Latest / The Epstein Chronicles / Mega Edition: Les Wexner And The Large Shadow He Casts Over The Epstein Scandal (10/7/26)

Transcript

Mega Edition: Les Wexner And The Large Shadow He Casts Over The Epstein Scandal (10/7/26) · The Epstein Chronicles

0:00
Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome back to the Epstein Chronicles.
0:04
Speaker 1: When we talk about Jeffrey Epstein and the way he
0:06
Speaker 1: was able to maneuver and snake his way through the
0:10
Speaker 1: system for so long, there was one person especially who
0:14
Speaker 1: really helped him out along the way. And that person
0:17
Speaker 1: is none other than Les Wexner. Now this is a
0:20
Speaker 1: man who was extremely rich, extremely powerful, and for whatever
0:25
Speaker 1: reason decided that he's going to give the keys of
0:27
Speaker 1: the kingdom to Jeffrey Epstein. That sounds like a great idea.
0:31
Speaker 1: Then later on down the road, Wexner tries to pitch
0:34
Speaker 1: to everybody that Jeffrey Epstein stole $ 37 million from him.
0:39
Speaker 1: I said at the time, and I still believe, that
0:41
Speaker 1: that was a baked-in defense mechanism for the both of them.
0:45
Speaker 1: If Epstein ever got busted, then Wexner would just say, look,
0:48
Speaker 1: Epstein stole this money from me, and I have nothing
0:51
Speaker 1: to do with him. I'm a victim too. And that
0:54
Speaker 1: was all part of the plan. Because if you don't
0:56
Speaker 1: think people like this have fail-safes, you have not been
0:58
Speaker 1: paying attention. Today's article is from Cincinnati.com. Headline, what we
1:04
Speaker 1: learned about Les Wexner and Jeffrey Epstein in document release.
1:09
Speaker 1: Nothing we didn't know already and anybody telling you any different, well,
1:12
Speaker 1: they're BSing. All of these relationships that people are all
1:16
Speaker 1: of a sudden outraged by have been relationships that are
1:19
Speaker 1: well known that Jeffrey Epstein fostered over the years. That's
1:23
Speaker 1: why the whole thing with the Senate has me shaking
1:26
Speaker 1: my head as if we needed to have this document
1:28
Speaker 1: dumped come out for us to know what was going on?
1:32
Speaker 1: Today's article is authored by Mark Williams. The thousands of
1:36
Speaker 1: pages of court documents released over the past week from
1:40
Speaker 1: a New York lawsuit revealed no fresh allegations about the
1:43
Speaker 1: relationship between New Albany billionaire and retail magnate, Les Wexner,
1:48
Speaker 1: and his ties to accused sexual abuser, Jeffrey Epstein. Accused? No, convicted, okay?
1:54
Speaker 1: Convicted sexual abuser. Is the legacy media okay with Did
1:58
Speaker 1: they fall and collectively hit their head? Because the nonsense
2:02
Speaker 1: that they spew about Jeffrey Epstein and his buddies is
2:05
Speaker 1: pretty sickening. But they do serve as a reminder of
2:08
Speaker 1: just how tight Epstein, Wexner's one-time financial manager, and Wexner,
2:13
Speaker 1: the driving force behind well-known brands such as Victoria's Secret,
2:17
Speaker 1: Abercrombie & Fitch, and Bath & Body Works were at
2:20
Speaker 1: one time. We didn't need those court documents to tell
2:23
Speaker 1: us we all knew Epstein was running around telling everybody
2:26
Speaker 1: he could get them jobs at Victoria's Secret, that he
2:29
Speaker 1: was the man over there. And then Les Wexner, for
2:32
Speaker 1: his part, he gave Jeffrey Epstein power of attorney. So
2:36
Speaker 1: Epstein had control over his whole ass fortune. Ask yourself why.
2:40
Speaker 1: Ask yourself why a guy like Les Wexner, supposedly one
2:43
Speaker 1: of the smartest men in the room, why are they
2:46
Speaker 1: going to give the keys to Jeffrey Epstein's bitch ass?
2:49
Speaker 1: Wexner's name came up more than 45 times in a
2:52
Speaker 1: 2015 civil lawsuit filed by Virginia Roberts, who accused Epstein
2:57
Speaker 1: and partner Glenn Maxwell of directing her sexual involvement with
3:00
Speaker 1: prominent men. The case was settled in 2017. Last month, U.S.
3:05
Speaker 1: District Judge Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New
3:09
Speaker 1: York ordered the list of names and related documents to
3:12
Speaker 1: be released because there was no longer a need for
3:15
Speaker 1: them to remain hidden. And this was the final result
3:18
Speaker 1: of the order that Preska passed a few years ago.
3:21
Speaker 1: And that order stated that all of this documentation was
3:24
Speaker 1: going to be unsealed. So this is the climax, if
3:28
Speaker 1: you will, of that order. None of those who are
3:31
Speaker 1: mentioned in the documents have been charged with any crime.
3:35
Speaker 1: Now read that again and tell me that's not fucked up.
3:38
Speaker 1: How is it that all these people who are mentioned
3:40
Speaker 1: in these documents from Sarah Kellen on and nobody's been
3:43
Speaker 1: charged with a crime? Their inclusion on the list only
3:46
Speaker 1: constitutes a possible association as a witness, victim, plaintiff, or
3:50
Speaker 1: having business or social contact with Epstein and or Maxwell,
3:55
Speaker 1: who is serving 20 years in federal prison for her conviction.
3:58
Speaker 1: And there was no list. This isn't about a list.
4:01
Speaker 1: This is about receipts. And what this dump did is
4:04
Speaker 1: provide those receipts. So as far as lists or anything
4:07
Speaker 1: like that, that was never going to occur like I
4:09
Speaker 1: told you before this all happened. just like the other dumps.
4:13
Speaker 1: We were aware of all these names. All it does
4:16
Speaker 1: is fill in the blank spaces. Authorities say Epstein killed
4:19
Speaker 1: himself in August 2019 while awaiting trial on charges that
4:23
Speaker 1: he sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls between
4:28
Speaker 1: 2002 and 2005. He had already been previously convicted of
4:32
Speaker 1: similar crimes. The most salacious allegation about Wexner that came
4:37
Speaker 1: out in the document when Roberts, after being prompted in
4:40
Speaker 1: a deposition, testified that she had sex multiple times with Wexner,
4:45
Speaker 1: a claim that Wexner has strongly denied. Even an attorney
4:48
Speaker 1: who represented Roberts at one time has said he had
4:51
Speaker 1: doubts about the claim about Wexner and some of the
4:54
Speaker 1: others that Roberts claimed she was forced to have sex with.
4:58
Speaker 1: So this article, whoever this author is, is just another
5:01
Speaker 1: worm who has no idea what they're talking about. Just
5:04
Speaker 1: another idiot that's probably getting money from Les Wexner one
5:08
Speaker 1: way or the other. because we all know that Les
5:10
Speaker 1: Wexner runs Ohio like it's his own little fiefdom. Who
5:16
Speaker 1: is Jeffrey Epstein? Epstein's social circle was filled with the
5:19
Speaker 1: rich and the famous, including former presidents Donald Trump and
5:22
Speaker 1: Bill Clinton, as well as Prince Andrew of England. Epstein
5:26
Speaker 1: was a New York City financial manager, pedophile, when he
5:30
Speaker 1: met Wexner in the 1980s, Their relationship was so tight
5:33
Speaker 1: that Wexner granted Epstein power of attorney that gave Epstein
5:37
Speaker 1: wide latitude to act on Wexner's behalf. And at one point,
5:41
Speaker 1: Wexner was Epstein's only known client. Yeah, nothing to see here.
5:46
Speaker 1: Virginia's a big old liar. This is just all coincidence.
5:50
Speaker 1: I mean, how could anyone believe that? Like, how could
5:53
Speaker 1: you believe that Les Wexner had no idea what was
5:56
Speaker 1: going on? Even if you don't believe Virginia, put that
5:59
Speaker 1: to the side. How could you believe that Wexner, who
6:02
Speaker 1: was giving Epstein power of attorney, knew what Epstein was
6:04
Speaker 1: up to, seen all these girls around, had the reports
6:07
Speaker 1: coming in that Epstein was using Victoria's Secret to lure
6:10
Speaker 1: girls in, but Wexner had no idea what was going on, huh? Look,
6:16
Speaker 1: if you want to buy that, that's fine. Me? I'm
6:18
Speaker 1: not buying it. In 1998, Epstein was identified as president,
6:23
Speaker 1: along with Wexner, of the New Albany Company and Ohio
6:26
Speaker 1: Business Records. Epstein owned land in the New Albany development,
6:30
Speaker 1: including a house on King George Drive amid land owned
6:34
Speaker 1: by Wexner. Epstein owned the house from 1994 until selling
6:39
Speaker 1: it for $ 0 to the Wexners in December of 2007. Funny,
6:44
Speaker 1: right after he got nailed, huh? Right after things started
6:47
Speaker 1: to fall apart. all part of that baked-in scheme to
6:51
Speaker 1: protect Wexner. That's my speculation. Wexner and Epstein also shared
6:56
Speaker 1: an interest in a Manhattan mansion bought in 1989 for $ 13. 2 million.
7:01
Speaker 1: At the time, a record price for a Manhattan townhome
7:04
Speaker 1: by a corporation controlled by Wexner and Epstein, according to
7:08
Speaker 1: the New York Times. Nine years later, Wexner transferred his
7:12
Speaker 1: interest in the property to Epstein for $ 20 million, the
7:16
Speaker 1: Times reported. Yeah, we've heard $ 1. 00. so I don't know
7:19
Speaker 1: if I believe the times over the other sources that
7:22
Speaker 1: we've heard as far as survivors and people close to
7:25
Speaker 1: what happened. Either way, the property was transferred to Epstein eventually.
7:31
Speaker 1: Epstein had lived in the mansion for several years, though
7:34
Speaker 1: Wexner never lived there. Epstein was a longtime trustee of
7:38
Speaker 1: the Wexner Foundation focused on Jewish education and leadership though
7:42
Speaker 1: the foundation says he participated in name only and was
7:45
Speaker 1: not involved in any of the day-to-day activities. Oh, I'm sure,
7:49
Speaker 1: in name only, because that's the kind of guy that
7:51
Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein was, right? In name only. Who do they
7:54
Speaker 1: think they're kidding? Who is Les Wexner? Wexner is Ohio's
7:58
Speaker 1: richest person, with an estimated wealth of $ 6 billion, according
8:01
Speaker 1: to Forbes. Wexner started the limited In 1963, with $ 5, 000
8:06
Speaker 1: on loan from his aunt, beginning a retail empire that
8:10
Speaker 1: would one day include Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works,
8:14
Speaker 1: Abercrombie & Fitch, and other brands. He opened the first
8:17
Speaker 1: limited store in Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington. He
8:22
Speaker 1: retired in 2020 as CEO and President of Velbrands, which
8:25
Speaker 1: at the time consisted of Victoria's Secret and Bath &
8:28
Speaker 1: Body Works. The following year, he and his wife Abigail
8:31
Speaker 1: Wexner stepped down from the corporate board and the company
8:35
Speaker 1: split into two companies. Yeah, no shit, he stepped down.
8:39
Speaker 1: He was forced to step down because of all of
8:41
Speaker 1: the attention to his relationship with Epstein. That's the only
8:45
Speaker 1: reason he stepped down. His decision to resign came after
8:49
Speaker 1: he had received criticism for his ties to Epstein and
8:52
Speaker 1: years of sliding sales at Victoria's Secret during the Me
8:55
Speaker 1: Too era as customers offended by the retailer's hypersexual emphasis
9:00
Speaker 1: moved on to other brands. So basically what this author
9:03
Speaker 1: would have you believe is that there's nothing to see here,
9:06
Speaker 1: that Wexner was just a guy that was hanging out
9:08
Speaker 1: with Epstein and everything else is just a bunch of talk. Well, Mr. Author,
9:13
Speaker 1: here's an idea. Do your homework, please. Beyond his retail history,
9:18
Speaker 1: Wexner has left his mark across Columbus and many of
9:22
Speaker 1: its buildings, including a $ 100 million donation to Ohio State
9:26
Speaker 1: in 2010, a $ 163 million gift, to the Columbus Foundation,
9:31
Speaker 1: and tens of millions of dollars to other nonprofits and charities.
9:35
Speaker 1: Wexner has said repeatedly that he was not aware of
9:38
Speaker 1: Epstein's activities. Oh, well, in that case, let's just believe him, huh?
9:43
Speaker 1: I think I'll believe Virginia instead. How about that? What
9:46
Speaker 1: happened between Wexner and Epstein? In February 2008, Wexner announced
9:51
Speaker 1: he was replacing Epstein as his investment manager. The move
9:55
Speaker 1: followed Epstein's plea in Florida to charges of soliciting sex
9:59
Speaker 1: from a minor, Epstein paid a settlement, $ 5. 5 million in total,
10:03
Speaker 1: to three of more than two dozen teens who sued him.
10:07
Speaker 1: By 2007, as allegations of sexual misconduct were emerging against
10:11
Speaker 1: Epstein in Florida, it was agreed that he should step
10:14
Speaker 1: back from managing the Wexner family finances. Wexner said in
10:18
Speaker 1: a letter, in 2019 to the Wexner Foundation. Who believes that? Sure,
10:24
Speaker 1: that's a nice cover story, but nobody buys it. At
10:26
Speaker 1: least I don't. Maybe other people do, but I certainly
10:29
Speaker 1: don't buy it. And I think that the whole entire
10:31
Speaker 1: thing was baked in as protection. So if this ever
10:35
Speaker 1: happened and Epstein was exposed, well, Captain Les Wexner over
10:39
Speaker 1: here could, you know, just plead ignorance. I had no
10:43
Speaker 1: idea what was going on. And in fact, he was
10:45
Speaker 1: stealing from me. In that process, we discovered that he
10:49
Speaker 1: misappropriated vast sums of money from me and my family,
10:52
Speaker 1: Wexner said. Wexner accused Epstein of stealing tens of millions
10:56
Speaker 1: of dollars from the family, and $ 47 million was returned
11:00
Speaker 1: to the family to a new foundation set up by
11:02
Speaker 1: Abigail Wexner in December 2007. The foundation was dissolved three
11:07
Speaker 1: years later. Sounds like money laundering to me. Sounds like
11:10
Speaker 1: a whole lot of that. But what do I know?
11:13
Speaker 1: Wexner has said he didn't know anything about Epstein's alleged
11:16
Speaker 1: sex activities. I would have never guessed that a person
11:19
Speaker 1: I employed more than a decade ago could have caused
11:21
Speaker 1: so much pain to so many people. My heart goes
11:24
Speaker 1: out to each and every person who has been hurt,
11:27
Speaker 1: Wexner said in an email in 2019 to L Brands.
11:31
Speaker 1: I severed all ties with Mr. Epstein nearly 12 years ago.
11:34
Speaker 1: I would not have continued to work with any individual
11:37
Speaker 1: capable of such egregious, sickening behavior as was reported about him.
11:42
Speaker 1: As you can imagine, this past week, I have searched
11:45
Speaker 1: my soul, reflected, and regretted that my path ever crossed his. Well,
11:49
Speaker 1: you'd have to have a soul for you to reflect
11:52
Speaker 1: on it, sir. And you might call it reflection, but
11:55
Speaker 1: the rest of us call it excuse-making. So there's no
11:58
Speaker 1: doubt that Les Wexner and Jeffrey Epstein were super tight,
12:02
Speaker 1: and there's certainly no doubt that he's been accused by
12:05
Speaker 1: Virginia Roberts. But like the rest of Epstein's fellow travelers...
12:09
Speaker 1: Looks like Les Wexner is never going to be held
12:12
Speaker 1: to account. All right, folks, that's going to do it
12:14
Speaker 1: for this one. All the information that goes with this
12:17
Speaker 1: episode can be found in the description box. The headline,
12:21
Speaker 1: the city is standing by its most powerful leader, but
12:24
Speaker 1: the saga is far from over. If you're looking for
12:27
Speaker 1: the quintessential Les Wexner experience, the Jefferson series might be it.
12:33
Speaker 1: Since 2014, it's featured renowned architects, best-selling authors, Oscar-nominated actresses,
12:39
Speaker 1: decorated military leaders, a former UN ambassador, and other prominent
12:44
Speaker 1: figures in the media and politics. The lecture series is
12:48
Speaker 1: a passion project for Wexner, who seems to love nothing
12:50
Speaker 1: more than reveling in its heady mix of big ideas,
12:53
Speaker 1: public service, deep thinking, and charity. On October 1st, the
12:58
Speaker 1: program launched its seventh season with a typically star-studded affair.
13:02
Speaker 1: Washington Post columnist CNN host Fareed Zakaria, I don't know,
13:08
Speaker 1: Zakaria or however you say his stupid name, a Wexner
13:11
Speaker 1: favorite making his fourth Jefferson Series appearance, moderated a panel
13:15
Speaker 1: discussion on China with two former U.S. Secretaries of State,
13:18
Speaker 1: Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright. Isn't that nice? Aren't all
13:22
Speaker 1: of these great, great politicians, aren't they such great people
13:26
Speaker 1: for hanging out with guys like Les Wexner? Wexner often
13:36
Speaker 1: offers introductory remarks for these lectures, and this one was
13:40
Speaker 1: no different. The 82-year-old L Brand's founder refused to let
13:44
Speaker 1: the explosive Jeffrey Epstein scandal, a controversy unlike any other
13:48
Speaker 1: Wexner has faced, keep him from public appearances at one
13:51
Speaker 1: of his favorite Central Ohio events. Standing before the sold-out
13:54
Speaker 1: crowd of nearly 900 at the McCoy Center for the Arts,
13:58
Speaker 1: Wexner thanked everyone for supporting the series and introduced the speakers.
14:02
Speaker 1: After he returned to his seat, Zachariah acknowledged Wexner and
14:07
Speaker 1: his wife Abigail. I first want to thank Les Wexner
14:10
Speaker 1: and everybody involved in putting this together, he said. As
14:13
Speaker 1: many of you know, this whole idea and this civic
14:15
Speaker 1: engagement has been the brainchild of Les and Abigail. And
14:19
Speaker 1: I think it's just so important to have successful people
14:21
Speaker 1: in America give back to the community in this way.
14:23
Speaker 1: The crowd responded with hearty applause. And it's the same
14:28
Speaker 1: pattern we've seen over and over, right? These rich billionaires
14:30
Speaker 1: who are involved with Jeffrey Epstein, they have these cover-type
14:34
Speaker 1: charity places where they... where they use it as a
14:39
Speaker 1: showing of goodwill towards the community, when in reality they're
14:42
Speaker 1: really up to devious, devious, disgusting things. The warm reaction
14:48
Speaker 1: revealed a lot about Columbus and its relationship with its
14:50
Speaker 1: most powerful citizen. Amid one of the darkest years of
14:57
Speaker 1: Wexner's public life, his hometown hasn't turned on him. After
15:00
Speaker 1: decades of good works, charity, and civic leadership, even a
15:04
Speaker 1: sordid saga of lies, extravagance, sexual assault, and impunity hasn't
15:09
Speaker 1: broken the cocoon of goodwill that surrounds him. Well, that's
15:12
Speaker 1: what millions and millions and billions of dollars of charity
15:14
Speaker 1: to build your image will do. It builds you a
15:16
Speaker 1: lot of goodwill within the community. People say, oh, he
15:19
Speaker 1: donated so much money to this community. There's no way
15:22
Speaker 1: he was involved in any of that. Come on. Les Wexner?
15:25
Speaker 1: He's such a good guy. Did you see how much
15:27
Speaker 1: money he gave to that so-and-so charity? Meanwhile, he's giving
15:32
Speaker 1: Epstein a plane. He's financing Epstein. He's letting Epstein do
15:35
Speaker 1: things to Maria Farmer in his new Albany property. He's
15:40
Speaker 1: also being involved with Virginia Roberts, according to her. So
15:43
Speaker 1: we have a man here, and like I always say,
15:46
Speaker 1: if we're going to believe Virginia Roberts about Prince Andrew,
15:49
Speaker 1: we're going to have to believe her about other things.
15:52
Speaker 1: Even if it makes you uncomfortable. Even if it's some
15:54
Speaker 1: of your faves. But the saga is not done. This
16:00
Speaker 1: is the Columbus version of Les Wexner, the inspirational builder
16:03
Speaker 1: of one of the city's most important corporations, the self-made
16:06
Speaker 1: billionaire who gives hundreds of millions of dollars away to
16:09
Speaker 1: improve his hometown, the unselfish civic statesman who's a role
16:13
Speaker 1: model to other leaders, the visionary who built his own
16:16
Speaker 1: suburban Shangri-La in the rural flatlands east of Columbus. Now,
16:21
Speaker 1: this is the Epstein scandal version of Wexner. The careless
16:24
Speaker 1: rich guy who gave complete control of his fortune to
16:27
Speaker 1: a money manager with a sketchy history. The benefactor who's improper...
16:31
Speaker 1: Who's improper... giving gave an undeserving protege status and power
16:37
Speaker 1: that the power, the blinkered mentor who described his now
16:41
Speaker 1: disgraced pal in a 2003 vanity fair article as very smart,
16:45
Speaker 1: a most loyal friend and someone with excellent judgment and
16:49
Speaker 1: unusually high standards. That is what Les Wexner said about
16:52
Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein in a vanity fair article in 2003. Oh,
16:56
Speaker 1: how the worm has turned, right? And could it be
16:59
Speaker 1: that The worm has turned, or could it be that
17:02
Speaker 1: this is how Wexner truly felt about Epstein, and the
17:07
Speaker 1: only reason he bailed at all is because he's trying
17:10
Speaker 1: to fix his own self-image? I'll let you guys decide
17:14
Speaker 1: on that one. I wonder what you think about that one.
17:18
Speaker 1: In Columbus, it's hard to reconcile these two conflicting portraits.
17:22
Speaker 1: How can the same man be so savvy and so naive,
17:25
Speaker 1: so brilliant and so blind? How could Wexner, who has
17:28
Speaker 1: avoided scandal all his life and is married to a
17:30
Speaker 1: tireless advocate for children and abused women, associate himself with
17:34
Speaker 1: someone who turned out to be of such questionable character,
17:37
Speaker 1: someone who was arrested in early July on sex trafficking charges?
17:41
Speaker 1: Columbus has been forced to grapple with these questions since then,
17:44
Speaker 1: when Wexner emerged as a central figure in the saga
17:47
Speaker 1: of Epstein, who hanged himself in a New York City
17:49
Speaker 1: jail cell, allegedly, while facing charges he abused dozens of
17:53
Speaker 1: underage girls, some as young as 14. The topic has
17:57
Speaker 1: dominated conversations, filled social media feeds, spawned wild speculation. It's
18:02
Speaker 1: been an oh-my-God moment. Yeah, that's to say the least, right? Everybody...
18:08
Speaker 1: before the scandal started, thought that Les Wexner was this
18:10
Speaker 1: great guy. Everybody thought that he was doing so much
18:14
Speaker 1: for the world. Everybody thought that he cared about people. Well, look,
18:21
Speaker 1: his wife's an advocate of abused women. Yeah, well, is
18:24
Speaker 1: that a cover story? I hate to be the one
18:27
Speaker 1: to have to say that, but was that a cover
18:28
Speaker 1: as well? Is all of this just an intricate plot
18:31
Speaker 1: to get access to young girls? Because let's be real,
18:35
Speaker 1: Les Wexner is certainly part of the mega group. Les
18:38
Speaker 1: Wexner is certainly part of the bankrolling operation. Look, in
18:43
Speaker 1: my opinion, there is no way Wexner did not know
18:46
Speaker 1: what was going on. There is no way that Wexner
18:48
Speaker 1: was not a part of it, okay? As the Epstein
18:52
Speaker 1: scandal blotted out the sun during the summer, Columbus leaders
18:56
Speaker 1: were disturbed. The concern was that we didn't want it
18:58
Speaker 1: to be a concern, says Lisa Cortrice, the CEO of
19:03
Speaker 1: United Way of Central Ohio. He's revered and a hero
19:06
Speaker 1: to Columbus. So we are sad that he has to
19:09
Speaker 1: go through this and sad for his family. I think
19:11
Speaker 1: that's what I heard the most. He's so important to
19:13
Speaker 1: our history and our future. We just don't want it
19:15
Speaker 1: to impact our city. And listen how callous that statement was.
19:19
Speaker 1: Not one word about the victims. Not one word about
19:23
Speaker 1: the people that suffered at his hands. All they care
19:26
Speaker 1: about is their image. We don't want it to affect
19:28
Speaker 1: this city. Oh, there's no way. So this lady here,
19:35
Speaker 1: This lady here, her name is Lisa Cortrice, whatever, however
19:41
Speaker 1: you want to say it. She is an enabler, folks.
19:43
Speaker 1: Another enabler of Jeffrey Epstein and Les Wexner. Let's protect
19:47
Speaker 1: our money. We have to protect the golden cap. right?
19:50
Speaker 1: We have to make sure the money doesn't dry up. Indeed,
19:57
Speaker 1: a big public reckoning is unlikely. Columbus Monthly contacted more
20:00
Speaker 1: than two dozen local leaders in politics, business, the nonprofit sector,
20:04
Speaker 1: and the civic realm, and almost all declined to talk
20:07
Speaker 1: about Wexner on the record or didn't respond to messages.
20:11
Speaker 1: Wexner also declined to be interviewed for this story. And
20:14
Speaker 1: those who did talk were almost uniformly supportive of Wexner.
20:17
Speaker 1: So there you go. It's still happening right now. Don't
20:22
Speaker 1: let anybody tell you it's not. They're still enabling and
20:24
Speaker 1: they're still protecting Jeffrey Epstein. Wexner needs to be completely
20:28
Speaker 1: put on the rack. The city of Columbus should be
20:30
Speaker 1: ashamed with themselves. Absolutely, positively ashamed with themselves. The business
20:35
Speaker 1: leaders of Columbus, everybody protecting this man. Look, you need
20:38
Speaker 1: to have a harder eye, all right? You can't just
20:41
Speaker 1: accept that this man's a good man because he's done
20:43
Speaker 1: so much financially for your community or for your city.
20:47
Speaker 1: Al Capone did a lot for the city as well.
20:50
Speaker 1: All right. El Patroni did a lot for his city
20:54
Speaker 1: as well. Doesn't make you a good person. You have
21:00
Speaker 1: to go a long way down the city's power structure
21:02
Speaker 1: to find someone willing to criticize Wexner's connections to Epstein
21:05
Speaker 1: on the record. Columbus as a whole is not okay
21:08
Speaker 1: with this, says Liliana Rivera Bayman, an underdog candidate for
21:13
Speaker 1: Columbus City Council whose status as a sexual assault survivor
21:16
Speaker 1: inspired her in part to speak out. All right, so
21:19
Speaker 1: let's get that name correct. Liliana Rivera Bayman, B-A-I-M-A-N. Maybe
21:26
Speaker 1: we should give her a little bit of support down there, huh?
21:28
Speaker 1: Maybe throw her a few bucks. She is concerned that
21:31
Speaker 1: the most powerful person in the city was associated with
21:34
Speaker 1: a sexual predator, wants to know more about their financial
21:37
Speaker 1: and personal relationship, and wants to hold Wexner accountable if
21:40
Speaker 1: wrongdoing is discovered. Mostly, she wants to have a loud
21:43
Speaker 1: public conversation. We are with you, Liliana. Go get them.
21:49
Speaker 1: To be sure, she's not Wexner's only public critic. There
21:51
Speaker 1: are plenty of dark takes on Wexner, especially outside of
21:54
Speaker 1: Columbus and in the cynical, conspiracy-fueled world of social media. Oh,
22:01
Speaker 1: it's a conspiracy. Everything's a conspiracy. You're a conspiracy theorist.
22:08
Speaker 1: You know what was a conspiracy, folks? And I'm going
22:11
Speaker 1: to tell you what was a conspiracy. All right. The
22:13
Speaker 1: biggest conspiracy theory ever in the history of America was
22:17
Speaker 1: the whole entire Russian hoax that we just lived through.
22:20
Speaker 1: Had the whole Mueller report, everything comes out, none of
22:24
Speaker 1: that occurred. Not one single person went to jail over Russia.
22:31
Speaker 1: Anybody who went to jail, it was over process crimes. So,
22:36
Speaker 1: before we start talking about conspiracy theorists... We have to
22:40
Speaker 1: label everybody in the media that then as well, right?
22:42
Speaker 1: Because they not only lied, they gaslit you the whole
22:45
Speaker 1: entire time. Don't be mad at me. Don't be mad
22:48
Speaker 1: at me for letting you know. All I did was
22:49
Speaker 1: offer you that red pill. You happened to eat it.
22:52
Speaker 1: You're here. And I'm sorry, folks, but them's the facts.
22:58
Speaker 1: To be sure. But the Columbus establishment is a different story.
23:03
Speaker 1: For instance, all of Rivera-Bayman's incumbent opponents, council members Elizabeth Brown,
23:08
Speaker 1: Emanuel Remy, Shayla Favor, and Rob Dorans declined to comment
23:13
Speaker 1: for this article. I think people are afraid of bringing
23:15
Speaker 1: it up, Rivera-Bayman says. Yeah, of course, especially if you're
23:18
Speaker 1: trying to get into politics and this guy is such
23:20
Speaker 1: a well-ensconced fixture on the scene. He's the kingmaker. We
23:25
Speaker 1: all know Wexner's making kings. Look, he made fucking, he
23:28
Speaker 1: made Jeffrey Epstein, right? He made Jeffrey Epstein. He gave
23:31
Speaker 1: him all that money. He was his only client. Gave
23:33
Speaker 1: him the mansion. Come on, man. Come on. Meanwhile, Wexner's
23:41
Speaker 1: backers praise him for his integrity and accept his explanations.
23:45
Speaker 1: That he knew nothing about Epstein's sex crimes, that he's
23:48
Speaker 1: embarrassed and ashamed by his association with the disgraced financier,
23:51
Speaker 1: that he regrets ever having crossed his path. His early
23:55
Speaker 1: trust in Epstein might baffle some of these supporters, but
23:58
Speaker 1: they also sympathize with his plight. They say he's an optimist,
24:01
Speaker 1: trusting by nature, and that can make him an easy
24:04
Speaker 1: mark for a master swindler like Epstein. Wexner deserves our support,
24:08
Speaker 1: they say, not our scorn. Who Yeah? Well, you're in
24:13
Speaker 1: the wrong place for that. All you're getting on this
24:15
Speaker 1: podcast is scorn, Wexner. You cryptkeeper looking mother effer. You
24:20
Speaker 1: are a sick dude. You have all these dudes wound
24:22
Speaker 1: around your finger all because you have big deep pockets. Well,
24:26
Speaker 1: guess what? Those pockets are drying up. How's L Brand
24:28
Speaker 1: stock looking there, Mr. Wexner? How was your Victoria's Secret
24:32
Speaker 1: little model show, Mr. Wexner? Les Wexner is so well respected,
24:39
Speaker 1: says Kurt Steiner, the veteran political operative and former Ohio
24:42
Speaker 1: State Senior Vice President of Communications. Something like this will
24:46
Speaker 1: raise eyebrows, but it's not going to change the level
24:48
Speaker 1: of respect people have for him. Les Wexner is going
24:51
Speaker 1: to be given the benefit of the doubt. Oh, okay, why?
24:54
Speaker 1: Because he donated a bunch of money? Because he bankrolled you?
24:57
Speaker 1: You goon. You thug. You enabler. Those of us who
25:03
Speaker 1: know him the best know of his unwavering ethics, his
25:06
Speaker 1: moral compass, his unselfish commitment to Columbus, says Alex Fisher,
25:10
Speaker 1: the CEO of the Columbus Partnership, the city's most powerful
25:14
Speaker 1: civic organization, which is chaired by Wexner. He's been one
25:17
Speaker 1: of the people in my life who's been the standard
25:19
Speaker 1: of community engagement, and I don't think anything in this
25:22
Speaker 1: summer's events have changed that. Aw, is that right, Alex Fisher? Well,
25:28
Speaker 1: if you have a daughter, maybe you could send her
25:30
Speaker 1: over to be babysat by his good friend, uh, by
25:33
Speaker 1: his good friend, Ghislaine. What do you think about that?
25:36
Speaker 1: Maybe you send him over. If Jeffrey was still around,
25:38
Speaker 1: you send your daughter over to go, uh, give Jeffrey
25:40
Speaker 1: a massage since they're such good effing people. Boy, I'm
25:44
Speaker 1: fired up right now. I am getting fired up reading
25:47
Speaker 1: this article. These people covering for this sick bastard. A
25:51
Speaker 1: divorce from Wexner is improbable, almost unimaginable. How could the
25:57
Speaker 1: city cut ties with someone who is essentially the father
26:00
Speaker 1: of modern Columbus? Someone whose last name is plastered on
26:03
Speaker 1: buildings and institutions all over town, from COSI to Ohio
26:08
Speaker 1: State to Nationwide Children's Hospital. It doesn't shock me that
26:12
Speaker 1: he's involved with Ohio State University either. Those people are
26:14
Speaker 1: a bunch of friggin' ugh. Sorry, I'm a Penn State fan.
26:18
Speaker 1: That's a little jab that I shouldn't have taken on
26:20
Speaker 1: you guys, but... Les Wexner, really? You guys are defending
26:23
Speaker 1: Les Wexner? Come on, man. That would be like when
26:26
Speaker 1: Penn State had the Sandusky situation for people to defend him.
26:31
Speaker 1: Les and Abigail both have earned an extraordinary reservoir of
26:34
Speaker 1: goodwill that is going to outweigh the negative fallout that
26:38
Speaker 1: he's had to endure so far, says Mike Curtin, the
26:41
Speaker 1: former state representative and ex-associate publisher of the Columbus Dispatch.
26:47
Speaker 1: Speaking in early September, Curtin says that he hasn't seen
26:50
Speaker 1: any revelations so far pointing to Wexner's culpability in Epstein's misdeeds.
26:54
Speaker 1: I believe we've seen the worst of it, Curtin says.
26:56
Speaker 1: I hope we've seen the worst of it. Yeah, no,
27:00
Speaker 1: you haven't seen the worst of it. You can hope
27:02
Speaker 1: you've seen the worst of it, but you have not.
27:04
Speaker 1: All right. It's going to be a slap. You ever
27:06
Speaker 1: see the slap fights that they have, like on YouTube
27:08
Speaker 1: or whatever? The guy puts the powder on his hand
27:10
Speaker 1: and they slap each other until somebody wins. Well, that's
27:13
Speaker 1: what's going to happen collectively. When all of this really
27:16
Speaker 1: comes out, collectively, everyone's going to put powder on their
27:19
Speaker 1: hand and slap the shit out of Wexner. Yet the
27:24
Speaker 1: Epstein saga plays on. Books are in the works, as
27:26
Speaker 1: is a Netflix docuseries. A movie seems inevitable, and the
27:29
Speaker 1: courts aren't through with Epstein despite his death. Federal prosecutors
27:33
Speaker 1: in New York are continuing to investigate, focusing on Epstein's
27:36
Speaker 1: former associates, and several Epstein victims are suing his estate,
27:40
Speaker 1: valued at more than $ 500 million. the media continues to
27:44
Speaker 1: focus on Wexner, including a major Washington Post story published
27:48
Speaker 1: in early October that tied him and Abigail more directly
27:51
Speaker 1: to a previously alleged 1996 Epstein sexual assault in New Albany.
27:56
Speaker 1: And Wexner could end up a major figure in the
27:59
Speaker 1: Epstein-related clash of legal titans that is playing out in
28:02
Speaker 1: both the courts and the media, a dispute between famed
28:05
Speaker 1: attorneys David Boies and Alan Dershowitz. These idiots should not
28:09
Speaker 1: even be using this platform for their stupid fight. Like
28:12
Speaker 1: I've said, I've been on record here with David Boies
28:14
Speaker 1: and Alan Dershowitz and all these high-profile lawyers. A lot
28:17
Speaker 1: of times they do more harm than good, in my opinion.
28:21
Speaker 1: Wexner's protective Columbus cocoon might need some reinforcements. Since Epstein's
28:25
Speaker 1: arrest in early July, Wexner has been the focus of
28:28
Speaker 1: a media feeding frenzy. Let's not get carried away. A
28:31
Speaker 1: media feeding frenzy? No, Andrew is the focus of a
28:33
Speaker 1: feeding frenzy. Wexner's had a few articles written about him.
28:37
Speaker 1: The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Bloomberg,
28:41
Speaker 1: and more have descended on Columbus with reporters inundating Wexner's friends,
28:46
Speaker 1: former work associates, and acquaintances with phone calls. The attention,
28:50
Speaker 1: the most brutal coverage of Wexner's life, made worse by
28:53
Speaker 1: the cultural backlash that was already roiling Victoria's Secret, L
28:56
Speaker 1: Brand's signature enterprise, peaked on July 25th when the Times
29:00
Speaker 1: and the Journal published deep dives on Wexner and Epstein.
29:04
Speaker 1: One Wexner friend declined to speak on the record to
29:06
Speaker 1: Columbus Monthly, fearing the public comments might lead to even
29:09
Speaker 1: more calls from reporters. I don't have time for that,
29:12
Speaker 1: the friend says. Oh, no, you don't have time for
29:14
Speaker 1: any of that, right? You don't have time for girls
29:16
Speaker 1: who have been raped. You don't have time for girls
29:18
Speaker 1: who have been trafficked. I have to go count my
29:20
Speaker 1: money like Scrooge McDuck. Stupid, sick-ass people. Thanks to all
29:26
Speaker 1: the reporting, a striking portrait of Epstein has emerged. Wexner's
29:30
Speaker 1: man in the shadows, his international money man of mystery,
29:33
Speaker 1: as New York Magazine dubbed him. For his only publicly
29:37
Speaker 1: known client, Epstein was more than just a financial advisor.
29:40
Speaker 1: he oversaw the construction of wexner's 316 foot super yacht
29:45
Speaker 1: limitless he joined the board of wexner's foundation the tycoon's
29:49
Speaker 1: charitable arm replacing wexner's mother bella who died in 2001
29:54
Speaker 1: With the help of Wexner, Epstein became a jet-setter in
29:56
Speaker 1: his own right. He bought a corporate plane from the Limited,
29:59
Speaker 1: then the name of L Brands, as well as a
30:01
Speaker 1: seven-floor home in New York, the largest private residence in Manhattan,
30:05
Speaker 1: from Wexner. Epstein even purchased a 10,000-square-foot home, originally intended
30:11
Speaker 1: for Wexner's friend, New Albany County Chairman Jack Kessler, for $ 3. 5
30:19
Speaker 1: million on the grounds that surround Wexner's own mansion in
30:22
Speaker 1: New Albany. Oh, so they're not really close, though. They
30:25
Speaker 1: don't really have that much... Look, the ties are circumstantial
30:29
Speaker 1: at best, folks, all right? He took a picture with
30:31
Speaker 1: them one time, or... Uh, what? No. All right? You're
30:35
Speaker 1: the godfather. You were pulling the strings, Wexner. You're not
30:39
Speaker 1: fooling me. Following months of media scrutiny, here's a field
30:44
Speaker 1: guide to what the Columbus Monthly and other outlets have
30:47
Speaker 1: learned about Epstein, Wexner, and their professional and personal relationship,
30:52
Speaker 1: as well as what questions remain unanswered. The origins. Wexner
30:57
Speaker 1: appears to have met Epstein in the mid-1980s. A source
31:00
Speaker 1: says Robert Meester, a former AON insurance executive and a
31:04
Speaker 1: friend of Wexner, introduced Wexner to Epstein, who also received
31:08
Speaker 1: endorsements from Bear Stearns CEO Jimmy Kane and his predecessor,
31:12
Speaker 1: Alan Ace Greenberg. Mr. Epstein represented that he had various
31:17
Speaker 1: well-known and respected individuals, both as his financial clients and
31:21
Speaker 1: in his inner circle. Wexner wrote an August 8th statement
31:25
Speaker 1: posted on the website of the Wexner Foundation. Based on
31:28
Speaker 1: positive reports from several friends and on my initial dealings
31:31
Speaker 1: with him, I believed I could trust him. Still, plenty
31:35
Speaker 1: of people questioned Wexner's judgment from the start. Epstein, who
31:39
Speaker 1: owned his own wealth management firm after working as a
31:42
Speaker 1: Bear Stearns trader, was a college dropout and a former
31:46
Speaker 1: math teacher at a Manhattan private school with a skimpy
31:48
Speaker 1: resume despite his high-profile references. It's a weird relationship, an
31:54
Speaker 1: anonymous Wall Streeter told New York Magazine in 2002. It's
31:59
Speaker 1: just not normal for someone of such enormous wealth to
32:01
Speaker 1: all of a sudden give his money to some guy
32:03
Speaker 1: most people have never even heard of. And I have
32:06
Speaker 1: my own opinions on that. I happen to think that
32:09
Speaker 1: all that all has to do with the mega group.
32:12
Speaker 1: I believe they facilitated all of this. They facilitated the
32:15
Speaker 1: relationship between Wexner and Epstein. And I believe that they
32:19
Speaker 1: facilitated a lot of the things that occurred with those two.
32:22
Speaker 1: They acted obviously as Epstein's handler. And I believe Wexner
32:27
Speaker 1: was a crucial part of the mega group. So that's
32:30
Speaker 1: certainly the assertion I'm working on right now. And until
32:33
Speaker 1: somebody proves me differently. Calling Bob Morawski. Columbus hasn't heard
32:39
Speaker 1: a lot from Wexner's former top lieutenant of late, but
32:42
Speaker 1: he was a frequent interview during the aftermath of Epstein's arrest.
32:45
Speaker 1: Morawski didn't return Columbus Monthly's calls, but he did speak
32:48
Speaker 1: to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and others,
32:52
Speaker 1: delivering some of the most biting comments about Epstein and Wexner.
32:55
Speaker 1: I tried to find out how did he get from
32:59
Speaker 1: a high school math teacher to a private investment advisor,
33:01
Speaker 1: the former chief financial officer and vice chairman told the Times.
33:04
Speaker 1: There was nothing there. Oh, well, I could tell you how.
33:08
Speaker 1: He was put there. He was placed there by his handlers,
33:12
Speaker 1: by his buddies. It's obvious to anyone who's paying attention.
33:17
Speaker 1: Epstein's connections apparently intrigued Wexner. Morosky said his boss told
33:22
Speaker 1: him that Epstein could introduce him to important people. Morosky
33:27
Speaker 1: spent 15 years with the Limited before resigning in 1987.
33:31
Speaker 1: Les is an insecure guy with a big ego. He
33:33
Speaker 1: had a lot of money but craved respect, Mirosky told
33:36
Speaker 1: the Wall Street Journal. They played off each other's needs.
33:40
Speaker 1: Many observers have zeroed in on Wexner's decision to grant
33:44
Speaker 1: Epstein power of attorney in 1991, allowing him to borrow money,
33:48
Speaker 1: write checks, buy real estate, and more on his behalf.
33:51
Speaker 1: A power of attorney agreement is common in that context,
33:54
Speaker 1: Wexner wrote in his August 8th statement, pointing out that
33:58
Speaker 1: it gave him more time to focus on his business
34:00
Speaker 1: and charity efforts. Indeed, another wealthy central Ohio resident agrees,
34:05
Speaker 1: saying such arrangements are common for high net worth individuals
34:09
Speaker 1: with complicated finances who need help managing their assets. I've
34:12
Speaker 1: done that before, the central Ohio resident says, comparing it
34:15
Speaker 1: to a professional athlete who hires a personal manager to
34:18
Speaker 1: allow him to focus on his sport. Yeah, okay, sure. So,
34:22
Speaker 1: out of everybody he could pick, he picked a high
34:25
Speaker 1: school math dropout, Jeffrey Epstein, to manage his billions of
34:28
Speaker 1: dollars of money. Yeah, okay, sure. Close to home. One
34:34
Speaker 1: of the earliest reports of a sexual assault committed by
34:37
Speaker 1: Epstein occurred in 1996 in his New Albany home, which
34:40
Speaker 1: he sold for $ 8 million in 1998. In a court
34:44
Speaker 1: affidavit and an interview with the New York Times, Maria Farmer,
34:47
Speaker 1: an artist who worked for Epstein, says he and his
34:50
Speaker 1: friend Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of the late British press
34:52
Speaker 1: baron Robert Maxwell, assaulted her in a bedroom in the home,
34:58
Speaker 1: twisting her nipples to the point of bruising. Fearing she
35:01
Speaker 1: was going to be raped, Farmer fled the room, the
35:03
Speaker 1: Times reported. Epstein had invited Farmer to spend the summer
35:07
Speaker 1: in the home while she worked on two large-scale paintings
35:09
Speaker 1: commissioned for the movie As Good As It Gets, starring
35:12
Speaker 1: Jack Nicholson. Farmer told the Washington Post she holds Wexner
35:16
Speaker 1: responsible for what happened to me. She pointed to Wexner's
35:19
Speaker 1: close ties to Epstein as well as the responsibility of
35:22
Speaker 1: a security team to monitor the property located on the
35:24
Speaker 1: grounds of the Wexner estate about a half mile away
35:27
Speaker 1: from his mansion. Farmer also said Wexner's security officers held
35:32
Speaker 1: her against her will for about 12 hours following the
35:35
Speaker 1: assault until her father arrived from Kentucky to pick her up.
35:38
Speaker 1: So this guy has a small army on his retreat,
35:42
Speaker 1: a small army of security, and they wouldn't let this
35:45
Speaker 1: girl leave. For 12 hours, they held her against her
35:48
Speaker 1: will after she was assaulted by these sick bastards. And
35:52
Speaker 1: Wexner has nothing to answer for? These people were in
35:54
Speaker 1: his employ, right? Well, he has something to answer for.
35:59
Speaker 1: A Wexner spokesman told the Post the Wexners were unaware
36:02
Speaker 1: of the alleged attack. Before the recent news coverage of Ms. Farmer, Mr.
36:05
Speaker 1: and Ms. Wexner had no knowledge of her, never met her,
36:09
Speaker 1: never spoke with her, and never spoke with Mr. Epstein
36:11
Speaker 1: or anyone else about her. Boy, where have we heard
36:14
Speaker 1: that before? Isn't that the same stupid denial we keep
36:19
Speaker 1: hearing from all of these people? Oh, I don't know him.
36:23
Speaker 1: I don't know her. From Donald Trump on down, everybody
36:25
Speaker 1: doesn't know anybody in this case, huh? Pretty convenient. Epstein
36:31
Speaker 1: and Victoria's Secret. Then there's Alicia Arden, a California model
36:36
Speaker 1: who says Epstein assaulted her in a Santa Monica hotel room.
36:39
Speaker 1: Posing as a talent scout for Victoria's Secret, Epstein invited
36:43
Speaker 1: Arden to his hotel for an audition. When she arrived,
36:46
Speaker 1: he grabbed her and tried to undress her, saying he
36:48
Speaker 1: wanted to manhandle her, Arden said in an interview with
36:50
Speaker 1: the New York Times. What's more, the Times reported Wexner
36:54
Speaker 1: was told in the mid-90s that Epstein was attempting to
36:56
Speaker 1: sell himself as a recruiter for Victoria's Secret models, according
37:00
Speaker 1: to two executives at the time. The L Brands board
37:03
Speaker 1: has hired a law firm to investigate Epstein's role with
37:06
Speaker 1: the company, though a spokeswoman has said she believes he
37:10
Speaker 1: has never been employed by the company or served as
37:12
Speaker 1: an authorized representative. No, no, not at all. He just
37:16
Speaker 1: had power of attorney over the guy's money, so he
37:18
Speaker 1: could pretty much do whatever he wanted, with whatever he wanted.
37:22
Speaker 1: To act like he had no role in the Victoria's
37:27
Speaker 1: Secret stuff is just more lies, it's more BS, and
37:29
Speaker 1: just more reasons for us not to believe anything these sick,
37:33
Speaker 1: twisted people say. Mystery money. In January 2008, Epstein transferred
37:40
Speaker 1: $ 47 million from his company and his own foundation to
37:43
Speaker 1: one created about a month earlier by Abigail Wexner. The
37:47
Speaker 1: transfer occurred a few months after the Wexners severed ties
37:49
Speaker 1: with Epstein following his indictment on sex charges in Florida
37:52
Speaker 1: in September 2007. This payment raised plenty of eyebrows when
37:57
Speaker 1: the Columbus Dispatch reported it in July. Why would Abigail
38:01
Speaker 1: accept money from the accused pedophile she and her husband
38:03
Speaker 1: just fired? The answer came in August when Lest revealed
38:07
Speaker 1: that in the fall of 2007, he discovered that Epstein
38:10
Speaker 1: had taken vast sums of money from me and my family.
38:13
Speaker 1: The $ 47 million donation was actually a partial repayment for
38:16
Speaker 1: the misappropriated funds, Wexner said in his August 8th statement.
38:20
Speaker 1: All of that money, every dollar, was originally Wexner family money,
38:24
Speaker 1: Wexner wrote. I'm embarrassed that, like so many others, I
38:27
Speaker 1: was deceived by Mr. Epstein. I know now that my
38:30
Speaker 1: trust in him was grossly misplaced. And it just so
38:33
Speaker 1: happens that Jeffrey Epstein kills himself in jail, huh? So
38:35
Speaker 1: that he can't bring any of this stuff to light. Yeah,
38:39
Speaker 1: so the $ 47 million was stolen from you, but you
38:41
Speaker 1: never went to the authorities about it? You just expect
38:43
Speaker 1: us to believe that someone ganked $ 47 million from you?
38:46
Speaker 1: And that it was no big deal? You were like, bah!
38:49
Speaker 1: No worries. No worries. We'll catch it on the rebound. Yeah, right.
38:52
Speaker 1: We know you rich people. We know you misers. We
38:54
Speaker 1: know that you count every single nickel and coin multiple
38:58
Speaker 1: times per day. You aren't being disconnected from a single
39:02
Speaker 1: cent without you knowing. $ 47 million stolen from you when
39:06
Speaker 1: you don't call the FBI. What are you... Give me
39:08
Speaker 1: a break. Ohio State has also been drawn into the controversy.
39:14
Speaker 1: Following Epstein's July 2019 arrest, the university discovered two gifts
39:19
Speaker 1: connected to the disgraced financier, $ 1, 000 to the Wexner Center
39:21
Speaker 1: of the Arts Membership Fund in 1990 and $ 2. 5 million
39:23
Speaker 1: in May of 2017. Wow. Wow. The money fulfilled a
39:42
Speaker 1: pledge that led the naming of the Les Wexner Football Complex,
39:46
Speaker 1: a surprise 70th birthday gift to Les from Abigail in 2007.
39:49
Speaker 1: Oh boy, this is great. This is lovely, isn't it? Boy,
39:55
Speaker 1: what a pillar of the community. See what money will
39:57
Speaker 1: do for you folks? You could be as sick as
39:59
Speaker 1: you want, as disgusting and depraved as you want. If
40:01
Speaker 1: you got a few bucks to spread around, a few
40:03
Speaker 1: hundies to slip into people's pockets, a few bundles of
40:07
Speaker 1: dough to slide into an envelope, do whatever you want.
40:11
Speaker 1: You could do whatever you want. Meanwhile, me and you
40:15
Speaker 1: are busy paying our taxes. Me and you are busy
40:18
Speaker 1: using the crosswalk. Me and you are busy following all
40:22
Speaker 1: the traffic laws. while these people can do whatever the
40:27
Speaker 1: hell they want. In early October, Les and Abigail Wexner
40:34
Speaker 1: have been great community leaders and supporters of Ohio State
40:37
Speaker 1: for many years, Ohio State President Michael Drake said in
40:40
Speaker 1: a statement provided to Columbus Monthly. They've done so much
40:43
Speaker 1: to uplift both the university and the city of Columbus,
40:46
Speaker 1: and we sincerely appreciate their ongoing service and support. I
40:50
Speaker 1: continue to rely on Les and Abigail as valued partners
40:53
Speaker 1: and friends. So that's nice. You're relying on a guy
40:55
Speaker 1: who's accused of not only enabling, but taking part in
40:59
Speaker 1: the sexual exploitation of young girls. Ohio State. The Ohio State.
41:09
Speaker 1: What's the next chapter for Wexner in the Epstein saga?
41:12
Speaker 1: Perhaps a court date with one of the country's most
41:14
Speaker 1: famous and outspoken attorneys. Alan Dershowitz, the retired Harvard law professor,
41:19
Speaker 1: was one of the first celebrities to be accused of
41:21
Speaker 1: participating in Epstein's sex trafficking ring. Now, the one-time member
41:26
Speaker 1: of the O.J. Simpson legal dream team is waging a
41:28
Speaker 1: scorched earth campaign in the courts and in the media
41:31
Speaker 1: to clear his name. And Wexner may be the key
41:33
Speaker 1: to his defense. It's a convoluted story, but the gist
41:36
Speaker 1: of Dershowitz's argument is that he wasn't the real target
41:38
Speaker 1: of his accuser, Virginia Roberts. He was merely a stalking horse,
41:43
Speaker 1: and Roberts and her attorney, David Boyes, a fellow legal
41:46
Speaker 1: luminary who represented Al Gore during the 2000 Florida recount,
41:50
Speaker 1: We're really after Wexner and his riches. For about four years,
41:54
Speaker 1: Dershowitz has made this extortion claim in court filings and
41:57
Speaker 1: in media interviews. But interest has increased since Roberts filed
42:03
Speaker 1: a defamation lawsuit against Dershowitz in April, and the FBI
42:06
Speaker 1: arrested Epstein three months later. Dershowitz tells Columbus Monthly his
42:12
Speaker 1: legal team intends to feature Wexner if a trial moves forward,
42:15
Speaker 1: which could occur in about a year. He is one
42:17
Speaker 1: of the most critical witnesses for my trial, Dershowitz says.
42:20
Speaker 1: Other witnesses could include Abigail and John Zeiger, the Wexner
42:24
Speaker 1: family Columbus attorney. At issue is a series of phone
42:27
Speaker 1: calls and a face-to-face meeting that occurred in 2015 between
42:30
Speaker 1: Roberts' lawyers and Zeiger. Dershowitz says he spoke to Abigail
42:33
Speaker 1: and Zeiger and both used the word shakedown to describe
42:36
Speaker 1: Boyd's tactics prior to the face-to-face meeting that occurred at
42:39
Speaker 1: the attorney's New York law offices in July 2015. Wait
42:43
Speaker 1: a minute, hold on, color me shocked. Lawyers were attempting
42:46
Speaker 1: to shake someone down for money? Also, if you guys
42:50
Speaker 1: didn't know, the sky is blue and water is wet.
42:54
Speaker 1: The court proceedings could prove unpleasant for Wexner. Dershowitz and
42:58
Speaker 1: his legal team want to know what was discussed during
43:00
Speaker 1: the phone calls in the meeting in hopes they will
43:02
Speaker 1: discover something that will undermine the claims of Roberts potentially
43:05
Speaker 1: dragging Wexner through the mud. I hate to be doing this,
43:09
Speaker 1: says Dershowitz, who attended Wexner's 59th birthday party in 1996
43:13
Speaker 1: at the invitation of Epstein and taught Wexner's son, Harry,
43:16
Speaker 1: at Harvard. I like Leslie Wexner. He's done an enormous
43:19
Speaker 1: amount of good to the world, to the Jewish community,
43:22
Speaker 1: for Israel, for Harvard. But the truth has to come out.
43:25
Speaker 1: So here's what I said the last few days, guys.
43:29
Speaker 1: I'm starting to think that Dershowitz is going to roll
43:32
Speaker 1: on these guys. Dershowitz will do whatever he can to
43:34
Speaker 1: stay out of jail. We've seen that. We've seen the
43:36
Speaker 1: way he comes out swinging. We've seen what he's done
43:38
Speaker 1: with Virginia Roberts, trying to discredit her. And if you
43:42
Speaker 1: think that he won't throw this guy under the bus,
43:44
Speaker 1: if it concludes with him being free and his name
43:47
Speaker 1: being cleared, you have another thing coming. Boies didn't respond
43:51
Speaker 1: to a request for comment, but in a court affidavit,
43:54
Speaker 1: he denied the extortion claim, adding that no settlement demand
43:57
Speaker 1: was made or even discussed with Wexner or his attorney.
44:01
Speaker 1: A source close to Wexner also says there was no extortion. So,
44:06
Speaker 1: once this Dershowitz case starts, this Dershowitz and Roberts case
44:11
Speaker 1: gets cracking off, we're going to learn a lot more, folks,
44:13
Speaker 1: so hang on to your hats. As the Epstein story
44:17
Speaker 1: engulfed Wexner, some Columbus leaders worried the city might overreact.
44:20
Speaker 1: What if protests occur? What if names are removed from buildings?
44:23
Speaker 1: What if the city turns its back on its most
44:26
Speaker 1: influential family? If that were to happen, the thinking goes
44:29
Speaker 1: the Wexners might give up on the city. That would
44:31
Speaker 1: be the most horrible thing that would ever happen to Columbus,
44:34
Speaker 1: says a business leader. So you'd rather have a guy
44:38
Speaker 1: who's involved in sexually assaulting girls, trafficking girls, enabling the
44:42
Speaker 1: man who is the most prolific sex offender in the
44:44
Speaker 1: history of the United States. You'd rather have that guy
44:46
Speaker 1: associated with your city? Way to go, Columbus. What a
44:50
Speaker 1: bunch of pillars of the community in Columbus, right? What
44:53
Speaker 1: a bunch of people that stand tall when times are tough.
44:56
Speaker 1: What a joke. If you live in Columbus, you got
45:00
Speaker 1: to check these people, folks. Are these people serious? That
45:05
Speaker 1: scenario hasn't occurred, and civic leaders say Wexner remains just
45:09
Speaker 1: as engaged as ever. In early September, he joined 75
45:12
Speaker 1: community leaders, 60 CEOs, plus public officials such as Columbus
45:16
Speaker 1: Mayor Andy Ginther and Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown for
45:20
Speaker 1: the Columbus Partnership's annual two-day retreat in Boston. Hosted by
45:24
Speaker 1: the Harvard Kennedy School, who Epstein donated money to, the
45:29
Speaker 1: retreat featured big-pictured planning, small group discussions, and high-profile guest speakers,
45:34
Speaker 1: including biographer Walter Isaacson and New York Times Beijing bureau
45:39
Speaker 1: chief Jane Pearls. Who cares? Who cares about any of
45:43
Speaker 1: those people? The conversations were spirited, enthusiastic, and challenging, and
45:47
Speaker 1: four attendees say Wexner was in the middle of it,
45:50
Speaker 1: as always, listening intently, asking questions, learning alongside his fellow CEOs.
45:56
Speaker 1: Wexner didn't speak about Epstein, nor did anyone ask him to.
45:59
Speaker 1: His work in the community, his work in his company,
46:02
Speaker 1: and the work of his family, those are his loves,
46:04
Speaker 1: says a partnership member, adding with a laugh, he doesn't golf.
46:08
Speaker 1: Who cares? You know what he does? He does diddle
46:11
Speaker 1: little girls, allegedly. He does enable sex traffickers. He is
46:16
Speaker 1: so hip deep in this. in my opinion, that all
46:20
Speaker 1: of these people that are enabling him still are going
46:23
Speaker 1: to look so bad when everything truly comes out. And
46:25
Speaker 1: we're taking names. We're going to remember these people, right?
46:28
Speaker 1: We're going to remember Columbus in this story, folks. We're
46:30
Speaker 1: going to remember how Columbus enabled these pedophiles. We're going
46:35
Speaker 1: to remember that. The city of Columbus, the leaders of Columbus,
46:38
Speaker 1: we're going to remember that. As the retreat closed, Wexner
46:41
Speaker 1: gave his traditional benediction. He thanked all for their commitment
46:44
Speaker 1: and participation, stressing that Columbus owes the success of the
46:47
Speaker 1: past decade to leaders committed to being in the room. Yeah, well,
46:51
Speaker 1: how many times were you in the room when your
46:53
Speaker 1: buddy Jeffrey Epstein was doing his thing? Hard questions need
46:56
Speaker 1: to be asked and hard questions need to be answered.
47:00
Speaker 1: Will Wexner remain in the room, or more specifically at
47:02
Speaker 1: the head of the table? Those four attendees are in agreement.
47:05
Speaker 1: He's not going anywhere. Despite his advancing age, despite the
47:09
Speaker 1: troubles at Victoria's Secret, despite Epstein. It's the same less,
47:13
Speaker 1: one says. Alright, so I have to ask you folks, honestly.
47:17
Speaker 1: Why would anyone consider even going to Columbus at this point?
47:20
Speaker 1: I wouldn't spend one single cent in that city. All
47:24
Speaker 1: of these leaders who are still protecting this man are absolutely...
47:28
Speaker 1: absolutely and positively responsible for this continuing to occur. We
47:35
Speaker 1: can't have it. We cannot let people like this be
47:37
Speaker 1: protected by civic leaders, by politicians, by anybody. Wexner is
47:42
Speaker 1: just like the rest of us folks he's no different
47:44
Speaker 1: than the royal family he's no different than anybody else
47:47
Speaker 1: he puts his pants on the same way we do
47:49
Speaker 1: in the morning so these questions need to be asked
47:51
Speaker 1: and he needs to answer these questions and Columbus yo
47:55
Speaker 1: I'm ashamed of y'all are you guys for real the
47:57
Speaker 1: city of Columbus protecting this man this way you guys
48:01
Speaker 1: are going to the mattresses with this guy this is
48:03
Speaker 1: what you're going to in in a world of cancel
48:05
Speaker 1: culture You guys aren't canceling anything. It's very odd to see.
48:09
Speaker 1: It's very odd to see what's going on in Columbus
48:12
Speaker 1: after reading that article. It's very disturbing to me, all right?
48:15
Speaker 1: Anyone who just spends just a little bit of time
48:17
Speaker 1: researching this case knows that Wexner is up to his
48:20
Speaker 1: neck in it, right? And more is going to come out.
48:24
Speaker 1: And it's going to be on Columbus. They're going to
48:26
Speaker 1: have to do the backtracking. Wait and see. When it
48:29
Speaker 1: all comes out, you wait and see how these people
48:32
Speaker 1: backtrack and how they act like they didn't care about Wexner. Oh,
48:35
Speaker 1: he was never a big part of our community. And, and, and.
48:38
Speaker 1: That's exactly what will happen. Because at the end of
48:40
Speaker 1: the day, it's a feeding frenzy with these people. One
48:42
Speaker 1: shark gets hurt, they all go in for the kill.
48:44
Speaker 1: Because all they care about is self-preservation. These people in power, folks.
48:49
Speaker 1: That is all they care about from politicians to the media.
48:52
Speaker 1: to you name it. That's all they care about. These
48:55
Speaker 1: girls being assaulted means nothing to them. They do not care.
48:58
Speaker 1: You know why? Because it's just an everyday thing for
49:00
Speaker 1: them in their life. It's nothing new for them. They
49:03
Speaker 1: assault people on a daily basis. There are endless wars.
49:06
Speaker 1: There are chemicals in their food, etc., etc. These people
49:10
Speaker 1: are extremely evil. They're extremely devious. And they are all,
49:15
Speaker 1: they all need to be exposed. That's what we're doing here.
49:19
Speaker 1: We are turning the predators into the prey on a
49:23
Speaker 1: daily basis. All right, everybody, I will be back later
49:27
Speaker 1: on for the Daily Drop, and I hope everybody has
49:30
Speaker 1: an incredible day. If you would like to reach me,
49:32
Speaker 1: you can do that at bobbycapucci at protonmail.com. That is
49:36
Speaker 1: B-O-B-B-Y-C-A-P-U-C-C-I at protonmail.com. If you would like to support the show,
49:42
Speaker 1: you can find the GoFundMe link