Thomas Massie's Controversial List: 14 Figures Tied to Epstein Under Scrutiny
Representative Thomas Massie on Monday named 14 people that he said should be investigated over their alleged ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the Kentucky Republican launched a new effort to force the release of more government files related to Epstein.In comments on the House floor, Massie said it had been a year since President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, legislation spearheaded by Massie and California Democrat Ro Khanna that compelled the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release its files on Epstein.“The government continues to withhold over three million files,” said Massie, who will leave Congress when his term ends in January after being ousted by a primary challenger. “That’s why we’ve introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, to bring the fight to the state courts, accountability to the Department of Justice and closure for survivors. We want perpetrators of these crimes to be investigated and prosecuted.”He then went on to list 14 people whom he described as Epstein “co-conspirators” although his remarks did not establish that any of them had committed a crime. Being named in documents connected to Epstein or having associated with him does not imply guilt. Several of the people Massie named have never been charged with any offenses connected to Epstein and have denied wrongdoing. ...In the order Massie named them, they are: Jes Staley, Leon Black, Les Wexner, David Copperfield, Lapo Elkann, Tom Pritzker, Glenn Dubin, Frédéric Fekkai, Eduardo Teodorani, Jean-Luc Brunel, Daniel Siad, Ramsey Elkholy, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Lesley Groff.Newsweek has contacted attorneys or representatives for all of the people via email or online contact forms except Brunel and Siad, who are deceased. As a member of Congress, Massie’s comments are protected by the Constitution's "speech or debate clause," which means he cannot face civil or criminal penalties for any remarks made in speeches on the House floor.In a post on X that included a clip of his remarks on the House floor, Massie said he has been collecting the 218 signatures need for a discharge petition that would force a House vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II. In an earlier post on X, he said the proposed legislation gives state attorneys general “access to Epstein files required to prosecute perpetrators under state law, and makes it easier for survivors to sue to get their files.”Here are the 14 people Massie named on the House floor:Jes StaleyAn American banking executive at JP Morgan, Staley is among the people that Massie said should be investigated over his ties to Epstein.Staley has maintained that he had a professional relationship with Epstein and that he was unaware of Epstein's crimes.Prosecutors reviewed allegations of rape against Staley, but there is no evidence that they pursued the allegations, according to documents released earlier this year. Staley had denied wrongdoing and has never been charged.Staley admitted during a court hearing in the United Kingdom last year to having sex with a member of Epstein's staff but said it was consensual.In July, during an interview before lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee, he denied having sex with a woman dressed as Snow White, according to a transcript released by the committee. He told lawmakers that he had shared confidential and market-sensitive bank information with Epstein and was at one point named a trustee of his estate.He said in 2020 that he “deeply regrets” his connection to Epstein.Staley left the bank in 2021 following criticism of his ties to Epstein. Britain’s financial regulator found that he had been misleading over the nature of his relationship with Epstein and banned him from holding senior financial roles in the United Kingdom. Staley lost a legal challenge against that decision last year.Leon BlackBlack, the co-founder and former chief executive of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, stepped down from the position in 2021 amid fallout over his ties to Epstein.The billionaire is mentioned repeatedly in files that the DOJ has released related to the Epstein investigation. He also appears in a collection of birthday messages sent to Epstein that were released by the House committee last year.Black told lawmakers during closed-door testimony earlier this year that he was not aware of Epstein’s “nefarious activity” until 2019 and that he "never abused any woman," "never engaged in any sex trafficking," and "never paid Jeffrey Epstein for sex, access to women, or any illegal activity.”Les WexnerMassie also called for Wexner, the billionaire retail mogul and one of Epstein’s most prominent former friends, to be investigated.Prominent late Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre claimed in court documents that Wexner was among the men to whom Epstein trafficked her, which he has denied.Wexner told U.S. lawmakers in February that he did not know about the late sex offender’s crimes and did not participate in Epstein’s abuse of girls and young women.He also testified to his devotion to his wife of 33 years, Abigail, and denied he had ever been unfaithful “in any way, shape or form.” “Never,” he said. “Any suggestion to the contrary is absolutely and entirely false.”A spokesperson for Wexner told Newsweek on Tuesday: “The assistant U.S. Attorney told Mr. Wexner’s legal counsel in 2019 that Mr. Wexner was considered a witness and was neither a co-conspirator nor target in any respect. Through an attorney proffer, Mr. Wexner cooperated fully by providing background information on Epstein and was never contacted again.”David CopperfieldThe magician is mentioned repeatedly in the Epstein files released by the DOJ, including photos—one that shows him wearing a bathrobe and standing with four women on Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean. Copperfield has denied wrongdoing.A 2019 internal FBI document that was released by the DOJ says the bureau launched an investigation into Copperfield in connection with the alleged rape of a young girl that noted Copperfield’s close relationship with Epstein.The case was closed because prosecutors were “intimidated by the financial resources of Copperfield,” the document said.Lapo ElkannMassie called for an investigation into Italian businessman Lapo Elkann, whose name also appears in the Epstein files.Elkann, an heir to the Fiat fortune, has not been accused of wrongdoing or charged in connection with any crime in connection with Epstein.Tom PritzkerHotel magnate Thomas Pritzker stepped down as the executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels earlier this year after details of his affiliation with Epstein were released in documents released by the DOJ.The documents showed that Pritzker, the cousin of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, continued to interact with Epstein even after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.“I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner,” Pritzker said in a statement reported by the Associated Press. “I condemn the actions and the harm caused by Epstein and Maxwell and I feel deep sorrow for the pain they inflicted on their victims.”Glenn DubinMassie said billionaire hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin is among those that need to be investigated. Giuffre named Dubin in a lawsuit as one of the men Epstein had flown her around the world to have sexual encounters with. Dubin has denied wrongdoing. He and his wife, Eva, previously called the allegations "demonstrably false and defamatory.”Frédéric FekkaiMassie also listed the French celebrity hairstylist and entrepreneur in his list of people who need to be investigated.Sarah Kellen, one of Epstein’s former aides, told lawmakers earlier this year that she was sexually assaulted by Fekkai in the early 2000s. Fekkai has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crime.A spokesperson for Fekkai told CNN that he “never ‘took advantage" of Kellen and that “he did not introduce her to Jeffrey Epstein.”Eduardo TeodoraniMassie named Teodorani, an Italian businessman and a former director of Maserati, as one of the men who needs to be investigated over his ties to Epstein.Teodorani’s name appears in the Epstein files, though he has not been accused of or charged with any crime.Jean-Luc BrunelBrunel, a modeling agent accused of helping procure girls for Epstein, died in a French jail in 2022.He was being held in the jail while awaiting trial after being charged with the rape and sex trafficking of minors. Giuffre had accused Epstein of sexually trafficking her to Brunel "on numerous occasions.” She alleged that Brunel would offer modeling jobs to underage European girls and take them to the U.S. to be "farmed out" to Epstein and his associates."My assumption was that Jean-Luc Brunel got the girls from Eastern Europe [as he procured many young foreign girls for Epstein]," Giuffre first testified in 2015. Daniel SiadMassie also called for an investigation into Siad.The modeling scout whose name appeared more than 2,000 times in the Epstein files was found dead in France in July while under investigation over accusations of rape and of aiding Epstein to traffic and abuse women. He was described by one alleged victim to the BBC as "essentially a professional trafficker." But Siad denied the allegations and told CNN in an interview that he "trusted" Epstein and believed him to be a "professional person.”Ramsey ElkholyMassie also called for an investigation into Elkholy, the founder of the band Monotronic who worked as a modeling agent in the 2010s.Elkholy introduced women as young as 18 to Epstein, according to emails released by the DOJ. The documents suggested that Elkholy corresponded with Epstein from at least 2009 until shortly before Epstein’s death in 2019, much of it about access to female models.He told the BBC in March that he was not aware that Epstein was abusing women and said he regretted the language used in some of the emails.Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Massie alleged that Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew, should be investigated in the United States over alleged sex crimes.Mountbatten-Windsor has not been formally charged but is being investigated over allegations of misconduct in public office linked to his relationship with Epstein. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.He was arrested in February and questioned, with police saying they were “assessing” reports that Mountbatten-Windsor sent trade reports to Epstein in 2010 when the then-prince was Britain’s special envoy for international trade. King Charles stripped his brother of his royal titles last year as he sought to distance the royal family from the fallout from the Epstein scandal.Mountbatten-Windsor also faced renewed sexual abuse allegations in Giuffre’s posthumous memoir. She filed a lawsuit in 2022 accusing him of rape, saying she was trafficked by Epstein to London, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands to have sex with the royal and feared death if she refused. Mountbatten-Windsor denied the allegations and settled out of court for an undisclosed sum while denying liability.Lesley GroffIn his remarks on the House floor, Massie said Groff is “not a victim” and alleged that she “conspired with Epstein to traffic other woman.”Groff, who was Epstein’s longtime executive assistant, testified before lawmakers in June that she had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes while she was working for him. She worked for him from 2001 until his arrest in July 2019.Epstein “was, in hindsight, a master manipulator and deceiver who separated his legitimate life from his secret life as an abuser and made sure that as his secretary those two worlds did not collide,” she said, according to a transcript of her remarks.Groff faced scrutiny after it emerged that she was among four women central to Epstein’s organization that were named as possible “co-conspirators” and granted immunity from prosecution under a controversial 2007 plea deal that Epstein struck with federal prosecutors in Florida. She has denied wrongdoing and has not been criminally charged in connection with Epstein.Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Dave Siminoff.
