One of Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime assistants informed members of the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday morning that she didn’t know about the late convicted sex offender’s crimes, describing him as a master manipulator who had each cause to maintain them a secret from her, in accordance with two sources conversant in the testimony.
As a solution to attempt to show her ignorance about Epstein’s wrongdoings, Lesley Groff, Epstein’s former govt assistant, mentioned she believed the therapeutic massage appointments she made for Epstein with younger ladies and ladies had been with therapeutic massage therapists, the sources mentioned,
Groff is among the most notable members of the late financier’s internal orbit to talk to Congress as a part of its Epstein investigation — a ubiquitous assistant who helped handle each side of Epstein’s life from appointments with ladies to conferences with highly effective people, as evidenced within the Justice Department’s thousands and thousands of Epstein files.
She informed lawmakers Tuesday that she was not sexually abused by Epstein, in accordance with the sources. She additionally didn’t want her job with Epstein, she mentioned, and each Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell informed Groff that she shouldn’t affiliate with their mates and colleagues and insisted their enterprise was none of hers.
Groff, who has largely stayed out of the highlight, additionally informed members that she needs to be useful to them, and that since Epstein’s arrest, she’s been shunned by mates and her household has been harassed.
She started working for Epstein in 2001, according to a 2010 payroll document, managing his schedule, reserving his journey and private appointments and appearing as the go-between with high-profile people. She was listed as a possible co-conspirator to Epstein as a part of the controversial non-prosecution settlement struck with federal prosecutors in Florida in 2008.
Multiple victims who spoke with the FBI identified Groff as the individual they’d first name to succeed in Epstein and schedule a therapeutic massage for him. They mentioned that he perpetuated his sexual abuse whereas receiving these massages.
In a 2021 interview with the FBI, Groff mentioned reserving massages was simply “another appointment she had to make for Epstein,” in accordance with notes from that interview.
Email correspondences within the Epstein recordsdata additionally reveal that the late financier relied on Groff to ebook home and worldwide journey for him and scores of girls.
Groff’s attorneys introduced in late 2021 that she wouldn’t be charged by legislation enforcement and that she had “never witnessed anything improper or illegal” and stays “heartbroken” for all the victims.
In a earlier assertion to NCS, Groff’s lawyer mentioned she labored for Epstein as “part of a professional staff that included in-house attorneys, accountants, and other office staff” and that her job included making appointments for Epstein, “taking his messages, and setting up high-level meetings with CEOs, business executives, scientists, politicians, celebrities, charitable organizations, and universities.”