Billionaire retail magnate Les Wexner testified under oath that neither the FBI nor the Justice Department interviewed him about Jeffrey Epstein, a revelation drawing new attention to how federal investigators handled potential witnesses tied to the disgraced financier.
During a more than four-hour videotaped House oversight committee deposition released on Thursday, Wexner said he was never directly contacted by federal authorities at any point during the government’s sex trafficking investigations into the late convicted sex offender, despite their decadeslong business relationship and Wexner’s repeated appearance in investigative records.
Lex Wexner says neither the DOJ or FBI ever contacted him regarding Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell… pic.twitter.com/arZWY0fDsM
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 19, 2026
“Has the FBI or DOJ ever directly contacted you or spoken to you about Epstein?” Wexner was asked during the deposition, which took place in Ohio on Wednesday.
“Never,” he replied. He later added that he did not recall speaking with “any law enforcement agency” about Epstein in connection with his 2019 case, which never saw a trial due to Epstein’s unexpected prison death in August that year, which was ruled a suicide by authorities.
Wexner’s testimony highlights a gap between investigative steps outlined in federal records and those ultimately carried out, raising questions about why one of Epstein’s most prominent former associates was not personally questioned before Epstein died in federal custody.
Wexner, the founder of L Brands, built Victoria’s Secret into a global retail empire and maintained a professional and personal relationship with Epstein for years after they met in the 1980s. He testified that Epstein, at one point, managed much of his personal finances and held power of attorney, an arrangement Wexner later said he regretted.
Wexner maintained that he severed ties with Epstein in 2007 after discovering what he described as financial improprieties, and he has consistently denied knowledge of Epstein’s sexual abuse. He has never been charged with wrongdoing and said during the House deposition that he never spoke with federal law enforcement about Epstein.
However, a Washington Examiner review of the DOJ’s Epstein files shows Wexner was subpoenaed in 2019 and scheduled to appear before investigators on June 24 that year. FBI documents indicate agents instead met with Wexner’s attorneys beforehand and decided they no longer needed to compel his testimony after being told he would provide information through counsel.
According to those records, investigators met with Wexner’s legal team on July 25, 2019, in New York and were told that the “Wexners were not close with Epstein and had no knowledge of his sexual misconduct.” A legal representative for Wexner said in a statement this month that prosecutors later informed counsel that he was “neither a co-conspirator nor target in any respect,” and he was not contacted again.
Internal FBI planning materials from 2019 nevertheless listed Wexner among individuals agents intended to approach “immediately following the arrest,” suggesting investigators initially expected to seek his cooperation directly.
During the recent congressional deposition, Wexner was shown one such document and expressed surprise, saying he had never previously seen an FBI investigatory file, and asked whether he could keep the copy presented to him.
Lawmakers said the interview marked the first time Wexner had been questioned under oath by federal officials about Epstein, even though he had previously received subpoenas on Epstein-related matters in April 2010 in Columbus, according to a document in the DOJ’s Epstein files trove.
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Wexner’s deposition is part of a congressional review of Epstein’s network of associates and the government’s handling of the case, as investigators continue examining decisions made in the months surrounding Epstein’s 2019 arrest and death.
As part of that inquiry, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are scheduled to testify under oath next week. Hillary Clinton’s deposition is set for Feb. 26, followed by her spouse’s appearance on Feb. 27, with both sessions to be held in Chappaqua, New York.