Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime employee and attorney Darren Indyke testified to lawmakers on Thursday that he “had no knowledge whatsoever” of the convicted sex offender’s wrongdoing and rejected “any suggestion” he assisted or facilitated his former boss’ crimes, according to a copy of his opening statement.
“Had I known that he was abusing or trafficking women, I would have quit working for him at once and severed all ties to him,” Indyke said in an opening statement to the House Oversight Committee, a copy of which CNN obtained. “The truth is that I did not know what Mr. Epstein did after hours, behind closed doors, and in places where I was not present.”
Indyke, one of Epstein’s longest-serving employees, worked as an attorney for him for more than 20 years on corporate, transactional and general legal services. He described the work as a consulting role for “entirely legitimate purposes.”
The closed-door deposition lasted for roughly 8 hours.
Democrats said they believe Indyke is not credible for saying he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said Indyke may have perjured himself in his deposition.
Democratic Rep. Dave Min, a lawyer and former law professor, said of the deposition: “It’s just not credible to claim that you had no knowledge of what was happening.”
“I’m very surprised that he did not take the Fifth Amendment. I think it’s very likely he perjured himself over and over and over again,” the congressman said.
Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett said, “I can tell you that he has been quite defensive of Jeffrey Epstein … almost as if he still doesn’t believe Jeffrey Epstein to be who Jeffrey Epstein was.”
Lawmakers are seeking answers on Indyke’s work and his knowledge of Epstein’s financial dealings. The testimony occurred behind closed doors, though lawmakers are expected to release a video later.
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In his opening statement, Indyke pushed back on allegations that he withdrew thousands of dollars in cash on Epstein’s behalf to avoid triggering bank suspicions. He said the cash was not used for “any improper purposes.”
Police investigators found that Epstein often paid young girls and women between $200 and $300 — payments that the women said came after he abused them under the guise of performing massages in the mid-2000s.
Min said he asked Indyke about a $725,000 cash withdrawal he made using a maximum of $7,500 per withdrawal to not trigger federal reporting, and said that Indyke “couldn’t describe what that was for.”
In his opening statement, Indyke also categorically denied that he helped coerce young women into same-sex “sham marriages” with each other to circumvent immigration, calling it “100% untrue.”
These allegations were made in a 2024 class-action civil lawsuit filed by Epstein victims against Indyke and his fellow co-executor of Epstein’s estate, Richard Kahn. The suit alleged that the two were facilitators in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation and “were also integral in allowing Epstein to escape justice for years by concealing his litany of crimes.” The pair strongly denied the allegations. Recently, the estate agreed tosettle the lawsuit for up to $35 millionbut admitted no wrongdoing. The court preliminarily approved the settlement earlier this month.
