The Justice Department Un-redacts More Names in Jeffrey Epstein Files After Lawmaker Pressure
The Justice Department on Monday un-redacted additional names from the Jeffrey Epstein files following pressure from lawmakers who had reviewed unredacted versions of several records. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, highlighted that the department had previously redacted the identities of several individuals listed in a 2019 FBI document.
Newly Unredacted Names Include Billionaire and Epstein’s Assistant
The newly unredacted names include billionaire business magnate Les Wexner; Epstein’s longtime assistant Lesley Groff; and former French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel. Each of these individuals is listed in the document as a co-conspirator of Epstein’s.
“The Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the Epstein investigation stated at the time that Mr. Wexner was neither a co-conspirator nor target in any respect,” a legal representative for Wexner said in a statement given to media outlets in December when Wexner’s name appeared in Epstein documents released by the DOJ.
“Mr. Wexner cooperated fully by providing background information on Epstein and was never contacted again,” the statement added.
“In fact, neither Lesley nor her counsel were ever notified that she was considered a co-conspirator. On the contrary, after Lesley voluntarily spoke with prosecutors, and answered each and every question asked of her, she was told that she was not being prosecuted,” wrote Michael Bachner, attorney for Groff.
Brunel’s Arrest and Death
Brunel, meanwhile, was arrested on charges including raping a minor and was found dead in his prison cell in 2022. A medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging. He had denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyers claimed at the time that his death was not due to guilt but rather a “sense of injustice.”
Wexner’s 2009 Email and DOJ Response
In a 2019 note to L Brands employees, Wexner disavowed Epstein and denied knowledge of any illegal activity. In an online exchange with Massie on Monday night, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that while the Justice Department had “unredacted Les Wexner’s name from this document,” he had been mentioned “thousands of times” in Epstein documents.
“DOJ is hiding nothing,” Blanche wrote.
The Justice Department on Monday revealed another name after pressure from Massie and other lawmakers who had reviewed some of the unredacted material earlier in the day. In 2009, Epstein wrote a brief email to a redacted recipient: “where are you? are you ok I loved the torture video.” Massie said on social media that the email recipient was a sultan.
Blanche later wrote in an X post to the congressman that the name was unredacted in a separate file and linked to an email from Sultan Bin Sulayem, an Emirati businessman. Bin Sulayem was later also named by lawmakers on the House floor.
CNN has reached out to Wexner’s foundation for comment.
