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Podcast Summary: The Epstein Chronicles

Episode: Lesley Groff And The Transcript From Her Epstein Related Trip to Congress (Part 16)
Host: Bobby Capucci
Release Date: July 11, 2026

Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, Bobby Capucci continues the deep-dive into Lesley Groff’s congressional testimony regarding her years as an executive assistant to Jeffrey Epstein. The episode centers on live reading and analysis of a transcript where Groff responds to pointed questions from Congress members, specifically Raja Krishnamoorthi and Garcia, about her role in arranging appointments for Epstein, her perceptions of Epstein’s social network—including interactions with Donald Trump—and her awareness or denial of any wrongdoing, especially after Epstein’s conviction.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lesley Groff’s Denials Regarding Underage Victims

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi questions Lesley Groff about her knowledge or suspicion of arranging appointments with minors. He presents a series of emails where Epstein’s would-be visitors reference “school” or “orchestra rehearsal,” pressing Groff on whether these clues ever gave her pause.
Groff repeatedly asserts under oath that she did not suspect any of the women she contacted or scheduled were underage, despite references to school schedules in their emails.
Insight: The questioning exposes the tension between Groff’s claimed ignorance and the apparent red flags in the communications.

Notable Exchange:

Krishnamoorthi: "So it's your testimony that when you're sending out these emails and people respond to you that they're in school or that they have orchestra rehearsal, that you believe that they're not a minor or an underage person. That is your testimony today, right, Ms. Groff?"
Groff: "That is correct." ([08:10])

Krishnamoorthi: "Okay, this strains credibility." ([09:15])

2. Post-Conviction Actions & Accountability

Garcia highlights how the emails and appointments in question occurred after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for abusing a minor.
Garcia repeatedly presses Groff on whether she ever reconsidered her actions or had concerns, given Epstein’s criminal history.
Groff insists she had no concerns: “I never saw anything inappropriate.” ([10:40])

Garcia: "So not once were you concerned after knowing that Jeffrey Epstein was convicted of abuse of a minor, that you had any sort of concerns that you were having conversations with other women who were talking about school and orchestra practice, Is that correct? Is that your testimony?"
Groff: "That's my testimony. I never saw anything inappropriate." ([11:05])

Garcia pushes further on the disconnect between knowing Epstein’s criminal past and continuing to set up meetings with young women.

3. Epstein’s Relationship With Donald Trump

Garcia probes Groff on her role in facilitating interactions between Epstein and Donald Trump.
- Groff acknowledges connecting Epstein and Trump by phone “multiple times a year” and possibly arranging face-to-face meetings, though she claims not to remember specifics.
- When asked if Epstein and Trump were friends, Groff equivocates, saying she didn’t know the nature of their relationship despite frequent contact.
- Discussion arises around the infamous photo of Trump on Epstein’s desk, which Groff says she doesn’t remember seeing but acknowledges “it’s very possible.”
- Groff claims no knowledge of the so-called “birthday book” or its creation during her employment.

Garcia: “Would you characterize [Epstein/Trump] as a friendship?”
Groff: “I really don't know what the relationship was. I didn't hear them speaking. I don't know.” ([14:10])

Garcia: “Even though you connected them multiple times a year by phone and possibly for meetings that you're not aware of, correct?”
Groff: “Yes. I don't know what they discussed or what the meetings were for. It's possible they were friendly.” ([15:00])

4. Manipulation, Denial, and the Role of Social Circles

When pressed about how she could continue working for Epstein and arranging appointments given public accusations and his conviction:
- Groff claims she was manipulated by Epstein and believed his denials, citing the continued support of intelligent business associates as reinforcing her perception that the accusations were baseless.
- Even after knowing he pleaded guilty, Groff says she believed Epstein’s narrative that he was “tricked” and that the conviction was a scheme.

Groff: “He led me to believe that the accusations were false... He was a very good liar and a very good manipulator, and he brushed things under the rug.” ([17:00])

Groff: “I believe that he was tricked. It was something. It was not his fault. It was tricked and it was a big scheme.” ([18:15])

Memorable Quotes

Krishnamoorthi (addressing email evidence):
“When that person responds that they have orchestra rehearsal in the evening in your response to your question about whether they're available, right? That's your testimony.” ([03:44])
Garcia (on post-conviction doubt):
“It’s difficult to understand how after knowing what Jeffrey Epstein had done... you would continue to set up appointments with other young women... you never once had any doubt that there could be something there happening to these women.” ([16:30])
Groff (on her belief in Epstein):
“Everybody who was so smart, all his business associates... all his associates remain friends with him, you know, kept meeting with them, etc.” ([17:30])

Timeline / Timestamps for Key Segments

00:30 – Start of questioning by Rep. Krishnamoorthi about underage massage appointments
02:00 – Introduction of email exhibits referencing “school” and “orchestra rehearsal”
05:10 – Groff’s repeated assertion of ignorance regarding the age of Epstein’s visitors
08:10 – Krishnamoorthi challenges Groff on credibility of her testimony
10:40 – Rep. Garcia moves to questioning about Groff’s behavior post-Epstein’s 2008 conviction
13:10 – Garcia’s exploration of Epstein’s ties to Donald Trump
15:25 – Groff’s apparent lack of awareness of the birthday book, photos, and other social links
16:30 – Direct confrontation of Groff’s failure to doubt or investigate Epstein’s interactions
17:00 – Groff speaks about manipulation and “believing the best” due to Epstein’s social circle
18:15 – Groff’s insistence Epstein was “tricked” and not truly guilty

Tone and Style

Bobby Capucci brings his signature no-nonsense, probing style, focusing sharply on Congressional skepticism versus Groff’s denial and obfuscation. The tone is relentless, intent on exposing the internal contradictions and social cover present in Epstein’s orbit. Both the host and the Congressional interrogators maintain a critical and incredulous stance toward Groff’s answers, amplifying the sense of unresolved injustice and the normalization of abuse by those in powerful social circles.

Conclusion

This episode continues to illuminate the tangled, self-protective web surrounding Jeffrey Epstein. By dissecting key moments in Lesley Groff’s testimony, Capucci reveals the cavalier denial, social complicity, and evasions that allowed Epstein’s abuses to continue—drilling deep into the mechanisms of high-society enablement and the difficulty of extracting accountability from those entangled in his world.

Upcoming:
The next episode promises further examination of the Congressional transcript and additional testimonies as Capucci and The Epstein Chronicles continue their pursuit of clarity and justice in one of the 21st century’s most disturbing scandals.

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Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
A
What's up everyone? And welcome to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to pick up where we left off with the Leslie Groff interview with Congress question by Mr. Krishnamoorthy now. Thank you. I'm Raja Krishnamoorthy from Illinois. Look, I presume that if Jeffrey Epstein ever asked you to arrange a massage with an underage person or a minor, you would have objected, right? Ms. Groff yes. Question and I also presume that if Epstein asked you to contact a minor or underage person to set up an appointment, you would have said something or objected, Right? Answer Absolutely. Krishnamoorthy. Okay, let me introduce you to exhibit G. Can you please share that with Ms. Groff? I'll just show you a couple of emails that we found that have your name on them and, and they're with a couple of different people. I'm going to direct your attention to the first page of the stack. It has the Bates number EFTA and it ends with it's R100744270 and it says from Leslie Groff to Redacted. Hello. Redacted. Hope you're having a nice weekend. Jeffrey will be in town on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and would like to see you. Might you have some time? Please let me know. Leslie question. You see that right at the bottom of the chain. Groff. Huh? Question okay. And then redacted responds. Dear Leslie, thank you for your email. What about tomorrow evening? Would he have some time? You see that email, right? Grof yes. Question and then you respond, actually Tuesday evening work for you anytime after 6pm you see that email, right? Graph. I do. Question and then the last email in the chain. Tuesday I'm at School till 10pm we have orchestra rehearsal for the concert on Friday. Now at that moment when you received that email, did you believe that this person was not an underage person or a minor? Grof I would not have suspected at all that this would be an underage person or a minor. Krishnamoor. So it's your testimony today that you would have not suspected that this person is an underage person or. Or a minor when that person responds that they have orchestra rehearsal in the evening in your response to your question about whether they're available, right? That's your testimony. Graf. Yes. Krishnamoorthy and you're under oath. Grof. Yes. And look, not for me to jump in here and give Epstein any kind of defense, but what if that woman that they're talking about or a girl was in college and she was of age? Now look that doesn't matter if she was being abused. Right. But we have to be particular and we have to make sure that we're using the right terminology and we're putting people in the right categories. Krishnamoorthy, let me just turn your attention to another page in the document, which is another email, okay? It has bait snap. It's the third page in the stack. Eftar 10061 5858. Do you see that, Ms. Groff? I do. Krishnamoorthy. Okay, let me start this text. This email chain again. It says, and this is from Monday, December. I'm sorry, Sunday, December 13th at 6:05pm 2014. 2015. So 14 years into your tenure. Hi. Redacted. Jeffrey will be in New York this week and is asking if you could come see him on Tuesday after work, 5:30. Do you see that? Ms. Groff? Uh huh. Question. Okay. Hello Leslie, I have school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Do you see that? You respond, okay, how about tomorrow day? Do you see that, Grof? I do. Question, Ms. Ms. Groff. She says, I'm working 8:30 to 5:30 and school 6 to 9. At that moment when you saw that, it's your testimony that you did not believe that this person was either underage or a minor. Correct, Ms. Groff? Correct question. Okay. And you respond, you're a busy girl. I'll let Jeffrey know. Thanks. So it's your testimony that when you're sending out these emails and people respond to you that they're in school or that they have orchestra rehearsal, that you believe that they're not a minor or an underage person. That is your testimony today, right, Ms. Groff? That is correct. Krishna Mori. You're under oath. Ms. Groff. Yes, that is correct. Chris Namoorthy, you want us to believe that after 18 years working in the employ of Mr. Epstein, that not on one occasion did you believe that any of your contacts in setting up these appointments with Jeffrey Epstein were with either a minor or an underage person. Correct, Ms. Grof? That is correct, Krishnamoorthy. And that we should believe that it was reasonable for you to think that none of these people run their age. Ms. Groff? That is correct. Krishnamurthy. Okay, this strains credibility. Ms. Groff. I yield back. Garcia. Thank you. Ms. Groff, I have a couple questions. I just want to go back real briefly to something that my colleague just said. So these conversations that he pointed out for these emails, they happened after Epstein's conviction, is that correct? Answer, correct question. So it never crossed your mind after a conviction of an obviously very horrific crime against an underage woman that these interactions that you were having with other women that were talking about school, orchestra, orchestra practice never raised any concern to you? Ms. Groff no. Garcia. So not once were you concerned after knowing that Jeffrey Epstein was convicted of abuse of a minor, that you had any sort of concerns that you were having conversations with other women who were talking about school and orchestra practice, Is that correct? Is that your testimony? Ms. Groff that's my testimony. I never saw anything inappropriate. Ms. Whitcomb she answered the question. Ms. Grof yes. Mr. Garcia. You never saw anything, but Jeffrey had been convicted already and you knew that information, correct? Ms. Grof I did. Question. Okay, I just want to go back to something else. Thank you. So, Ms. Groff, I just want to go back to something that was asked earlier. I know you had mentioned that you had arranged multiple phone conversations with Donald Trump, not the president yet, of course, and Mr. Epstein. And then just for the record, again, you did connect them by phone a few times, correct? Ms. Groff Correct. Question Was that more than five times, more than 10 times? Do you have any idea how many times you connected them by phone? Ms. Groff I don't know how often I connected them. There would be, I said once, a quarter, maybe, or twice. If Epstein was in town and he wanted to speak to Mr. Trump. It might take me four or five times to get the two of them on the phone, but I don't know how often that really occurred. Ms. Garcia? Mr. Garcia and it's safe to say that you could have done it multiple times a year? Grof yes, QUESTION okay, so multiple times a year over a period of 10 years? Ms. Groff yeah, I don't really recall when they stopped talking. GARCIA and then did you also arrange any meetings between Mr. Epstein and Mr. Trump separate of just phone calls? Ms. Groff it's possible. I don't recall anything offhand. Mr. Garcia. Okay, but it's possible that you could have arranged meetings, but you don't recall if there was a meeting. Did you arrange any services for Mr. Trump that Mr. Epstein was providing separate of a phone call or a meeting? Ms. Groff no question. Would you characterize her friendship as a friendship? Answer I really don't know what the relationship was. I didn't hear them speaking. I don't know. Garcia Because Epstein has characterized it as a friendship. In fact, Mr. Epstein said that he considered them actually best friends for a period of 10 years. Have you heard that in the media or anything else before? Ms. Grof I have not. Question. And Ms. Grof, earlier, when we asked you about Mr. Epstein's relationship with Les Wexner, you were willing to provide your opinion that there were friends as well as business partners. So, to the congressman's question, how would you characterize a relationship of Mr. Trump and Epstein? Ms. Grof I mean, I suppose they were friendly. I don't know if they had any business going on. That wasn't something that I asked. That's not something I discussed with Mr. Epstein or Mr. Trump. So I don't really know. It's possible that they were friendly. GARCIA Even though you connected them multiple times a year by phone and possibly for meetings that you're not aware of, correct? Yes. I don't know what they discussed or what the meetings were for. It's possible they were friendly. It's possible they spoke business. I don't know what it's about. Did you ever see a photo of Mr. Epstein and Mr. Trump on Mr. Epstein's desk? Groff I don't know. You don't? Because I know you worked right outside of his office. Groff I did. Did you oftentimes go inside Mr. Epstein's office? Groff I would go in his office after he would leave to pick up the garbage that he threw on the floor and put it in the trash can. I didn't go in there very often. Garcia but after working for him for 18 years in a different period of time, in different locations, you don't recall what photos may have been on his desk? Ms. Groff it's been too long ago. I don't know. He did have photos of important people on his desk with him and important people. Mr. Garcia but you never heard it reported that he had a photo. I mean, it's been widely reported by every major news outlet that he had a photo of President Trump on his desk. I know that you worked in his office. You don't recall or never heard that there was a photo of President Trump on his desk? Grof. It's very possible that there was, but I don't recall seeing an actual photo per se with Mr. Trump. Garcia. And don't recall hearing in the media, apparently, right? Ms. Groff I don't question. Okay, no, I appreciate that. Are you familiar with the birthday book that was provided to Mr. Epstein for his birthday? That's been widely reported. Ms. Grof I am now after his death, and I've heard about that, yes. Garcia but during your employment, you were not involved or aware or made any sort of inquiries about the book at the time the Ms. Maxwell Project. Is that correct? GROF Correct, from what I understand. QUESTION and you have no information about the book or its creation? ANSWER that is correct. QUESTION Would it be possible at the time Ms. Maxwell's assistant was or anyone else you think could have been involved in the process of that book besides Ms. Maxwell? Grof I don't know. It's possible she could have had an assistant help her with something, but I don't know. I wasn't involved in that. But it wouldn't be unlikely that someone might have been helping her. Just last before I turn it back, I just want to go back because I think it's an important point that's been brought up. You know, it's difficult to understand how after knowing what Jeffrey Epstein had done and up to a minor, that you would continue to set up appointments with other young women, other women to Mr. Epstein and not ever once doubt that there could be something happening in those moments. You never thought that you completely regardless of what happened. Again, I'll give you another opportunity to explain it. But you never once had any doubt that there could be something there happening to these women. Ms. Grof at the time, I felt like everyone in the office he was lying to and he was a very good liar and a very good manipulator, and he brushed things under the rug. He led me to believe that the accusations were false. And when I looked around, everybody who was so smart, all his business associates, all his. GARCIA Continue. GROF yeah, all his associates remain friends with him, you know, kept meeting with them. Etc. Garcia Ms. Grof, you also admit, though, that you know, he pleaded guilty. Ms. Groff yes. Garcia so he pleaded guilty, that he was guilty of the crime, yet you still didn't believe that plea? GROF I believe that he was tricked. It was something. It was not his fault. It was tricked and it was a big scheme. GARCIA okay, thank you. Thank you. Ms. Groff we will stop here for clarity. For the record, we had questions from Representative Bell and also represent Representative Taliban who did previously, who didn't previously introduce themselves into the record. We'll now go off the record. All right, so that means we're going to wrap up as well. And in the next episode dealing with the topic, we're going to pick up where we left off. All the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box.