The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform subpoenaed Wexner earlier this year to testify about his long-running relationship with Epstein, who for years served as his personal financial adviser while Wexner built a retail empire that included the Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works brands. A committee spokesperson said the deposition, originally scheduled for Washington, D.C., will instead be conducted in Ohio, with staff coordinating logistics with Wexner’s legal team under standard House procedures.
The Feb. 18 session will be held behind closed doors, meaning the public and press will not be allowed to observe as lawmakers and committee attorneys question Wexner about what he knew of Epstein’s conduct and how closely the two men worked together over several decades. The committee has not disclosed the exact time or location of the deposition, but said it is proceeding “in accordance with established House and Committee procedures” after negotiating with Wexner’s counsel on scheduling and venue.
Wexner, 88, has long denied any wrongdoing and has said he cut ties with Epstein around 2007, after allegations of sexual abuse against the financier surfaced in Florida. A legal representative for Wexner has emphasized that a federal prosecutor told his team in 2019 that Wexner was neither a co-conspirator nor a target of any criminal investigation related to Epstein, and that he has previously cooperated with authorities by providing background information.
Pressure on Congress and the Justice Department intensified this month after more names were unredacted in internal FBI and DOJ records tied to the Epstein investigation, including Wexner and several other high-profile figures. One Justice Department document, now public in unredacted form, shows investigators at one point referred to Wexner as a “co-conspirator,” even though he has not been charged with any crime in connection with Epstein.
House Democrats who pushed for Wexner’s subpoena say they want to hear directly from individuals they describe as part of Epstein’s inner circle, arguing that Congress still lacks a full public accounting of how the financier operated for so long despite repeated allegations and prior prosecutions. Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the committee’s ranking Democrat, said earlier that securing testimony from Wexner and others is critical to understanding who enabled Epstein and whether any systemic failures or special treatment allowed him to evade harsher consequences.
Wexner’s name has also surfaced in related civil litigation and public accusations, including claims by accuser Maria Farmer that she was abused at an Ohio property she said was “owned and secured” by Wexner and his wife, allegations Wexner has denied. Separate from the Epstein inquiry, a federal judge in Ohio recently ordered Wexner to testify in a lawsuit filed by survivors of former Ohio State University doctor Richard Strauss, adding to the legal scrutiny surrounding one of Ohio’s most prominent businessmen and philanthropists.
For now, Wexner’s upcoming deposition is expected to unfold out of public view, but its significance is already reverberating in Columbus and on Capitol Hill, where advocates for Epstein’s victims say they hope the questioning will reveal new details about the financier’s network and any institutional failures that allowed his abuse to continue. Lawmakers have signaled they may later release a transcript or summary of Wexner’s testimony, though no timetable has been announced.
