Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime assistant gave the House Oversight Committee three new names of alleged abusers within the convicted intercourse offender’s community — a revelation that committee chairman James Comer described as a promising lead in his panel’s investigation into Epstein’s misdeeds.
The assistant, Sarah Kellen, offered the names in a closed-door interview on Thursday, Comer mentioned. He declined to title the people, however mentioned they weren’t previously identified and promised to launch a transcript of Kellen’s interview as quickly as attainable.
“The new names, that’s what we’ve been waiting for,” Comer mentioned, including, “I’m more optimistic today than I have been a long time.”
Kellen is a polarizing determine in Epstein’s orbit whose work with the disgraced late financier gave her entry to vital data on his actions. In 2007, she was labeled by regulation enforcement as one in every of Epstein’s potential co-conspirators, and plenty of imagine she helped him recruit and abuse ladies. But she has described herself as a sufferer of Epstein’s abuse, and a few observers acknowledge her expertise is sophisticated, even when regulation enforcement did examine her for presumably aiding Epstein.
Throughout hours of closed-door testimony on Thursday, Kellen mentioned she was not Epstein’s co-conspirator and had no thought she was going to be named in Epstein’s non-prosecution settlement from the early 2000s. On the opposite, Kellen testified she “worked for and was sexually and psychologically abused by Jeffrey Epstein,” in accordance to a replica of her opening remarks shared with NCS.
Kellen described in graphic element a few of the sexual abuse she says she endured.
“I want this Committee to know that the abuse happened on average on a weekly basis, and was at times violent,” Kellen mentioned, in accordance to the remarks. “It included Jeffrey entering my room in the middle of the night and putting his fingers inside me, waking me up from my sleep. It included an occasion in Palm Beach when he trapped me in the gym by lowering the metal hurricane shutter, blasted the music so loud that no one could hear, choked me, and violently raped me.”
Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury advised reporters that she requested Kellen about her expertise at Epstein’s New Mexico ranch, the place a state investigation is ongoing, and Kellen mentioned that was one of many locations she was abused by Epstein.
Kellen mentioned that for years, it was merely not attainable for her to go away Epstein’s highly effective grip: “I had nowhere else to go. I had no money, no family, no education, and no sense that I deserved any better.”
Stansbury mentioned she additionally requested Kellen if she believed Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell ought to have been moved to a lower security prison or if Maxwell ought to obtain a presidential pardon. To each questions, Kellen mentioned no, and even solid blame on Maxwell for a few of Epstein’s wrongdoing, saying “Maxwell turned Epstein into the monster he became,” in accordance to Stansbury.
Comer mentioned that the Justice Department didn’t interview Kellen till 2019, arguing that was an instance that investigators had mishandled the Epstein case. NCS has reached out to the Justice Department for remark.
“More evidence emerges every time we bring somebody in that the government failed the victims. That’s the obvious,” Comer acknowledged.
Comer mentioned that after listening to her testimony, he believes Kellen was a sufferer of Epstein’s crimes, not a possible co-conspirator.
“Of all the people that we’ve interviewed thus far, this was by far the most substantive and productive interview that we’ve had. She was very brave coming forward. I can’t imagine how difficult it was for her to go into detail about the abuse that she endured at the hands of Epstein and Maxwell,” Comer mentioned.
But others mentioned that they had extra questions for Kellen. Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi mentioned the panel ought to think about bringing Kellen again in for an interview below subpoena as a result of there have been plenty of questions Kellen didn’t reply within the voluntary setting of Thursday’s interview.
“What I want to hear is more discussion about other actors, other entities, other women, who else were potential conspirators in this,” Krishnamoorthi mentioned.
Another supply acquainted with Kellen’s testimony advised NCS that whereas Kellen was keen to reply questions on her personal abuse, she wouldn’t share any details about the abuse she knew others to have suffered.
And whereas Kellen mentioned she by no means witnessed any inappropriate conduct by President Donald Trump, she testified that she believed that Epstein and Trump have been as soon as shut provided that Epstein had images of Trump hanging round all of Epstein’s properties, the supply added.
Comer mentioned that Kellen testified that Epstein used to go to Mar-a-Lago to exercise, however Trump kicked him out as a result of Epstein “hit on a members’ daughter or something.”