Former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine has been accused of sexually assaulting the former assistant of Jeffrey Epstein in the early 2000s. NBC6’s Jamie Guirola reports
Republican lawmakers are seeking an investigation into former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine after allegations of sexual assault were made against him during testimony in the federal government's review of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer and Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday calling on the Department of Justice to investigate Levine after the allegations were made against him by former Epstein assistant Sarah Kellen.
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Levine was Miami Beach's mayor from 2013 to 2017 and was a candidate in the 2018 Florida governor's race.
The allegations were made by Kellen during her testimony before the House Oversight Committee on May 21.
According to atranscript of her testimony released Thursday, Kellen said Levine was good friends with close Epstein associate and convicted child sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell.
Kellen said Epstein and Maxwell had rented a house in Saint Tropez one summer in 2002 or 2003 and Levine had come to stay at the house.
"And Jeffrey and Ghislaine had gone to bed, and Philip and I were still up. And he -- he came up to me, and he was like, 'You know, must be so lonely for you working with them because you're with them all the time, and you can't have your own life, so you must be -- must be really lonely,' and he basically forced himself on me," she testified.
Kellen said no one witnessed the alleged abuse and she didn't tell anyone.
A spokesperson for Levine released a statement to NBC News on Thursday.
"Nearly a quarter century ago, our client had a brief intimate encounter with another consenting adult. Any allegation suggesting otherwise is not true," the statement read.
Earlier this year, Levine also released a statement to WLRN Public Radio of South Florida addressing his connection to Epstein.
“My only connection to Jeffrey Epstein arose solely through my former friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell,” Levine said. “I met Epstein only a few times. I never conducted business with him, never visited his island and never flew on his aircraft. I regret ever meeting him.”
