epstein Chronicles. As of the time that we're recording this episode,
Les Wexner is sitting down with Congress being deposed. But
before he went in for the deposition, he actually released
a statement. So in this episode, we're going to take
a look at that statement and see what Les Wexner
had to say for himself. So with that said, let's
dive right into the statement. I am pleased to testify today,
Pleased because it's an opportunity to set the record straight.
Over the years, I've been the subject of outrageous, untrue
statements and hurt full rumor, innuendo and speculation. Let me
state from the start I was naive, foolish, and gullible
to put any trust in Jeffrey Epstein. He was a
con man. And while I was conned, I have done
nothing wrong and have nothing to hide. I completely and
irrevocably cut ties with Epstein nearly twenty years ago when
I learned that he was an abuser, a crook, and
a liar. And let me be crystal clear, I never
witnessed nor had any knowledge of Epstein's criminal activity. I
was never a participant nor a co conspirator in any
of Epstein's legal activity. To my enormous embarrassment and regret, I,
like many others, were duped by a world class con man.
I can undo that part of my personal history, even
as I regret ever having met him. Before going any further, though,
I want to acknowledge the survivors of Epstein's terrible crimes
and the devastation that each of them has endured as
a result. The pain that he inflicted upon them is
unfathomable to me. My heart goes out to each one
of them. I want you to know something about the
man seated before you. I am eighty eight years old,
a husband to Abigail since nineteen ninety three, the father
of four adult children, and proudly a grandfather. I've lived
in Ohio my entire life. I'm a philanthropist, community builder,
business owner, and founder and former CEO of L Brands.
I constantly strived to live my life in an ethical
manner in line with my moral compass, devoting time and
energy to my faith, my community, my business, my L
Brand's associates, and my family and my friends. I founded
the Limited Stores in nineteen sixty three with a five
thousand dollars loan from my ant Ida. I grew the
company from one small store the limited by creating, acquiring,
and leading the development of a large, multidivisional retail company
of brands such as Express, Bath and Body Works, Victoria's
secret learner Lane Bryant, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Henry Bendel.
I took the company public in nineteen sixty nine and
was the longest serving CEO of a publicly traded company
at the time of my retirement in twenty twenty. While
also running ol brands, I planned, marketed, designed, and developed
both the Village of New Aubany, one of the largest
planned communities in America, and Eastern Town Center, an innovative
outdoor retail center in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio. As
an important part of my long standing commitment to philanthropy,
I created and continue to personally participate in the Wexner Foundation,
which develops leaders and public servants. The total amount of
our family's philanthropic giving to worthy causes exceeds a billion dollars.
Nearly every waking hour during my work weeks was spent
on the business. My weekends were also filled by business responsibilities,
my real estate development interests, community charitable projects, and ultimately
my growing family. Given these demanding time commitments, I long
ago began hiring others to manage my personal finances, starting
with Harold Levine, then Epstein, followed by Dennis Hirsch, and
now a combination of my wife Abigail and then outside
multi family office. I was introduced to Epstein in the
mid to late eighties by Bob Measter, the former vice
chairman of Aon. Bob knew I needed help managing my
personal finances and suggested that I speak with Epstein. I
did not rely solely on Bob's recommendation. I consulted a
Screenberg and Jimmy Kaine of bear Stearns, Epstein's former employer,
both of whom endorsed Epstein without hesitation. Epstein also offered
a reference, Eli de Rothschild. When I spoke with Eli
or Ellie, he highly recommended Epstein based upon work Epstein
had done for his family. At first, Epstein was unwilling
to take me on as a client. In fact, for
the first few years I was acquainted with him, Epstein
offered me advice here and there, while explaining that giving
individual finance advice was not his focus, and refusing to
accept compensation. He said he was assisting me as a favor.
Little did I realize that from the very start, Epstein
was conniving to gain my trust. As my financial resources
and time demands continued to grow, I formally hired Epstein
to manage my personal finances because my public company and
other duties required my full attention. I provided Epstein with
a power of attorney so he could execute transactions quickly
without constantly requiring my signature. The need for power of
attorney was clear to me, and I provided the same
scope of authority to Epstein as I did to his successor,
Dennis Hirsch. What I did not endnticipate was Epstein misusing
the trust I placed in them, despite his fiduciary obligations
to act in my best interest. What is so clear
only now is that Epstein lived a double life. He
was clever, diabolical, and a master manipulator. He was meticulous
and revealing to me only glimpses into the life in
which he was a sophisticated financial guru who consulted with
heads of state, high ranking politicians, royalty university presidents, professors, CEOs, musicians,
and other luminaries. He was a member of the Trilateral
Commission and was a trustee at Rockefeller University. While I
did not socialize in Epstein's social circle, he often told
me about his famous acquaintances and important positions that he held,
and at times I experienced what seemed to be random
chance encounters, probably orchestrated by Epstein, with prominent individuals who
said they knew Epstein. Over the course of many years,
he carefully used his acquaintance with important individuals to curate
an aura of legitimacy that he then used to expand
his network of acquaintances and apparent credibility even farther. The
other life that he led that we now know was
full of unthinkable crimes he most carefully and fully hid
from me. He knew I would never have tolerated his
horrible behavior, not any of it. At no time did
I have her witness the side of Epstein's life for
which he is now famous. I'm the father of two girls,
now women, and the thought of what he did makes
me sick. I dated Abigail for three years and have
been married to her for thirty three years were completely
devoted to each other. And to be clear, never once
in the thirty six years have I been unfaithful to
Abigail in any way, shape or form. Never any suggestion
to the contrary is absolutely and entirely false. Again, to
be clear, I never saw or heard about Epstein being
in the company of a minor girl. To the contrary,
he led me to believe he was in serious and
long term relationships with two women, doctor Eva Anderson and
later Glenn Maxwell, both of whom he said he contemplated marrying.
I was never on his airplane. Contrary to rumor, I
did not give Epstein the New York townhouse he purchased
it from me for what I was told was a
praised value. After we moved out, I never set foot
in that house again. I visited Epstein's island only once,
shortly after he purchased it, when Abigail, our young children,
and I stopped for a few hours one morning while
we were on a cruise on our boat. Again, the
side of Epstein that he chose to reveal to me
was different from the predator he eventually was exposed to be.
As I have stated before, my contact with Epstein entirely
terminated nearly twenty years ago. In late two thousand and six,
Epstein told Abigail that he had a legal issue in
Palm Beach, but insisted that what he referred to as baseless,
trumped up charges by an over regressive police chief would
be dismissed. In two thousand and seven, however, Epstein informed
Abigail that his situation could become messy and that he
might have to spend time away. To say the least,
this was shocking. At the same time, Epstein suggested that
Abigail could handle our personal finances if he were to
become unavailable, and for the first time, he provided her
with the financial information she would need. Due to the
complexity of the information, it took time to unravel, but
after reviewing the information, it became clear to Abigail that
Epstein had stolen vast sums from our family. Once I
learned about his abuse of conduct and theft from my family,
I never spoke to Epstein again. Never. In September of
two thousand and seven, nine months before he pled guilty
in Florida, we revoked Epstein's power of attorney, removed his
access to our bank accounts, and forced him to resign
from all affiliated entities. Confronted with his financial wrongdoing by Abigail,
Epstein agreed and did return a substantial amount of money,
even while continuing to maintain his total innocence of any wrongdoing,
never dropping the con In light of his eventual guilty
plea and deception of our family, we completely severed our
relationship with Epstein. Epstein was permanently and irrevocably out of
my life. While others visited Epstein in jail and associated
with him after his release, I did not, nor did
I witness, condone or enable his crimes in any way.
I want to thank the committee for its effort to
get to the bottom of Epstein's and a legal activity.
I hope you are successful in uncovering the truth and
bring enclosure to all survivors. If I'm able to assist
you in that effort in answering your questions, I'm grateful
for the opportunity to do so. All right, So that
is the statement made by Les Wexner, And as you
can imagine, I have a few things to add, but
we're going to do that in a different episode, so
this one can stand on its own. That way, you
folks can listen to his words and come to your
own conclusion if you believe what he's saying or if
you don't. All of the information that goes with this
episode can be found in the description box.