Jeffrey Epstein’s assistant tells Congress she knew nothing about his crimes
June 9 (UPI) — An assistant of Jeffrey Epstein told members of the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday that she was unaware of his crimes but that he was a master manipulator.
Lesley Groff, Epstein’s then-executive assistant, told the committee that she believed the massage appointments she made for Epstein with young women and girls were with massage therapists, two sources told CNN. She said Epstein had every reason to keep his crimes secret from her.
Groff helped manage Epstein’s life, including making appointments with women, setting meetings with powerful people and arranging Epstein’s flights with the young women. She worked for Epstein for nearly 20 years, and her name was listed in the Epstein files more than 150,000 times.
Epstein, a billionaire financier and registered sex offender, died by suicide in prison in 2019.
Groff told the lawmakers that she wants to help and that since Epstein was arrested, she’s lost friends and her family has faced harassment.
Groff said Epstein didn’t sexually abuse her, one of the sources told CNN, and that she didn’t need the job. She said that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell told her not to associate with their friends, and they insisted that their business was none of hers.
Survivors told a different story.
Sharlene Rochard was skeptical that Groff didn’t know about the crimes.
“One of the hardest parts for survivors is hearing the people who were closest to Epstein claim they saw nothing,” Rochard told CNN. “That doesn’t match my experience. Survivors deserve answers, not claims of ignorance.”
In a previous statement, Groff’s lawyer told CNN that she worked for Epstein as “part of a professional staff that included in-house attorneys, accountants and other office staff” and that her job included making appointments for Epstein, “taking his messages and setting up high-level meetings with CEOs, business executives, scientists, politicians, celebrities, charitable organizations and universities.”
Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told MSNow that the panel has referred two names to the Department of Justice, though he didn’t identify them.
“I think the interviews that we’ve done have been very productive,” Comer told reporters on Tuesday morning.
“We’re bringing in the most important people in the whole Epstein criminal enterprise that are still alive, and hopefully we’ll get the proof to the American people that there’s an opportunity for accountability,” Comer said.
The committee is scheduled to interview Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Wednesday.
