Epstein’s lawyer, accountant say they weren’t interviewed in federal probes

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Jeffrey Epstein’s lawyer and accountant told House lawmakers they were never interviewed in the federal investigations into the late sex offender or the their work for him, according to videos of their depositions with the House Oversight Committee.

Lawmakers on the panel questioned Epstein’s accountantRichard Kahm, and Epstein’s lawyer, Darren Indyke, behind closed doors earlier this month. Both said they did not witness any wrongdoing and currently serve as co-executors of his estate, which has handed over thousands of documents in the House investigation.

Neither has been accused of aiding Epstein in his crimes.

Their claims raise serious questions about the Justice Department’s efforts to investigate Epstein and his inner circle in a probe that spanned multiple administrations.

The DOJ first became involved in investigating Epstein nearly 20 years ago before federal prosecutors oversaw a nonprosecution deal with him in 2008. Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell in 2019 after being arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.

Each told lawmakers they were unaware of Epstein’s crimes despite working for him for decades and being deeply involved in his business dealings and finances. They said they would have cut ties with him immediately had they known about the trafficking of women and girls.

Indyke, Epstein’s attorney, said he only spoke with his client about legal advice on business matters and never spoke with him about “social relationships.”

“Let me be clear: I had no knowledge whatsoever of Jeffrey Epstein’s wrongdoings,” Indyke said. “My complete lack of involvement in that misconduct is a matter of record. Not a single woman has ever accused me of committing sexual abuse or witnessing sexual abuse, or claimed at any time that she or anyone else reported to me any allegation of Mr. Epstein’s abuse.”

Kahn said he saw Epstein roughly every three weeks and did not interact socially.

“I never attended any of his parties or his social functions. While Epstein was alive, I never observed any sexual abuse or trafficking of women and never received a complaint — either by one of Epstein’s victims or anyone else — of such abuse or trafficking,” he said.

Indyke and Kahn both said Epstein told them he was unaware the individual was a minor in his 2008 sex crime conviction case. They also testified that Epstein told them the situation would never happen again.

“If I knew back then that Epstein was not keeping his word and not honest, and abusing women, I would have left work and reported him to the authorities,” Kahn said.

He also provided Congress with details on how Epstein was able to accumulate so much wealth that helped him strike friendships with some of the world’s most powerful men. Lawmakers have said a better understanding of Epstein’s finances could help the public understand how he was able to get away with his crimes for so long.

Kahn “was under the impression that Epstein made his money as a tax advisor and a financial planner,” Comer said earlier this month. Indyke told the committee that he did not see Epstein’s transfers of large sums of cash as a sign Epstein was trafficking women because of the “size and scope of Epstein’s households and the number of people involved” in projects.

“The cash that was being asked from me seemed to be for legitimate purposes and I had no reason to think that they weren’t for legitimate purposes,” Indyke said.

Democratic lawmakers left the depositions questioning the men’s denials of knowledge about Epstein after working for him for so long and deep knowledge of his finances and business workings.

As part of running Epstein’s estate, Kahn and Indyke set up a victims’ compensation fund that doled out tens of millions to eligible applicants before it wound down in 2021. Kahn told the panel he was hesitant about serving as co-executor but did it to help the women Epstein abused.

“That’s not a role that anyone would want,” he said, adding that compensating victims was his top priority after learning of Epstein’s crimes.

Indyke was asked by a lawmaker whether they settled any claims associated with Epstein’s crimes.

“There was a list of people that the government provided, and I believe there were a number of those people that filed claims against Epstein and those claims were ultimately settled, yes.”

He said those claims were settled in 2009 and 2010, not after Epstein’s death.

Indyke and Kahn are among the latest in a sprawling web of interviews the committee has conducted in their investigation of the DOJ’s Epstein probe and his activities, which also comes after troves of documents have been released by the department. Other high-profile figures include former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and billionaire Les Wexner. Lawmakers have also asked for interviews in the coming weeks with Bill Gates and financier Leon Black.

None of the people who have been interviewed by the committee have faced charges over their connections to Epstein aside from Ghislaine Maxwellwho is serving a prison sentence on charges of exploiting underage girls.

Indyke and Kahn both testified they had limited interactions with Maxwell and said they were not paid for any work they did for her.

Attorney General Pam Pondi has signaled that the Justice Department is investigating potential conspirators connected to Epstein but has not provided details on who may be targets.

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