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<\/a><\/p>\nLeslie Wexner, left, and Jeffrey Epstein were close for years. Epstein’s scandal has dogged the billionaire Jewish philanthropist. (Laura E. Adkins\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Wexner, the founder of retail giant L Brands and the Wexner Foundation, was publicly named Tuesday by U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna as one of six powerful men whose identities had been redacted from millions of pages of \u201cEpstein Files\u201d released Jan. 30 by the Department of Justice under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. <\/p>\n
Khanna, speaking from the floor of the House, said the FBI had labeled Wexner an \u201cunindicted co-conspirator\u201d in investigative documents drafted shortly after Epstein\u2019s 2019 death, although the files also note \u201climited evidence\u201d against him. <\/p>\n
The appearance of Wexner\u2019s name in those unredacted records, and the broader controversy over redactions, has thrust the 88-year-old benefactor back into public debate. Wexner has not been charged with any crime in connection with Epstein\u2019s sex-trafficking offenses and has repeatedly denied knowledge of Epstein\u2019s criminal conduct. Prosecutors and Justice Department officials emphasized that inclusion in the files does not equal guilt. <\/p>\n
The relationship between the two men began in the late 1980s, when Wexner brought Epstein on as a financial adviser; Wexner later granted Epstein power of attorney beginning in 1991, and federal records describe how Epstein used that authority in property and other transactions before the two men reached a 2008 settlement in which Epstein paid Wexner $100 million after Wexner accused him of theft or misappropriation. Wexner publicly accused Epstein of theft before his death, but the size of the repayment was revealed in the latest documents.<\/p>\n
Within the Jewish community, Wexner has been a towering figure: his foundation\u2019s prestigious fellowships have trained waves of rabbis, lay leaders and nonprofit executives, and his philanthropy has funded Jewish education and institutions for decades. But the Epstein connection has been a source of tension. In recent years, Jewish leaders who benefited from Wexner-funded programs publicly wrestled with what some described as an \u201cunease\u201d about his past association with Epstein. At least two rabbis have made public commitments to donate to victims of sex trafficking to compensate for the benefits they received from his Jewish philanthropy.<\/p>\n
Amid the latest disclosures, Wexner is slated to give sworn testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Feb. 18, in what is expected to be a closed deposition rather than an open hearing. Committee leaders have not said whether the transcript will be released publicly, a decision that could shape how much light is shed on the nature of Wexner\u2019s ties to Epstein.<\/p>\n