Epstein’s lawyer tells House Oversight investigators he had ‘no knowledge’ of Epstein’s crimes

Darren Indyke, Jeffrey Epstein’s lawyer and a co-executor of his estate, told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he had no knowledge of the convicted sex offender’s crimes and rejected aspersions that he knowingly facilitated Epstein’s trafficking, according to a copy of prepared remarks obtained by POLITICO.

The attorney’s defensive posture in the closed-door deposition on Thursday comes amid mounting pressure on the Justice Department and lawmakers to pursue criminal accountability for others who could have played a role in Epstein’s scheme. In his prepared opening statement, Indyke noted that he was appointed a co-executor of Epstein’s estate in 2019 by the U.S. Virgin Islands probate court, has cooperated with the Justice Department and helped found the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program.

“Let me be clear: I had no knowledge whatsoever of Jeffrey Epstein’s wrongdoings,” Indyke told congressional investigators, according to the prepared remarks. “My complete lack of involvement in that misconduct is a matter of record: not a single woman has ever accused me of committing sexual abuse or witnessing sexual abuse, nor claimed at any time that she or anyone else reported to me any allegation of Mr. Epstein’s abuse.”

He maintained that his relationship with Epstein was not social in nature and that he was only one of the lawyers with whom Epstein consulted — a list that included Kenneth Starr, the former independent counsel who investigated the fallout of Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky.

“My primary role was to provide corporate, transactional and general legal services to Mr. Epstein and his companies, and I did so,” Indyke planned to say.

But lawmakers portrayed Indyke as a central figure in Epstein’s orbit who abetted his crimes and operated as a kind of fixer. Rep. David Min (D-Calif.) said the idea that the lawyer did not know of Epstein’s criminal activities was simply not credible.

“I think he, again, is perjuring himself,” Min said, also noting his own career as a law professor. “If I was advising him, I’d tell him to take the Fifth Amendment because I believe he’s guilty of perjury.”

Only one person has been convicted as part of Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme: Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate now serving 20 years in prison for her role in the crimes. She is seeking a pardon from President Donald Trump.

Indyke is the latest in the Oversight committee’s string of closed-door depositions with people in Epstein’s orbit. Epstein’s onetime client and former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner and another co-executor of Epstein’s estate Richard Kahn also testified. House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) has also subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify before lawmakers over her handling of the Epstein files.

Unlike Wexner and Kahn, Maxwell invoked her Fifth Amendment right when she was questioned by the Oversight committee in a virtual deposition as part of its investigation into Epstein.

According to his prepared remarks, Indyke also denied any involvement in the facilitation of so-called “sham marriages” for women around Epstein, an allegation that appeared in a complaint filed in court by the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands. He described his onetime client as being “extremely contrite” after his 2008 sex crime conviction and added that he believed Epstein when he said he did not know the woman was a minor.

“That I did not know what my client did in his private life may be difficult for some to believe, but it is true,” Indyke said.

The Oversight panel has retrieved a large swath of materials from the Epstein estate, for which Indyke serves as a co-executor, in response to its subpoena issued last summer. Those files included the so-called birthday book, which allegedly included a note from Trump written for Epstein with a bawdy drawing. Trump has denied writing the note.

But Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the panel, maintained that the estate still had to provide a host of additional materials that it was obligated to turn over under the subpoena.

“So we are calling again on the Chairman, Chairman Comer and House Republicans, to demand the release of the rest of the documents per the subpoena from the Epstein estate, to advance our investigation,” he told reporters.

Comer, however, rejected Garcia’s assessment. He said the only outstanding material overlapped with other material that has or would be produced by other subpoenas.

“When the banks comply with the subpoenas on the bank documents, that will resolve that,” Comer told reporters during a break in the deposition. “It’s overlapping information. So the estate has cooperated with us.”