The investor and one-time employer of trafficker Jeffrey Epstein will appear behind closed doors on Wednesday to talk about how, after knowing him for over a decade, he had no idea what was going on behind closed doors.
Axios reported Wednesday that 88-year-old Les Wexner was "personally, professionally and financially tied to convicted sex offender Epstein for decades."
According to Wexner, Epstein misappropriated $46 million in 2007, and at that point, he cut ties. While Wexner was ordered to Washington to testify, he's now meeting with lawmakers in Ohio.
One controversy is that Wexner's relationship with Epstein coincides with his time as chair of the Ohio State University board of trustees. That was also the era in which campus doctor Richard Strauss was alleged to have sexually abused 177 students. Wexner is slated to testify about that in the coming months.
Wexner, the founder of The Limited, Express, Victoria's Secret, Lane Bryant, Abercrombie & Fitch and Bath and Body Works, to name a few, is worth about $9.1 billion.
Like Trump, he too did a drawing of breasts in the infamous "birthday book" for Epstein's 50th.
"Dear Jeffrey, I wanted to get you what you want ... so here it is ...." Wexner wrote on the page. The drawing followed before he wrote, "Happy birthday. Your friend, Leslie."
Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Tom Dupree told CNN that he expects Wexner to tell the House Oversight and Reform Committee that he'll invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He acknowledged that if Wexner truly didn't know and did nothing wrong, he might be open to telling his own story, but he expects he'd plead the Fifth.
Before Epstein allegedly hanged himself, Wexner was subpoenaed by a grand jury in New York to answer questions. He, along with eight others were to be questioned by the FBI, News Nation reported Tuesday evening in a report saying that files allege Wexner was allegedly a "co-conspirator."
The subpoena listed sex trafficking violations but did not specify the target of those potential crimes.
The same report cited an email titled “Epstein – Cellmate Interview” from July 24, 2025, which involved "a redacted individual at the FBI NY Violent Crime Threat unit," who spoke to a person whose name was redacted. They asked the person to “write me a sentence or two for the below are the salacious statements made against the individuals in the file.”
The unidentified person alleged, “Steve Scully stated Wexner was #1 on Epstein’s speed dial.” It added, “Epstein earned his money from having sex with Wexner.”
“We don’t know what was on Epstein’s phone. The latter allegation is untrue. We don’t know who made the statement or the motives behind it,” Wexner’s spokesperson told News Nation.
On another 2020 form, a woman said she frequently saw Epstein and Wexner together, saying that Wexner was surrounded by models under 18, a redacted FBI intake form said.
Wexners’s spokesperson said, “We understand the complete statement referenced helping to get people to work at parties ‘in catering or other positions,’ which seems neither unusual nor inappropriate. It is also common for certain areas of a private home to be restricted.”
In a statement to NewsNation, the spokesperson also said, “The Assistant U.S. Attorney told Mr. Wexner’s legal counsel in 2019 that Mr. Wexner was neither a co-conspirator nor target in any respect. Mr. Wexner cooperated fully by providing background information on Epstein and was never contacted again.”
Another FBI document from July 2019 cited a man named “Adrian” whose name is redacted. The person claimed that he was a bodyguard for Wexner during 1991 and 1992. He said that Epstein was able to buy his mansion from Wexner for $20. But Wexner's spokesperson said it was $20 million.
“Adrian stated he had been to Epstein’s Palm Beach home and noted that there were young girls there, but assumed they were family. Adrian was told by another bodyguard to keep to yourself and not ask questions,” the memo read.
Wexner's spokesperson denies this.
One Republican lawmaker revealed that Wexner's name was redacted in several documents released by the FBI when it wasn't supposed to be.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who sits on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, called the "cover-up" by the Justice Department "bigger than Watergate."
Under the law passed by Congress, no names were supposed to be redacted other than those of survivors of abuse.
CNN reported that the released documents show that there was at least one young woman who testified she was trafficked to Wexner while she was underage. Wexner also denies this.
In one message, CNN reported that Epstein wrote to Wexner, “You and I had ‘gang stuff’ for over 15 years. I have never once, not once, done anything , but protect your interests. I owe a great debt to you, as frankly you owe to me.”
It then added, “I had no intention of divulging any confidence of ours.”
Wexner's spokesperson said that no such note was received.
“The draft appears to fit a pattern of outlandish and delusional statements by Epstein, in the newly released documents, made in desperate attempts to perpetuate his lies, proclaim his innocence, and meet with individuals who had ended their relationships with him,” the spokesperson said.
"There is a lot they want to learn," Dupree told CNN on Wednesday morning.
"As you note, his name has been all over the Epstein files. He's been close to Epstein for many years. Very, very close. Financially connected. And I think the congressional investigators are going to be interested in knowing what Wexner knew. Was aware of what Epstein was doing. They're going to want to get a better understanding of the financial ties between the two. In other words, Epstein had very strong connections to all sorts of wealthy individuals."
He said that Wexner is a perfect example of the rich and powerful people Epstein had relationships with.
Congress will want to know "what Wexner knew and how he developed such a close relationship to Epstein over all these years without apparently having any inkling maybe he did that something more nefarious was going on," said Dupree.
CNN's Joe Jackson said that officials will also likely want to know other names connected to Epstein.
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