Republican lawmakers have asked the Department of Justice to investigate sexual assault allegations involving two men made by Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime assistant. In a transcribed closed-door interview in late May, as part of a congressional investigation into Epstein, Sarah Kellen, one of the late sex offender’s former aides, told the House oversight and reform committee she was “sexually and psychologically abused” by him during her employment – but also alleged she was sexually assaulted by the French celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai, and by Philip Levine, the former mayor of Miami Beach, in separate incidents in the early 2000s.
Hundreds of people, including dozens powerful and prominent figures, have been linked to Epstein, and named in files released by the justice department, with no evidence of wrongdoing. James Comer, the Republican who chairs the oversight panel, and four other Republican lawmakers, said Fekkai and Levine are the “first names of alleged criminal conduct” the committee has referred to the department amid the panel’s investigation into Epstein. Epstein died in a Manhattan jail in 2019, while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
The lawmakers announced on Thursday that they sent a letter to Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, asking the justice department to “use all available tools, including immunity for certain witnesses, to investigate the allegations against, and any other criminal conduct committed by, Philip Levine and Frédéric Fekkai”. Neither Fekkai nor Levine have been charged with any crime related to Epstein. Both have denied any wrongdoing.
Committee’s Role and Next Steps
“Kellen provided new information crucial to our investigation that is helping to bring transparency for the American people and accountability for survivors,” said Comer. “During her transcribed interview, the oversight committee received serious allegations of criminal misconduct involving two individuals.” “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. We will continue to follow the facts and ensure accountability for survivors.”
In the letter to Blanche, lawmakers said Levine’s name appears “over 600 times” in the Epstein files released by the justice department earlier this year, “including in direct correspondence” with Epstein and his long-time associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex-trafficking crimes. The lawmakers also alleged that Fekkai “was a close friend” of Epstein who “played a role in his grooming schemes by routinely providing salon services to women at Mr Epstein’s instruction”.
Responses from the Accused
A representative for Fekkai did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian, but told CNN that Fekkai “never ‘took advantage’” of Kellen and that “he did not introduce her to Jeffrey Epstein”. The representative also told CNN that Fekkai had not done anything wrong, and specified that “Mr Fekkai never assaulted anyone”. “Mr Fekkai was astonished to read of Ms. Kellen’s testimony,” the spokesperson said. “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.”
Levine also did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian, but a spokesperson for Levine told CNN that “nearly a quarter-century ago, our client had a brief intimate encounter with another consenting adult”, and that “any allegation suggesting otherwise is not true”. In February, after the justice department released millions of Epstein-related files, Levine told WLRN that he only met Epstein a few times, and was not close with him. “As I have stated previously, my only connection to Jeffrey Epstein arose solely through my former friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell,” Levine said in February. “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.”
Background on Sarah Kellen
Kellen worked for Epstein as a personal assistant for more than 10 years, beginning in about 2001. She has faced public scrutiny since it emerged that she was named as one of the four women listed as possible “co-conspirators” in Epstein’s controversial 2007 plea deal. But she has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and has described herself as a victim of Epstein’s abuse, telling lawmakers last month that she “worked for, and was sexually and psychologically abused by, Jeffrey Epstein for over a decade”. “He groomed me, sexually and psychologically abused me, controlled me, manipulated me, dominated me, and gaslit me until I could no longer tell which thoughts were mine and which were his,” she said.
The letter from the Republican lawmakers also states that Kellen also said she was never contacted by federal, state, local, or foreign law enforcement or by any government authority from the time she began working for Epstein in 2000 or 2001 until July 2019, when Epstein was charged with federal sex-trafficking offenses. “As part of its investigation into the alleged mismanagement of the federal government’s handling of the Epstein and Maxwell matters, the committee seeks to understand why Ms Kellen was not interviewed or otherwise contacted during that period,” the letter adds. In addition to Comer, the letter was also signed by Republican representatives Lauren Boebert, William Timmons, Clay Higgins and Andy Biggs.
