Billionaire Les Wexner to be deposed in congressional probe of Epstein files

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Les Wexner’s long-time friendship with Jeffrey Epstein will be the subject of a closed-door congressional deposition in Ohio on Wednesday, where the billionaire retail magnate is expected to face questions about new revelations contained in the latest release of Justice Department documents related to the late sexual predator.

Wexner, 88, the retired founder of L Brands, has said he plans to cooperate with a subpoena from Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

As one of Epstein’s most prominent former friends, Wexner has already spent years answering for their decades-long association. In court documents, prominent Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre claimed that Wexner was one of the men Epstein trafficked her to.

Wexner has consistently denied any knowledge of or involvement in the millionaire financier’s crimes and says he never met Giuffre. He told L Brands investors in 2019 that he was embarrassed that he ever got close to someone “so sick, so cunning, so depraved.”

He has never been accused of wrongdoing and the overall picture provided by the DOJ documents is that Epstein did not run a sex trafficking ring.

Wexner's name appears more than 1,000 times in the Epstein files, which his spokesperson said is not unexpected given their longstanding relationship. The documents shed new light on his relationship to Epstein — which ended bitterly after Wexner and his wife Abigail learned he'd been stealing from them — while raising many new questions.

Epstein first met Wexner through a business associate around 1986.

It was an opportune time for Wexner’s finances. The successful Ohio businessman had grown a single Limited store in Columbus into a powerhouse suite of '80s mall-culture staples: The Limited, Limited Express, Lane Bryant and Victoria’s Secret. Abercrombie & Fitch, Lerner, White Barn Candle Co. and others would follow.

Within a couple years, Wexner had turned over management of his vast fortune to Epstein. He gave his now-trusted associate his power of attorney in 1991, allowing Epstein to make investments and do business deals and to purchase property and help develop what would become the vast Wexner estate in then-rural New Albany, Ohio, documents show. Wednesday's deposition will take place either there or nearby, according to participating lawmakers.

Epstein had “excellent judgment and unusually high standards,” Wexner told Vanity Fair in a 2003 interview, and he was “always a most loyal friend.”

In one of the newly released documents, Epstein sent rough notes to himself about Wexner saying: “never ever, did anything without informing les” and “I would never give him up.” Another document, an apparent draft letter to Wexner, said the two “had ‘gang stuff’ for over 15 years” and were mutually indebted to each other — as Wexner helped make Epstein rich and Epstein helped make Wexner richer.

A spokesperson for Wexner said he never received the letter.

“It appears Epstein was furious that Mr. Wexner refused to meet with him years after Mr. Wexner terminated Epstein and cut off all ties with him following Mr. Wexner’s discovery of Epstein’s theft and criminal conduct,” the spokesperson, Tom Davies, said. "The draft appears to fit a pattern of untrue, outlandish, and delusional statements made by Epstein in desperate attempts to perpetuate his lies and justify his misconduct.”

Wexner did not publicly reveal until after Epstein's arrest on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019 that he had severed their relationship. In a Wexner Foundation letter that August, he said that happened in 2007. However, the Justice Department’s newly released records show the two were in touch after that.

Wexner emailed Epstein on June 26, 2008, after a plea deal was announced that would require him to serve 18 months in a Florida jail on a state charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor in order to avoid federal prosecution. He wound up serving 13 months.

“Abigail told me the result… all I can say is I feel sorry. You violated your own number 1 rule…always be careful,” Wexner wrote. Epstein replied: “no excuse.”

Davies said the 2007 date Wexner cited in 2019 applied to firing Epstein as financial adviser, revoking his power of attorney and removing his name from Wexner’s bank accounts.

Wexner also said in the 2019 letter that Epstein had misappropriated “vast sums” of his and his family's fortune while overseeing his finances. An investigative memo from the latest document release says that Wexner’s attorneys told investigators in 2008 that Epstein had repaid him $100 million, thought to be just a portion of what he stole.

Newly released documents emboldened sexual assault survivors in ways that have increased pressure on Wexner.

Epstein survivor Maria Farmer has said she was vindicated by a redacted FBI report contained in the documents, which confirms that she filed one of the earliest complaints against Epstein.

Though the complaint reported his possession of nude photos of underage girls, the records have drawn new attention to the harrowing account of an alleged sexual encounter forced on her by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in the summer of 1996 at Epstein's home in New Albany. The home was located about a half mile from the Wexners' home. The Wexners have said they had never heard anything about Farmer's account of the crime until it appeared in news accounts years later.

Meanwhile, survivors of another sexual predator — the late Dr. Richard Strauss, a team doctor at the Ohio State University who was found to have sexually abused at least 177 male students over years — are citing Wexner's association with Epstein to try to get his name removed from a campus football complex built with his contributions. Their request is pending before a university committee. Davies declined comment.

The alumni group scored a legal victory last week, though, when a district court judge said they can compel Wexner to testify in their lawsuit against the university. He sat on Ohio State's board of trustees during the period when Strauss, who died before his deeds came to light, committed his crimes.

Separately, a spokesperson for Ohio State said the head of its Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Mark Landon, is cooperating with the school's investigation into his mention in the Epstein files. Newly released documents indicated that Epstein had Landon on retainer in 2006 for $25,000 a quarter.

“I did not provide any clinical care for Jeffrey Epstein or any of his victims,” Landon said in a statement. “I was a paid consultant for the New York Strategy Group regarding potential biotech investments from 2001 to 2005.” A statement from Davies said the advice Epstein was soliciting was on the Wexners' behalf.

Rep. David Min, D-Calif., speaks during a press conference following the congressional deposition of Les Wexner in the Jeffery Epstein case, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in New Albany, Ohio. Behind from left are Reps. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz.; Robert Garcia, D-Calif.; Stephen Lynch, D-Mass.; and Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Rep. David Min, D-Calif., left, speaks during a press conference following the congressional deposition of Les Wexner in the Jeffery Epstein case, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in New Albany, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, center, leaves following a press conference following the congressional deposition of Les Wexner in the Jeffery Epstein case, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in New Albany, Ohio. In foreground are Reps. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., left, and David Min, D-Calif. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., speaks during a press conference following the congressional deposition of Les Wexner in the Jeffery Epstein case, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in New Albany, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Rep. David Min, D-Calif., speaks during a press conference following the congressional deposition of Les Wexner in the Jeffery Epstein case, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in New Albany, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., speaks during a press conference following the congressional deposition of Les Wexner in the Jeffery Epstein case, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in New Albany, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., speaks during a press conference following the congressional deposition of Les Wexner in the Jeffery Epstein case, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in New Albany, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, speaks during a press conference following the congressional deposition of Les Wexner in the Jeffery Epstein case, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in New Albany, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Rep. David Min, D-Calif., speaks during a press conference following the congressional deposition of Les Wexner in the Jeffery Epstein case, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in New Albany, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

FILE - Then-Chairman and CEO of L Brands Les Wexner tours the exhibit at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 19, 2014. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

FILE - Chairman and CEO of Victoria's Secret parent L Brands Les Wexner tours the exhibit at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 19, 2014. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Zuckerberg will testify in an unprecedented social media trial that questions whether Meta's platforms deliberately addict and harm children.

Meta's CEO is expected to answer tough questions on Wednesday from attorneys representing a now 20-year-old woman identified by the initials KGM, who claims her early use of social media addicted her to the technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. Meta Platforms and Google’s YouTube are the two remaining defendants in the case, which TikTok and Snap have settled.

Zuckerberg has testified in other trials and answered questions from Congress about youth safety on Meta's platforms, and he apologized to families at that hearing whose lives had been upended by tragedies they believed were because of social media. This trial, though, marks the first time Zuckerberg will answer similar questions in front of a jury. and, again, bereaved parents are expected to be in the limited courtroom seats available to the public.

The case, along with two others, has been selected as a bellwether trial, meaning its outcome could impact how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies would play out.

A Meta spokesperson said the company strongly disagrees with the allegations in the lawsuit and said they are “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.”

One of Meta's attorneys, Paul Schmidt, said in his opening statement that the company is not disputing that KGM experienced mental health struggles, but rather that Instagram played a substantial factor in those struggles. He pointed to medical records that showed a turbulent home life, and both he and an attorney representing YouTube argue she turned to their platforms as a coping mechanism or a means of escaping her mental health struggles.

Zuckerberg's testimony comes a week after that of Adam Mosseri, the head of Meta's Instagram, who said in the courtroom that he disagrees with the idea that people can be clinically addicted to social media platforms. Mosseri maintained that Instagram works hard to protect young people using the service, and said it's “not good for the company, over the long run, to make decisions that profit for us but are poor for people’s well-being."

Much of Mosseri's questioning from the plaintiff's lawyer, Mark Lanier, centered on cosmetic filters on Instagram that changed people’s appearance — a topic that Lanier is sure to revisit with Zuckerberg. He is also expected to face questions about Instagram’s algorithm, the infinite nature of Meta’ feeds and other features the plaintiffs argue are designed to get users hooked.

Meta is also facing a separate trial in New Mexico that began last week.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives for a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives for a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives for a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives for a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives for a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, arrives in court to testify in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, arrives in court to testify in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)