← The Epstein Chronicles
The Epstein Chronicles
Lesley Groff And The Transcript From Her Epstein Related Trip to Congress (Part 9) (7/5/26)
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Lesley Groff told the House Oversight Committee that she worked for Jeffrey Epstein from February 2001 until July 2019 as his secretary/administrative assistant, handling scheduling, calls, travel coordination, calendars, and staff logistics. Her...
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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 transcript from her interview with Congress. And now we have Mr. Lynch asking the questions. Okay, Ms. Groff, thank you for your willingness to be interviewed. You said early in the Republican hour that your relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, you really didn't have a relationship. You wouldn't call it a relationship. And you said in this hour that he basically kept you on the outside and you didn't have a connection with him. I want to refer to a New York Times article on February 5, 2005. If co counsel wants copies of that. I made some. Mr. Wickham, is the word brain in there? Mr. Lynch? Sorry, there are some others here if staff wants them. Mr. Adapted and sir, if he will hold on, we will enter this as Minority Exhibit B. Mr. Lynch, this is the New York Times article February 5, 2005 by Landon Thomas Jr. And it sounds like they interviewed both of you and Jeffrey Epstein in the article. I'll just go to the bottom paragraph which is highlighted. This is an article the title of which is Working for top bosses on Wall street has its perks when it comes to discussing Jeffrey Epstein. It says. Then there's the case of Jeffrey Epstein who pays his three executive assistants more than 200,000 a year. It goes on to say a financier who they manage his executive. His three woman executive team which manages his hectic life to Go globetrotting and hobnobbing with the likes of former president Bill Clinton. It goes on to say on the next page, he calls them meaning his you as part of his executive team. A social prosthesis. So something attached to limb of who he is with an intuitive knowledge of his manifold needs and a 24 hour presence that makes them virtually indispensable to his personal and business success. He said. It goes on to say again referring to you and the other two assistants. They are an extension of my brain, said Mr. Epstein, who rarely talks publicly. Their intuition is something that I don't have. It goes with more some details than it goes on to say. The reporter says when one of them, Leslie Groff, who was 38, became pregnant last year and talked of leaving, he bought her a Mercedes Benz E320 to make her commuting easier and agreed to pay for a full time nanny so that she could keep working for him. And then there's a quote here by Mr. Epstein. There's no way I could lose Leslie to motherhood. Said Mr. Epstein, who is nearly in his. Who is in his early 50s and is a bachelor. Going further to just the last page of the last page, the third paragraph from the bottom. I'm sorry, let's go to the last two lines here, the last two paragraphs. Ms. Groff said that she thought both she and Ms. Lee, one of the other two executive assistants, were worth the price. Here's the quote. This is from you. It comes down to the bond, said Ms. Groff, a graduate of the University of Texas who's been with Mr. Epstein for four years. A further quote by you. I know what he's thinking and I know when I need to be fast. It's a nice role that we're on now. That's what the reporter said that you said. Have you ever requested a redaction or recanted any of this that was printed in the New York Times? Ms. Groff. No Lynch. You haven't disputed that Grof. No Lynch. It makes it hard to believe that there's no connection when he's talking about you as part of him and a prosthesis and you know, part of his operation. And how long did you work for Mr. Epstein? Beginning to end. Groff. February of 2001 to July of 2019. Mr. Lynch. So 18 years. Is that correct, Ms. Groff? Yes. Question by Mr. Lynch. Yeah, it's hard to believe that somebody who worked with somebody for 18 years and then they say they don't have a relationship, especially when we have earlier statements. Let me also ask now, when you went to work for Mr. Epstein, he was a registered sex offender, isn't that correct? Ms. Groff? That was after I started working for him. He became a registered sex offender. Mr. Lynch. Yeah, stuff going on. And then he was. His conviction became final. He did what, 13 months in prison? No, 13 months in a stockade. You mean Grof. Correct. Lynch. And you were responsible at making sure that he lived up to his restrictions as a sex offender? Correct. He had reporting travel requirements. He had no contact requirements. So actually, you sort of made sure that he was compliant with his status as a registered sex offender. Ms. Groff. No, I did not. I was not the one in charge of making sure. I did remind him that he needed to register when it was that time of year. That was part of his directive to remind him. But I had nothing to do with. She gets cut off by Mr. Lynch. It says here that you dealt with several tasks related to his status as sex offender. Those included sending reminders to update his registration status and photograph and attempting to get him a Russian visa despite his status as an offender. Ms. Groff. All I did was remind him that it was time for him to get. Mr. Lynch cuts her off. But your earlier statement that. Now Mr. Whitcomb jumps in. Sir, can you just let her finish her response, please? She has tried a couple of times to respond to your question.
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And.
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And she hasn't been able to finish it. Mr. Lynch. Okay, have at it. All right. Ms. Groff. All I did was remind them on his schedule that he was supposed to go and register if he was in Palm Beach. I think that was the standard. And I was directed by him to include that on his schedule. I did not make any appointments for him to go register. He did that on his own. If he went to Palm Beach, I believe it was once a year. And I was told to remind him three months ahead of the time. That. Two months ahead of time. And then after that every other week or something like that. It was. But that was all I ever did. Mr. Lynch. You realize, however, that having knowledge of that certainly is not consistent with your earlier statement that there was a vague awareness on your part about what Mr. Epstein was charged with and what his status was and what he was guilty of. At the same time that you were scheduling massages for young women with. With a registered sex offender, and yet you maintain that you didn't see anything improper in that, and you've said that multiple times. Sending young women to give a massage to a registered sex offender. And you. Yet you tell the committee and you tell others that you saw nothing improper with that. I just find it. It just hurts your credibility. Mr. Bauchner, with all due respect, the record speaks for what she said. I don't believe that's an accurate characterization of what she said, but go ahead, Mr. Lynch. Okay, Mr. Wickham, and it's also. Please, just bear. Hear me out. She's here as a witness. She's not an attorney like me and you, sir. She's not familiar with all the legal jargon and the legalese regarding a guilty plea, so that should respectfully be borne in mind, Mr. Lynch. Well, I appreciate that, but she is a witness, Mr. Whitcomb. Sure, Mr. Lynch. And she's at the hub of this. At the very hub of this. She has contact with all the people, all the victims, the high powered people. She's at the hub of all of this. She's a very important witness. And we're trying to get to the truth. Get at the truth on behalf of these victims, who I think we agree, we feel deeply for. And so that's the mission here. I'm over my time, and so. So I have to relinquish it until we do. Another hour, but thank you. I yield. Mr. Garcia, just briefly, we're going to continue this questioning in the next hour, but just. Ms. Groff, it's been reported by the Wall Street Journal that Mar A Lago is sending spa employees, usually young women, to Epstein's Palm beach home to provide massages. We know that Ghislaine Maxwell was accused of recruiting and trafficking survivors as well. Do you recall any of this when you were working, employed by Mr. Epstein, Ms. Groff? No, Mr. Garcia. So did you ever schedule any appointments for Mar A Lago or through Mar A Lago, for Mar A Lago employees to come to Epstein's home and provide any sort of spa services. Ms. Groff. No warning. The following ZipRecruiter radio spot you are about to hear is going to be filled with F words when you're hiring.
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Garcia so as far as your work is considered through the Wall Street Journal, we've seen the Wall Street Journal reporting that there was actually women being brought in for from Mar a Lago. That's something that you had no interaction with and never heard about, correct? Ms. Groff that is correct. Mr. Garcia is there anyone that you think would have information about who was actually connecting these women from Mar a lago to Mr. Epstein? Ms. Groff I don't know. Garcia so you wouldn't have any could you maybe think who would be a person or two that would be making these connections? Did have any idea? Ms. Groff I would think Ms. Maxwell was with him in Palm beach, but I don't know that for sure. I don't know. Mr. Garcia we'll have additional questions later. Mispredacted. That's it for now and we'll go off the record. Back on the record now and it's Ms. Toland asking the questions. Question I'm just going to ask a few clarifying questions that focus on what we asked you during our first round. So to begin with, we discussed the physical phone directories with the list and the names. And then you also mentioned that there was an electronic version of that. Is that correct? Answer Correct. Question and I believe I asked you already, but you don't know the platform or the database that electronic one was stored on. Does Citrix sound familiar to you? Answer it does now. Question yes. Answer Because I heard Sarah say that. Question okay, and do you know does that ring a bell? Is that what it was stored on? Answer I don't, I don't know. Question okay, and do you know where the backup information for those directories are stored? Answer I don't know. Question okay, and then in the previous hour you also mentioned, I believe, but who prepared the rooms for the massages at the New York residence? Answer I don't know. I would think a maid would be responsible for cleaning, but I don't know. I wasn't there. Question do you know who set up the room in order for it to be Ready for a massage? Answer no Question and I believe you mentioned individuals who would let the masseuses into the property. Who did you say that was? Answer the people that answered the doors. Question yes. Answer that would be the maid Lynn Fontanilla or her husband Jojo who was his driver was. Or possibly it was really those two, but possibly it could be Rich Barnett or I think also buzz somebody in like New York apartment type of thing. Question and so those individuals would have to let the masseuses into the property. Answer Correct. Question did you on any occasion ever let any of them in? Answer no. Question did you ever buzz any of them in like you just mentioned? Answer I don't know how to do that. Question did you ever have discussions with any of these individuals about the women they were seeing coming in and out of the property? Answer no. Question and then I believe you briefly covered this as well. But did you ever pay money or cash to any of the masseuses? Answer I never directly paid anyone. It's possible that Mr. Epstein may have directed me to ask redacted in the accounting department to put 200 in an envelope to have picked up and messengered over to someone who had done some sort of job for Mr. Epstein and that was either picked up by the messenger or JoJo. Mr. Timmons, did you ever see a black bag of cash? Groff. A black bag? Timmons. A black bag that had cash in it? Groff. No. Timmons, you never saw that? Groff no. Question and the messenger, did you know who the messenger was or was it gets cut off by Grof it was a messenger service. I don't recall who the messenger service was. That was a long time ago. Question Was the same messenger service always used? Answer Probably. I mean there might have been a couple. I don't recall. Question did you ever meet anyone with the messengers? Answer no. Question did you ever have a conversation with any of them? Answer no. Question and why was the cash given to these masseuses? Answer I just figured that's the way people get paid. Question and I guess more clarification. Why cash as opposed to checks or any other form of payment? Answer I don't know. Alright folks, we're gonna wrap up right here and in the next episode dealing with the topic, we're gonna pick up where we left off. All the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box.