Lesley Groff told members of Congress that massages were a ‘normal part of his day’ but denies that she ‘knowingly enabled or conspired’ with the sex offender
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A former assistant toJeffrey Epsteinbooked appointments for her employer “almost daily” but denied ever scheduling appointments with people she believed were underage, according to atranscriptof her interview with members of Congressinvestigating the late sex offender.
Lesley Groff, Epstein’s former executive assistant, appeared voluntarily for aclosed-door interviewwith the House Oversight Committee to “dispel the false notions” that she “knowingly enabled or conspired with him to commit his evil acts.”
Throughout her eight-hour interview on June 9, an often-incredulous panel questioned how Groff, who worked for Epstein for 18 years, was unaware of his abuse.
“You want us to believe that after 18 years working in the employ of Mr. Jeffrey Epstein that not on one occasion did you believe that any of your contacts in setting up these appointments with Jeffrey Epstein were either a minor or an underage person, correct?” asked Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi.
"That is correct," Groff replied.
“Okay,” Krishnamoorthi responded. “This strains credibility, Ms. Groff.”
An attorney for the committee also asked Groff whether a 14-year-old child “sounds the same as a person in their 20s or 30s or 40s.”
“It’s possible. I don’t know. I was not evaluating voices,” Groff replied. “It — nobody ever sounded like they were underage.”
Groff’s interview, which was not under oath, marks the first time that she has faced questions about her connections to Epstein since she initially spoke to the FBI in 2021, two years after Epstein died in prison. She was initially identified as a potential co-conspirator in the case against Epstein but was never charged.
“It is important for the committee to understand that, to my knowledge, I never met any of these masseuses,” she said in her opening remarks. “None of these women or anyone else ever told me they were minors or that they were sexually abused. Nothing I heard or saw led me to believe otherwise.”
