The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday took testimony from Richard Kahn, Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime accountant and an executor of Epstein’s estate, as lawmakers pressed into what they described as the financier’s sprawling financial portfolio and his connections to wealthy and influential figures.
Kahn appeared for a closed-door deposition on Capitol Hill as part of the committee’s effort to understand how Epstein acquired his wealth and built business ties, according to a summary provided by committee Republicans. Kahn told lawmakers that he had not personally seen evidence of Epstein’s sexual abuse, while also giving lawmakers what the Republicans described as a fuller picture of Epstein’s finances.
Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, said Kahn told the panel he was operating under an understanding that Epstein made his money as a tax advisor and financial planner. Comer and other lawmakers argued that a more complete understanding of Epstein’s financial relationships could help the public evaluate how Epstein was able to traffic and sexually abuse underage girls for years, despite oversight failures they say allowed abuse to continue.
Another Republican lawmaker, Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., said Kahn had managed Epstein’s money for years and authorized payments, including payments to victims and survivors. Walkinshaw also said Kahn told the lawmakers he did not recall details of some transactions and communications that were reviewed in the deposition.
Comer said lawmakers also discussed money Epstein received from former retail executive Les Wexner, hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin, tech entrepreneur Steven Sinofsky, investor Leon Black, and the Rothschilds. The committee members discussed these ties in the context of determining whether relationships connected to Epstein should be scrutinized, even though none of those individuals have been accused of wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, according to the committee summary.
House Democrats on the committee argued that anyone with connections to Epstein should be examined, and Comer said some witnesses already have been deposed. He added that he has called for additional transcribed interviews from Black and others.
Comer also said Kahn told lawmakers Epstein had financial ties to Ehud Barak, who was prime minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001, as Rep. Suhas Subramanyam described during the deposition. Barak has not been accused of wrongdoing, and Kahn’s testimony was framed in the committee context around the breadth of Epstein’s financial network rather than any new allegation against Barak.
Comer said the committee has reviewed more than 40,000 documents subpoenaed from JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, and he said Epstein was connected to at least 64 business entities. Comer also said Kahn told lawmakers he had not seen any financial transactions between Epstein and President Donald Trump.
“The investigation’s about getting the truth to the American people, trying to figure out how the government failed, answer questions we all have,” Comer said.