House Oversight Chair James Comer and other Republican lawmakers are calling on the Justice Department to investigateallegationsinvolving two men accused of sexually abusing Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime assistant, according to a letter provided first to CNN.
The new pressure from the Republican lawmakers stems from testimony the panel received last month from the assistant,Sarah Kellen.
In her closed-door interview, Kellen said Frederic Fekkai, a French celebrity hairstylist, and Philip Levine, the former mayor of Miami Beach, sexually assaulted her in separate incidents. She alleged that a third individual, Patrick Demarchelier, a French fashion photographer, exposed himself to her, according to a newly released transcript.
Comer’s letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche asked the Justice Department to investigate “the allegations against, and any other criminal conduct committed by” Fekkai and Levine in particular, noting Levine appears in the so-called Epstein files 600 times and that Fekkai was known as a “close friend” to Epstein.
“Ms. Kellen provided new information crucial to our investigation that is helping to bring transparency for the American people and accountability for survivors. During her transcribed interview, the Oversight Committee received serious allegations of criminal misconduct involving two individuals,” Comer said in a statement. “The Oversight Committee is not a law enforcement entity, and our role is not to determine guilt or innocence. We are referring these allegations to the Department of Justice, which has the tools to investigate criminal misconduct.”
Comer’s office provided the letter to CNN along with the transcript of Kellen’s interview, which offers new details of her allegations against the three men she accused of sexual misconduct, as well as describing her interactions with Epstein and accompliceGhislaine Maxwell.
None of the men have been charged with a crime in connection with Epstein, and Comer has said the committee did not previously know of allegations of sexual abuse against them.
A media representative for Fekkai said in a statement to CNN that Fekkai “never ‘took advantage’ of Sarah Kellen and he did not introduce her to Jeffrey Epstein.” The representative previously disputed that Fekkai had done anything wrong, and specified “Mr. Fekkai never assaulted anyone.”
“Mr. Fekkai was astonished to read of Ms. Kellen’s testimony. Mr. Fekkai never abused anyone. He never participated in any illegal behavior. He knew nothing about Epstein’s repugnant depravity or trafficking. He did nothing wrong,” the representative, Mark Herr, said previously.
A spokesperson for Levine said in a statement for this story, “Nearly a quarter century ago, our client had a brief intimate encounter with another consenting adult. Any allegation suggesting otherwise is not true.” Earlier this year, Levine told WLRN in a statement that he had only met Epstein “a few times” and regretted it.
“As I have stated previously, my only connection to Jeffrey Epstein arose solely through my former friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell. 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,” he said at the time.
According to the transcript of her interview, Kellen said she initially met Fekkai in 2000 or 2001 in Honolulu, while he was promoting his hair care line. Fekkai, she said, introduced her to Epstein as a “Victoria’s Secret model scout.” She recalled knowing who Fekkai was, given that she was “obsessed” with fashion at the time, and later came to realize his description of Epstein as a model scout was misleading.
“Clearly, he was not a Victoria’s Secret scout, and that’s what they were posturing him to be,” Kellen said.
Kellen testified that Fekkai asked her to be in a hair show that “didn’t exist,” and that she ended up staying in his hotel room because she didn’t have the money to buy a separate room.
“He took advantage of me that night,” Kellen said in her closed-door interview.
