By
Ava Berger
Darren Indyke, Jeffrey Epstein's former lawyer, arrives for his deposition before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on Thursday in Washington, D.C.Jose Luis Magana/APhide caption
Jeffrey Epstein's longtime personal attorney testified Thursday before the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door deposition that he had "no knowledge whatsoever" of Epstein's crimes against women and girls.
Darren Indyke, one of several witnesses called before the committee including formerPresident Bill ClintonandGhislaine Maxwell, worked for Epstein for more than two decadesuntil the sex offender's deathin 2019. He is widely considered part of Epstein's inner circle, along with the disgraced financier's former accountant Richard Kahn. Kahn also testified before the committee last week that he was "not aware" of the sex offender's crimes.
"My complete lack of involvement in that misconduct is a matter of record: not a single woman has ever accused me of committing sexual abuse or witnessing sexual abuse, nor claimed at any time that she or anyone else reported to me any allegation of Mr. Epstein's abuse," Indyke said, according to a copy of his prepared opening statement obtained by NPR. Indyke said if he had known of the abuse and trafficking of women, he would have quit and "severed all ties" to Epstein.
The Republican-led committee subpoenaed Indyke, who also testified about the existence of hard drives held by Epstein's private investigators, according to a statement by California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee. The House committee has not seen these hard drives, Garcia said.
"Darren Indyke played a central role in facilitating Jeffrey Epstein's abuse of women and girls and managing legal strategies that helped Epstein avoid government scrutiny," Garcia said.
Two days before his death,Epsteinmade Indyke and Kahn, Epstein's accountant, coexecutors of his estate. Both are named asbeneficiaries of the estate.
After the testimony, multiple Democrats on the committeeposted to social mediathat Indyke was more involved than he claimed to be,calling hima "key insider and enabler."
"Epstein's sex trafficking operation would not have been possible without Mr. Indyke's services," Virginia Democratic Rep. James Walkinshawtold reporters. Walkinshaw said he found it "very hard to believe" that Indyke knew nothing of Epstein's crimes after working with him closely for more than two decades.
Committee Chair, Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer said after a few hours of testimony, Indyketold the committeeEpstein convinced him the2008 convictionwas a mistake.
"As with all the other witnesses, they all claim they never had any knowledge before it became public that Mr. Epstein was involved with women, doing anything inappropriately with young women," Comer said.
Kahn and Indyke have faced intense scrutiny about their alleged involvement in Epstein's sexual trafficking network. A 2020 lawsuit brought by the attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands against Epstein's estate alleged that Indyke and Kahn were participants in an "expansive criminal enterprise" that included trafficking of young women. The lawsuit was settled in 2022 forover $105 million.
During his time working for Epstein, Indyke was implicated in emails abouterasing hard drives, and FBI interviews show thatEpstein referred victimsto Indyke in the event they were contacted by law enforcement, according to Department of Justice documents. In 2017, Indyke wasflaggedfor taking out "structured cash transactions" from Epstein's account to avoid federal requirements.
