The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday secured subpoenas for Ohio billionaire Les Wexner and two others in the Jeffrey Epstein case.
“These subpoenas for the executors of Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, and billionaire benefactor Les Wexner, are an enormous step forward in our investigation to deliver justice for the survivors and truth for the American people," said U.S. Rep Robert Garcia, a California Democrat, in a statement.
"Oversight Democrats know how important it is to follow the money to identify anyone that enabled Epstein’s horrific abuses and illegal activities. We are now one step closer to ending this White House cover-up,” Garcia said.
During a committee hearing Wednesday, Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida proposed several motions for subpoenas. Garcia offered amendments to add subpoenas for people who have been part of the Epstein investigation.
A statement provided by Wexner's spokesman late Wednesday said, "According to Mr. Wexner’s legal representative, Mr. Wexner will cooperate fully with any governmental inquiry into Epstein, just as he did regarding the U.S. Attorney’s investigation into Epstein in which Mr. Wexner was told that he was neither a co-conspirator nor a target in any respect."
Wexner previously denounced Epstein, saying he cut ties with him in 2007, after allegations first emerged that Epstein slept with a minor.
The U.S. House, including every Democrat and nearly every Republican, voted to compel the U.S. Department of Justice to release investigatory files on Epstein.
In December, lawyers representing Ohio State University contested a motion to depose Wexner, a former university trustee, in the civil case related to sexual abuse by former university doctor Richard Strauss.
The motion in federal court said "none of the discovery taken to date suggests that Mr. Wexner has any specific information 'relevant to any party’s claim or defense' in this litigation."
