Wexner Dismisses Congress, but the Epstein Questions Remain (6/23/26)

Les Wexner framed his nearly six-hour congressional deposition about Jeffrey Epstein as a political stunt, calling it “silly,” “a nothing burger,” and accusing House Democrats of using the session for “airtime” rather than serious oversight. He claimed he had “nothing to hide,” repeated that he knew nothing about Epstein’s criminal conduct, and cast himself as another person deceived by Epstein — financially wounded, personally embarrassed, but not responsible. That posture is convenient, but it also dodges the central problem: Wexner was not some casual acquaintance. He was one of Epstein’s most powerful patrons and most prominent clients, and the idea that he could hand Epstein extraordinary access, trust, and legitimacy while remaining completely unaware of the warning signs is exactly why lawmakers and the public remain skeptical.Wexner also attacked Democrats for leaving the room, holding press events, and asking questions he believed were designed for campaign material, including one about his donations to Ohio Sen. Jon Husted. But that criticism works only if you accept Wexner’s premise that his role has already been fully explained, and it has not. His complaints about optics do not erase the deeper issue: Epstein’s access to elite institutions depended on men like Wexner giving him credibility, wealth, and proximity to power. Wexner may want the deposition to be “one and done,” but his insistence that there was nothing meaningful to ask sounds less like closure and more like an attempt to reduce years of unresolved questions into an annoyance he believes he has outgrown.to contact me:[email protected]:Wexner Calls Congressional Epstein Deposition ‘Silly,’ Says Democrats Used It as ‘Photo Op’ | News | The Harvard Crimson