Of your security staff told the Washington Post that that was accurate, at least at the time, which I think was 1996. Do you have any sense of why this home that at that point was not on your property and wasn't your home would have been guarded by your security staff?
Objection to the hearsay, but answer.
Do you have any knowledge as to whether or not the home was guarded by your security staff either then or now?
Then for sure not. My daughter lives there now with her husband. So I'm sure they pay attention to it, but I don't know for sure that because it's part of the family that they pay attention to it, but that's as close as I can get.
When it was owned by Mr. Kesler and Mr. Epstein, you have no knowledge of whether or not it was guarded by your security staff.
I have no knowledge. I would doubt that it would be frankly impossible. I mean, possible.
Does that sound strange at all? It sounds a little strange to us as readers and listeners that a home that is not yours would be affirmatively guarded by your security.
Miss Farmer says that she, in the wake of her assault, reached out to the county sheriff's office and that she was told, quote, 'We work for Wexner.' And the sheriff's office confirmed that at that time they were contracted to assist with your security detail. Do you have any sense of why that would have been the case?
The same objection that you're saying answer.
No. The closest I could get to that would be sometimes people who work for county security, Columbus police force, we would use part-time police, you know, like at the entrances or patrolling, but they wouldn't have been employees of ours. So, it's possible, but I didn't. It's weird.
I don't know the sheriff. Could you elaborate for a moment on what would that part-time role have been like a special event? They would be at the entrance.
Yeah, it would have been special events. Yeah, that's very accurate.
Okay. Miss Farmer says that that summer when she wanted to leave the home, she had to call the main house, your house, and ask for your wife's permission. Do you have any knowledge about whether that's accurate?
I doubt that it's accurate, and I have no knowledge.
And I think you said earlier, but just to make sure, when did you first become aware of Miss Farmer's allegations in the press?
Did your security staff or anyone else on your staff ever alert you to any unusual incident or event involving Mr. Epstein at the home that we've been discussing?
Are you aware of any other incidents related to sexual assault or misconduct where somebody on your property or Mr. Epstein's former property adjacent called the sheriff's office for help?
Not aware.
I'd like to touch on Victoria's Secret and Mr. Epstein presenting himself as a recruiter. Again, I know it's been discussed earlier. I'll try to cover new ground to the extent possible. I think you had testified that you were alerted to that issue once. It's been publicly reported that in 1993, President Cynthia Fields, who was an executive at Victoria's Secret at the time, was alerted that Epstein was holding himself out as a Victoria's Secret scout and that you were alerted to the problem and quote said that you would stop it. Does that sound like the time frame in which you recall being told about the issue?
Maybe it doesn't. It could have been. I was trying to think when she worked in the business and when she left, but yeah, probably right. I don't know for sure.
What do you specifically recall about when you were alerted to the issue? In other words, who approached you and what did they describe specifically?
Something like, 'Jeff's trying to pick up women and he says he's a Victoria's Secret talent scout.' I said, 'That's terrible nonsense,' or 'I'll put a stop to it,' something like that. Because I couldn't... it could be possible, I think, in my memory, but I didn't believe it. But I know I called him up and said, 'Are you... you know, Jeffrey, what is going on?' He said, 'Do you think I'm stupid?' I said, 'Because I hope not, because if not, you'll be dead.' There was a brief, very brief conversation. I remember him being definite about it, didn't happen. And it wasn't a long conversation. I was mad.
So it was a blanket denial from Mr. Epstein.
And did you believe or were you convinced by his denial at the time?
At the time, yes, I did believe it.
So, is it right that you were no longer upset following that conversation because you believed that he had not in fact held himself out as a scout?
That's accurate. Yes, that's how I felt.
Do you recall whether you had the impression that your executives simply made the story up or...?
I don't recall. Just knowing how I think about things, I probably would have said, 'This is just Jeffrey being Jeffrey.' You know, it's a thing to say. A rumor could get started. I got to chase it down because, you know, God forbid that anybody in the business, let alone outside the business, was dating people in the business or dating models or recruiting them or any of the stuff that we now know is true. I would have fired him on the spot.
In May 1997, a young woman named Alicia Arden says that she was introduced to a man who identified himself as a talent scout for Victoria's Secret. That was Jeffrey Epstein. Mr. Epstein allegedly invited Miss Arden to his hotel room in Santa Monica, California to audition for the catalog. When she arrived, Mr. Epstein grabbed her, tried to undress her, and said he wanted to quote 'manhandle' her. Miss Arden fled in tears and filed a police report. It's one of the earliest allegations that are known against Mr. Epstein.
