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The Epstein Chronicles
The Sarah Kellen Congressional Transcript (Part 12) (6/15/26)
00:23:14
Sarah Kellen told Congress that she was not a willing architect of Jeffrey Epstein’s operation but one of his victims, claiming Epstein groomed, abused, isolated, and controlled her for years. She described herself as trapped inside his world through...
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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 Sarah Kellen interview with Congress. Ms. Tolan. And then just to go back to something that you mentioned earlier. You had mentioned that Mr. Indyke helped you get an attorney at some point. Is that correct? Answer yes. Question. And I apologize if this is repetitive, but at what time frame was that? I believe for sure around 2015. I'm trying to think if it was sooner than that. I don't know if he had anything to do with my very first attorney, Bruce Rinehart, but he helped hire. I think it was 2015. It was Scott Link, Justin Chu, and a few others that I don't remember that. I think it may have been two different firms. That's okay. I'd actually like to talk about Bruce Rinehart. You said that he was your first attorney. When was that? 2008 or 9, probably. Question. For the purpose of the non prosecution agreement or something separate? No, just to represent me in a deposition for a civil suit. Question. Okay. And did Jeffrey Epstein help? Was he involved in that process at all? Yes. Getting the attorney. He found him, he hired him, he paid him. He would have discussions with Bruce about. About my depositions. Question. And what did you understand his Bruce Reinhart's relationship to be with Jeffrey Epstein? Bruce shared an office with Jeffrey's attorney, Jack Goldberger, so it felt more like he was working for him and not me. Question. And did you know if Mr. Rinehart was still working for the U.S. attorney's office at that time? I don't think I was aware that he worked for the U.S. attorney's office until much later. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Ms. Brignac, can you list for us the associates of Mr. Epstein that you interacted with the most frequently in working for Mr. Epstein? Ms. M. Like other people that work for Mr. Epstein or provided services to Mr. Epstein? Yes. Staff or outside people? Ms. Brignac? Staff. The question is, can you list for me the other associates of Mr. Epstein that you work with most frequently in your role as his assistant? Answer. All the House staff, the pilots, the chefs. Question. Is there anyone that we have not yet referenced today that you work with frequently in your position as his assistant? Answer. I mean, all the House staff, Richard Barnett, Lynn and JoJo Fontanilla, Janesous Banasek, Louella Rabeo Bryson, Karen Gordon, Valdson Kotrin. I mean, those would have been the ones that were around the longest in the House staff. They always Ended. I mean most of the house staff worked for him for probably 20 years. Question. Were any of them aware of the abuse by Mr. Epstein's toward you? Answer. The house staff would have been aware when I slept in his bed. For sure. New York. When he would call me and have me sleep with him because they would have to open the door for me when I came over at night. What extent they knew what was happening, I don't know. But they would have known that I had spent the night. Can you name them? Lynn and Jojo Fontanilla. I feel like the island staff would have been aware. Who would that be? Miles and Kathy Alexander for the first few years and then Bryce and Karen Gordon during the latter part. Question. Thank you, Mr. Emmer. We've had another member join. Can she please introduce herself for the record? Ms. Stansberry. Good afternoon, I'm Congresswoman Stansberry, New Mexico's first congressional district. Thank you, Mr. Emmer. Ms. Boebert, I believe you had some questions that you wanted to ask Ms. Boebert? Yeah. In some redacted files you're listed as number five as a co conspirator. If you had immunity, would you be able to give information about the other people that are listed as co conspirators? I don't know that that's a fair representation. Did the DOJ ever interview you and tell you that you were a co conspirator? No, I wasn't aware that I was being included in his non prosecution agreement. How much time do we have remaining? Five minutes. Okay, there's an email that was redacted and the email is to Sarah K. There are a couple of Sarah Ks in these files that have been redacted. This would be from Frances Derby and this is you, or excuse me, Sarah K. Saying that Jeffrey Epstein was going to start eating regular food again and eating less jerky. Are you familiar with this email, Ms. Kellen? Vaguely with the subject. Okay, so that said he has six bags of it downstairs in his freezer for his next trip. I know that you've answered some reference to these food questions, but is this 100% undoubtedly regular normal beef jerky from an animal that people consume? 100%, Ms. Boebert, where gets cut off by Kellen. The chef made homemade beef jerky for Jeffrey and he was obsessed with it. What chef was this? Kellen Francis Derby was the chef. Okay, and did you ever order specific items that were unusual? We saw that there was a large purchase of sulfuric acid toward the end of Jeffrey Epstein's stay on Little St. James Island. Did you ever see such purchases made? Do you have the time period for that? Just to the extent it might help, I can get that time period. It was much later. It was probably around 20, 19 or so that that happened. HAM. Oh, she wasn't working, so she wouldn't know. Correct. I'm just asking if in your time, did you see any unusual purchases, like hundreds of gallons of sulfuric acid being made? KELLAN no. BOEBERT in every piece of correspondence you had with Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, the words you said were the exact words you meant. And there were no coding. There was no coding used whatsoever. KELLEN Correct. BOEBERT okay, that's all I have. BRIGNAC is there anything that I have not asked you today that you believe is relevant to this inquiry? KELLAN I think, in general, that I would like to kind of bring awareness to, and I said it in the beginning of just being educated on the grooming process. I think it's really important, because I think there's been so much sensationalism and so many conspiracy theories around Jeffrey that it has become. I think the dangers are that people think it was such an open thing, and there was so many things happening out in the open, and how did nobody know what was going on? But I think Jeffrey was a true master manipulator, and he knew how to compartmentalize and what he allowed certain people to see and know. And I think it's because it wasn't so obvious that it's really important part for people to understand. And it's more important if you want to have bring awareness to this, to other situations. So people it's like the COVID nature of it, like the grooming and, you know, the targeting of vulnerable victims, gaining their trust, kind of essentially trapping them. It's more of the psychological abuse that, more than anything, that allows for the sexual abuse to happen. So I kind of think educating people on that is really important, because a lot of people don't understand how it works from the outside. They kind of say, like, why didn't you leave? Or how didn't you know this? Or how didn't you know that? It's kind of like the gaslighting and the control. BRIGNAC thank you. Ms. Hamm, could I just clarify one thing? If we have time, just Mr. Burleson asked you about meetings with Ehud Barak, and I know you mentioned New York, but you met with Barak in other countries as well. KELLAN In Israel. HAM yeah, I just want to be clear that the meetings weren't just In New York. We were in Israel with Ehud Barak one time, and there was never times where he was briefing or being briefed. Did you see that? I wouldn't have been present like in their private meetings. Burleson. It was all just personal. I don't know what the subject matters were. They seemed to meet each other quite often, but I don't know what the subject matter was in their discussion. Brignac. Ms. Kellen, there were instances today in which you refused to answer. We understand that you're here voluntarily and we appreciate your testimony. For the record, would you invoke your Fifth Amendment rights against self incrimination in response to any harm or all of the questions if you were compelled to answer them in another setting? Ms. Ham? I think we'd have to go through those question by question. And so we've identified what she's able to talk about today. But to go through a question by question in a voluntary setting, in a non deposition about how she would respond, we're not prepared to do that. You know, as I've mentioned, I think the record reflects this. She's answered a lot of questions today, and she truly is trying to be helpful to the committee's investigation. But we have to consider the impact on her, consider the impact on other victims, and consider, you know, her legal rights and her protection. And so we're trying to give as much information as we can under those parameters. Ms. Brignac. Thank you, Chairman Comer. Ms. Kellen, we greatly appreciate your willingness to come in today. I can't imagine how difficult this has been for you, but this has been very helpful to us, and we sincerely want to provide justice for the survivors. And I think your testimony today has been very helpful for us. So just on behalf of the Oversight Committee, I want to thank you for being here today. Kellen. Thank you, Brignac. We'll go off the record now. They're back on the record. Ms. Kellen, good afternoon. Hi. I'm going to start by following up on the conversation during the previous round about the removal of certain items from Jeffrey Epstein's properties. I think you spoke about this at some length. I don't want to make you repeat yourself, but I do want to make sure that we're clear on the chronology and the details. So I understand from that discussion, first of all, that you overheard a phone call involving another assistant, Is that correct? Correct. The court reporter needs a verbal yes. Oh, sorry. Yeah, sorry. Thank you. And could you just recount the conversation again so that we're clear on the participants and the Substance of it. Jeffrey and I were on the island and I heard him on the phone with. To tell her to go to the house. When did this conversation take place? Sometime in 2005, I believe. And Mr. Epstein told redacted to go to the. Sorry, I interrupted you. Yeah, she lived in Miami. She was based in Miami with her husband, so she would have been near Palm Beach. So he told her to go to the house, get the computers, and it was my understanding to give them to his attorney. Did he say which attorney? Question. Answer. I believe it was Roy Black, but I don't remember. Like he knew that at the time or if I found out later. Question. And when he said get the computers, did he mention any other type of equipment or hardware or. Or was it just computers generically? I just remember computers generically. Do you know whether Jeffrey Epstein had retained a private investigator at that point in time? I knew he had one. I don't know exactly when he came into the scene. He had a strange voice and like a lisp, but I think it was William Riley was his name. Was there any mention of William Riley during the phone conversation with. Redacted. I don't remember specifically. And do you have any knowledge with respect to where the computers ultimately ended up? I don't. I understand that there was another conversation that took place in New York and this concern, the removal of the directory that we spoke about this morning, is that correct? Yes. And when did that conversation take place? That was, I believe it was Valentine's Day of 2006, just because I remember he called me during Valentine's Day dinner with my boyfriend at the time and he had me come to the house. Question. And when you got to the house, who was there? Answer. Darren Indyke and other attorneys. I believe it was Gerald Lefcourt and potentially other attorneys. I just don't remember exactly. Was Mr. Reilly there? No, he was Florida based. And when you arrived, this was at Mr. Epstein's house in New York, is that correct? Correct. Okay. And when you arrived at this meeting, do you recall what was said? He just told me what to go around the house and gather into the dining room downstairs. Question. He being answered, Jeffrey. Question. And what did he tell you? He told me to grab printed photographs and directories is what I remember. And it seemed that the attorneys were gathering everything that they were going to take. Did the attorney say anything? I don't have a specific recollection. And the directories that Mr. Epstein directed you to gather, are those the same directories that we spoke about this morning? Yes. And where were those stored? They were replaced by all the phones in all the houses. So these were hard copies? Yes. And how many of them were there? Many. They were in all the houses by all the phones. And so you gathered them up? Yes. Did anyone else do that with you? I don't remember. And after you gathered them, what did you do with them? I put them on the dining room table. On the dining room table. Okay. And then what happened? I don't know. Did anyone say anything about where they would ultimately be taken? No, I just the general understanding that his lawyers would be taking them. I don't know where they took them or what they did with it. Do you have any knowledge with respect to where the directories ultimately ended up? No. And you mentioned Mr. Indyke was part of the group. Did he have a particular role in the endeavor? I'm not sure. I think he was just. Jeffrey's in house counsel, so he kind of had his hands in all things legal. Question. If I could just turn back for a moment to the investigation in Florida that you were asked about in the previous round. Was there any point in time at which Jeffrey Epstein told you not to cooperate with law enforcement? No. Question. Did he ever tell you what to say to law enforcement? No, I was never approached by law enforcement. Question. Did anyone else instruct you not to interact with law enforcement in the event they communicated with you? Not that I recall. There was mention during the previous round of the Florida Science Foundation. And I take it you're familiar with that entity? Yes. Do you have an understanding as to when the Florida Science foundation was set up? I don't know if it existed before his work release. Do you have any understanding as to why it was set up? I assumed it was so he could get work release, have somewhere to go? Question. To your knowledge, did the Florida Science foundation have any genuine operations? I have no idea. Did you ever hear anyone suggest that Florida Science foundation was set up simply in order to give Jeffrey Epstein a place to do his work release? That felt like what was happening. Did anyone ever say that? I don't know if those exact words, but that's generally what I understood. Do you recall any conversations about that? Not particularly. I just remember, like, being tasked with buying furniture and setting up the office. Ms. Hamm, would you mind on the Palm beach police, if you don't. If we could clarify something? You interacted with the Palm beach police before the search warrant, Right? You mentioned this before, but relating to the theft in the house. Kellen. Right. Like before he was being investigated and they came to put cameras in to catch the thief Ham. But that was only. That was the only time that you interacted. Just a few follow up questions with respect to the birthday book that was discussed in the previous round. If I understood correctly. And please tell me if I got this wrong. You were involved in scamming images from the birthday book, is that right? Yes. Okay. And that was before the book was presented to Jeffrey Epstein? Answer. Before Ghislaine reached out to whoever she wanted to participate with the book. And then they would give a submission and then we would scan that submission and print it out uniform. So they were all the same size and on the same size of paper. And then we had all those papers bound into leather bound books. I understand. Thank you. Do you recall the specific entry in the birthday book that was provided by Donald Trump? I don't. Did Donald Trump submit that entry directly to Ghislaine Maxwell? Most likely. Okay. Do you recall any conversation about Donald Trump's contribution to the birthday book? I don't really remember any specific contributions to the book. I didn't even remember my own question by. Ms. I just have a few questions for you, Ms. Kellen. In the previous round, you spoke about SLK Designs employing a woman named Redacted. Was this the only other person besides you that worked at SLK Design? Answer. Yeah. And who did slk? What were the clients of SLK Design? Was it just Epstein? Just Epstein. Okay. And are you familiar with the name Arta Bescardis? Yes. Who is he? He's an immigration attorney that Darren Indyk introduced me to to help with the application Redacted's visa. Did he work for Epstein? Are you aware? I think he had his own firm, but I know that I think he did a lot of work for Jeffrey. I remember him making. When he introduced me, he said he would give me a good price because he had a lot of history with Darren. So it seems that they had worked together in the past. Do you know any of the work that they did together in the past? I think he helped with one of Jeffrey's girlfriends that I knew of. Other than that, I'm not entirely sure. When you say helped with her visa and do you know which girlfriend that was? Was this the only time that you interacted with Arda? Yes. Thank you. During that process. Okay. I have a few questions for you about Frederick Fakai. I would just like to get a better sense of the relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. What was your understanding of that relationship? Jeffrey took me and himself and Ghislaine and we all went to Faki's salon to get our hair done. And I believe that Jeffrey helped broker a deal with Fakai and L Brands. Like Les Wexner's company. I believe they bought Fakai's brand. Question. Do you know when that deal would have been? It was during my employment, because I remember his salon changed locations. It was, like, near the channel of the Chanel building at first, and then it moved to Henri Bendel, which Les Wexner owned. Okay. So early on in your employment or maybe within the first few years. So was your understanding of their relationship, Epstein and Fokai was a social relationship or a business relationship? Answer. Both would be my understanding. I do remember a flight that Fakai took on his plane to Paris one time. Question. For social activities, I think he was just catching a ride. Question. Do you know how the two of them met? I don't. Question. It was before you met Fakai and Epstein. Correct. Question. And you mentioned that you and Ghislaine and. And Epstein would get your hair cut there. Are you aware of other women that either work for Epstein or were just in a Zorbit that would also go and get their haircut with Fakai? Yes. Were you aware of Epstein introducing women to Fakai? Fakai introduced me to Epstein the first time I met him. Okay. But not Epstein. I don't know. The other way. Okay. And you mentioned Wexner, so I'd just like to briefly touch on. You mentioned meeting him a couple times. Were you ever aware of Epstein stealing money from Wexner? No. I only found out about that in the press when Wexner said it happened. Okay, thank you. Mentioned Leslie Groff previously. What was your relationship with her? We were co workers. She was like Jeffrey's executive assistant that worked in the office in New York. Would you say that we were close, we were friendly, but nothing outside of work. Question. When you would go to New York, where would you like? What space would you typically work out of? Answer. So the first year, from me, about 2001 to, I want to say, 2010, I worked out of Ghislaine's house in New York, out of her townhouse on 65th Street. She had an office in the bottom floor. And then when Jeffrey was released from house arrest in Palm beach and came to New York, I started working out of the townhouse at 71st Street. Question. When Ms. Groff started working for Mr. Epstein, did she also work out of the townhouse? Answer. So she was at the Madison office in the beginning. And then when Jeffrey Got rid of that office. He took over two apartments at 301 East 66th Street. And she worked in that office, one of those offices. And then when Jeffrey got back to New York after house arrest, Leslie, when Jeffrey was in New York, she would work out of that house. Otherwise, I think she stayed at home and worked out of the house if she wasn't in town. Question. So after his house arrest, the two of you would work in the same space? She was on the main floor, and I worked on the fifth floor of the townhouse. Got it. What was your understanding of her responsibilities? She would keep track of his schedule. He would make all the phone calls through her. Typically, he would just call and say, connect me to this person. Connect me to that person. She helped, I believe, with the scheduling of the apartments at 3:01. Like, where the guests were, like, the schedule of that. Giving massages, messages. Like relaying messages from Epstein to various people to the staff and that sort of thing. Question. And did she also help with the scheduling? Sorry, this is different. The 66th Street. Is that a different building than the one that you just mentioned, the 301 East 66th Street? Yeah. Okay, great. Thank you. Would she also book travel? Yes. And would she also do that for his personal plane and also commercial travel? Answer. Yes. Question. And she would also schedule meetings. Is that correct? Answer. Correct. Question. Do you know whether she paid girls and women? Answer. I don't know. All right, folks, we're going to wrap up right here. 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.