House committee calls on DOJ to investigate two men with ties to Jeffrey Epstein - BERITAJA

The House Oversight Committee said Thursday it was asking the Justice Department to analyse intersexual misconduct allegations made by Jeffrey Epstein’s erstwhile assistant, Sarah Kellen, against 2 of his associates.

Kellen was interviewed down closed doors connected May 21 by the committee arsenic portion of its investigation into Epstein.

“During the transcribed interview, the Committee received grounds about alleged instances of criminal misconduct committed by Philip Levine, the erstwhile Mayor of Miami Beach from 2013 to 2017, and Frédéric Fekkai, a French personage hairstylist,” Chair James Comer wrote successful the letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Kellen besides accused a 3rd man pinch ties to Epstein, precocious manner photographer Patrick Demarchelier, of pulling down his pants successful beforehand of her.

In a statement, Comer, R-Ky., said the committee “is not a rule enforcement entity, and our domiciled is not to find guilt aliases innocence. We are referring these allegations to the Department of Justice, which has the devices to analyse criminal misconduct. We will proceed to travel the facts and guarantee accountability for survivors.”

The Justice Department did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Kellen worked for Epstein for complete a decade and was astatine 1 constituent identified arsenic 1 of his co-conspirators. In the May 21 interview, a transcript of which was released Thursday, Kellen said Fekkai was the personification who introduced her to Epstein, the convicted activity offender financier who died successful 2019 by termination while awaiting proceedings connected activity trafficking charges.

She said the alleged intersexual maltreatment by Fekkai happened earlier she met Epstein, and the alleged incident pinch Levine happened 1 aliases 2 years aft she started moving for Epstein. She said some of the alleged incidents occurred erstwhile she was successful her 20s.

A spokesperson for Levine said successful a statement, “Nearly a 4th period ago, our customer had a little friendly brushwood pinch different consenting adult. Any allegation suggesting different is not true.”

Mark Herr, a spokesperson for Fekkai, said successful a connection that “Mr. Fekkai was astonished to read of Ms. Kellen’s testimony. Mr. Fekkai ne'er abused anyone. He never participated in immoderate forbidden behavior. He knew thing about Epstein’s repugnant depravity aliases trafficking. He did thing wrong.”

Demarchelier died successful 2022.

All 3 names made repeated appearances successful the Justice Department’s publically released investigative files into Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Kellen, a North Carolina autochthonal who joined a man 5 years her elder erstwhile she was 17, told the sheet her erstwhile hubby divided and abandoned her successful Hawaii erstwhile she was 20.

It was aft that that she said an unidentified constitution creator introduced her to Fekkai, who said he wanted to usage her arsenic a exemplary astatine a hairsbreadth show successful Maui. When she arrived, she recovered retired location was nary show. “He sexually assaulted maine that night,” she told the panel.

She said he told her he wanted to present her to his friend Jeffrey, whom he referred to arsenic “a scout for Victoria’s Secret.” Epstein, she said, flew her to Los Angeles for a “casting” call.

He “made maine deliberation he was a exemplary scout and told maine to undress for him, which I did,” she said.

Fekkai besides introduced her to Demarchelier, for whom she said she had posed earlier he walked up to her pinch his pants down.

Kellen said she was hired arsenic an “assistant” to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, which was erstwhile she said she recovered retired he was a money manager, and not a exemplary scout.

Epstein, she said, “groomed me, sexually and psychologically abused me, controlled me, manipulated me, dominated maine and gaslit maine until I could nary longer show which thoughts were excavation and which were his.”

She said Epstein reminded her “every time really powerful he was, really influential he was and that to move connected him aliases disobey him would mean losing everything: my job, my home, everyone I knew successful the world, moreover my life.”

“He knew everyone successful the highest echelons of nine and everyone catered to him. He knew everyone successful the manner industry, academics, finance, government, powerful world leaders, dictators and everyone successful between. From the beginning, he showed maine that he was much powerful than fundamentally anyone successful the world,” she said.

She said Levine assaulted her successful either 2002 aliases 2003, erstwhile she was moving for Epstein and Maxwell astatine a location they rented successful St. Tropez and he came to visit. She said Epstein and Maxwell were successful the location but not coming erstwhile the battle happened.

Kellen said Levine, whom she described arsenic a bully friend of Maxwell, came into her chamber 1 nighttime “and fundamentally forced himself connected me.” There was besides a later incident erstwhile they were connected the beach, she told the committee.

Kellen said she did not time off Epstein’s employment because she had obscurity other to go. “I had nary money, nary family, nary acquisition and nary consciousness that I deserved immoderate better,” she said.

Kellen said Epstein abused her moreover while he was serving a Florida jailhouse sentence, which began successful 2008 — astatine 1 constituent allegedly forcing her to undress successful a Skype telephone from the Palm Beach County Stockade.

She said she later discovered that she had been identified arsenic a co-conspirator successful the arguable nonprosecution statement Epstein signed arsenic portion of a blameworthy plea to authorities charges of soliciting a minor.

“I was not told this was happening,” she said. “No 1 from rule enforcement ever said pinch me.”

“I did not moreover cognize my sanction was successful that statement until aft it had been signed and released to the public,” she said.

Kellen said she “finally extricated myself from Jeffrey Epstein’s grasp successful 2013, erstwhile I became engaged to a man who gave me, for the first clip successful my life, a portion of footing extracurricular of personification else’s control.”

Fekkai, Levine and Demarchelier each make appearances successful the investigative files that person been released by the Justice Department arsenic a consequence of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

The rule was passed months aft the Justice Department and FBI released a associated memo last twelvemonth saying they had conducted an “exhaustive” reappraisal of the Epstein case, and recovered that while the politically connected moneyman had preyed connected complete 1,000 women, location was not capable grounds to analyse anyone else.

If the DOJ were to enactment connected Comer’s recommendation, it would beryllium the first known progressive investigation into the lawsuit since the prosecution of Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.

Levine’s sanction appears complete 1,000 times successful the files, chiefly successful various wide run emails to Epstein and sometimes successful flirty email exchanges with Maxwell.

While the 2 men did not speech galore individual emails, Levine did email him good wishes successful 2010 — aft Epstein vanished his condemnation connected inducement charges.

“Just want you to cognize that I americium happy that everything has travel to a affirmative ending for you during these reliable times...You are a awesome feline and I cognize each bully things will travel to you going forward. In Europe for a while and dream we could drawback up soon. Your friend, Philip,” the email read.

In an different question and reply past twelvemonth pinch Blanche, Maxwell said Levine was “a bully friend of mine” who astatine 1 constituent introduced her to erstwhile President Bill Clinton. Clinton, who appears successful galore photographs released arsenic portion of the DOJ’s Epstein records, has ne'er been accused of immoderate wrongdoing successful relationship pinch Epstein. He told the House Oversight Committee successful a closed-door deposition this twelvemonth that he “saw nothing” and “did thing wrong” related to Epstein.

Levine said successful a statement to WLRN earlier this twelvemonth that “my only relationship to Jeffrey Epstein arose solely done my erstwhile relationship pinch Ghislaine Maxwell. I met Epstein only a fewer times. I ne'er conducted business pinch him, ne'er visited his land and ne'er flew connected his aircraft. I regret ever gathering him.”

An lawyer for Maxwell didn’t instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Fekkai’s sanction appears complete 3,000 times successful the Epstein files, including for galore appointments pinch unidentified women astatine his Manhattan salon. One 2018 email exchange discussing Fekkai’s bills noted 1 personification had a haircut “compliments of Jeffrey.”

Another email to Epstein’s bookkeeper from the salon in 2016 said it was a “big day” there. “5 cuts successful each today,” the email said.

Demarchelier’s sanction is mentioned about 3 twelve times, including successful respective duplicates of an email speech successful 2012 between precocious modeling agency caput Jean Luc Brunel and Epstein. In the exchange, Brunel tells Epstein he is going to beryllium walking pinch the photographer to St. Petersburg for a sprout for Russian Vogue. “What dates?” Epstein asked.

Brunel was recovered dormant of an evident termination successful his situation compartment successful 2022 while awaiting proceedings connected charges of intersexual harassment and rape.

Demarchelier, who worked intimately pinch the precocious Princess Diana, was accused of sexually harassing and abusing 7 models successful a 2018 Boston Globe story.

He told the Globe astatine the clip that the allegations against him were “ridiculous.”

“People dishonesty and they show stories,” he told the paper, adding he “never, never, never” touched a exemplary inappropriately.

During the Kellen interview, Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., asked Kellen about Epstein’s narration pinch President Donald Trump. Kellen said that Epstein had been a predominant visitor to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate early connected successful her tenure, and “would usage the gym a batch there.”

She said she knew he and Trump had a “friendly” relationship, but she only met the early president once, and only for a fewer minutes. Kellen said she’d heard Trump banned Epstein from the edifice because “he had like, deed connected a member’s girl aliases thing on those lines.”

Trump and Epstein were friends for years, but the president has said they had a falling retired aft Epstein “took group that worked for me.” Trump, who besides appears galore times successful the Epstein files, has not been accused of misconduct by rule enforcement and has denied immoderate wrongdoing.