Top Epstein pal hounded by Dem lawmaker during break in hearing: 'Hard to believe'

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) hounded billionaire Les Wexner Wednesday during a break from the billionaire’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee on his past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Wexner was compelled by law to testify Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee, members of which traveled to Wexner’s mansion in Ohio to conduct the closed-door hearing. During a break in the testimony, a handful of lawmakers on the committee spoke with reporters to provide an update, and Lynch, speaking fiercely, blasted Wexner for his “hard to believe” testimony up to that point.

“So far, the more this deposition goes on, the less Wexner knows about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” Lynch told reporters outside of Wexner’s 45,000-square-foot mansion, which has 30 rooms and sits on a 336-acre site.

“There was a deep trust between these two men – there was a deep friendship there. Not only in a business sense, but Les Wexner gave Epstein the ability to handle his children's and his family's money, so at least that part of it makes it hard to believe Les Wexner's testimony thus far.”

Wexner was a key source of Epstein’s wealth, with their friendship dating back to the 1980s when Wexner hired Epstein as his financial adviser. Epstein’s infamous New York townhome was also once owned by Wexner, but was ultimately traded hands and its ownership later transferred to Epstein in 2011 for $0.

Wexner is one of several figures that have received congressional subpoenas related to the House Oversight Committee’s ongoing probe into Epstein, alongside former President Bill Clinton and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Lynch admitted that while he’d yet to see evidence implicating Wexner of partaking in criminal acts with Epstein, he put significant blame on the billionaire for essentially helping to facilitate Epstein’s crimes.

“It may be a question as to whether Les Wexner was involved in the crimes directly, but there is no question in my mind, given the evidence so far, that Les Wexner knew about this and failed to stop it, and gave Epstein license and the ability to commit these crimes,” Lynch said.