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A an accountant and a lawyer for Jeffrey Epstein told the House Oversight Committee that government investigators never asked them about the deceased sex offender and the work they did for him, according to the videos of their depositions published Tuesday.
The panel questioned Richard Kahn, Epstein’s accountant, and Darren Indyke, Epstein’s lawyer, behind closed doors this month as part of its investigation into Epstein. Both said they did not witness any wrongdoing, and authorities did not accuse either of wrongdoing.
Kahn and Indyke’s testimony that federal investigators never questioned them raises questions about the depth of the Justice Department’s review of Epstein, which the Justice Department and FBI called “exhaustive” in an unsigned document. common note in July announcing that the government would not disclose additional documents on the disgraced financier.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening on the testimony of Kahn and Indyke, nor to questions about why federal investigators never interviewed two people who worked for him for years.
Kahn and Indyke’s attorney did not immediately provide additional information about their testimony.
The Justice Department has released more than 3 million records – most of which are heavily redacted – while holding almost as many people return, citing victim protection, depiction of child sexual abuse, depiction of violence, duplication, attorney-client privilege and other reasons.
The Justice Department was later forced to release all of its records on Epstein after passage of the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act following conservative backlash over the Trump administration’s handling of the records.
The Justice Department first became involved in the Epstein investigation nearly 20 years ago before federal prosecutors oversaw a non-prosecution agreement with him in 2008. He was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and died in his jail cell while awaiting trial.
Kahn said in his deposition that he was “never questioned by any government authority” but had received requests for grand jury subpoenas from the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice seeking Epstein’s 1953 will and trust. He also said the estate received a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee. Indyke added that he had filed two other depositions before this month, in two cases related to the Epstein estate.
Asked if any law enforcement agency had ever contacted him about Epstein or co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, Indyke told the House panel, “I don’t think I have.” »
When later asked if he was surprised he wasn’t questioned by law enforcement, Indyke said no, “given my role in — in my role as a transactional attorney for Mr. Epstein.”
Kahn and Indyke were also asked if they considered leaving their jobs with Epstein after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor. Kahn said he thought about it “definitely” but ultimately decided to stay because “we were in the middle of a financial crisis and I had a family to support.”
Kahn said he believed Epstein when he told him “it wouldn’t happen again.”
Indyke said he had no plans to quit his job, adding that he “drank the Kool-Aid at the time.”