Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime accountant is answering questions on Capitol Hill Wednesday as part of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the late convicted sex offender.Richard Kahn is behind closed doors for a deposition as the Republican-led panel seeks answers on Epstein’s finances. The committee had been digging into those finances for months ahead of the interview through subpoenas to banks and visits to the Treasury Department.Video above: Key moments from Bill Clinton’s testimony about Jeffrey Epstein“We have a lot of questions. I think everyone in America has questions about how Epstein was able to accumulate so much wealth,” House Oversight Chair James Comer said ahead of the deposition. “We have specific financial questions we’re going to be asking today and hopefully we’ll be able to report some new information.”Comer said a number of the expenditures his panel has found went toward college tuition for some of Epstein’s victims. The Kentucky Republican said he also wants to know if Kahn was involved in creating any settlements for victims and whether he helped Epstein set up video cameras on Epstein’s island, which was something mentioned in the Epstein files but hasn’t been proven.“We’ve been getting bank records in for a long time, and we haven’t talked publicly about them because we were waiting to bring the accountant in once we got a feel on where the money we think was going and where it was coming from,” he said.CNN has reached out to an attorney for Kahn for comment.In November, Comer subpoenaed JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank for their records on Epstein and since then, his panel has reviewed approximately 44,000 financial documents and counting, a committee aide told CNN.Epstein had at least 64 trusts and entities associated with him and there were large amounts of money being moved each day between Epstein’s entities and his associates, the aide added. Some of those activities included payments to women, tuition to various universities and routine large cash withdrawals for unknown purposes, according to the aide.Committee staff have also gone to the Treasury Department to view the suspicious activity reports – a type of confidential report financial institutions file to flag potentially nefarious activity but that do not necessarily indicate wrongdoing — related to Epstein.One month after Epstein died in a jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, JPMorgan Chase reported to U.S. authorities more than $1 billion in transactions it viewed as suspicious from October 2003 until July 2019, according to court records. The transactions included Wall Street titans, numerous related companies, his former lawyer and others. Two accounts included in the report were linked to Russian banks Alfa Bank and Sberbank.The panel will use this information in its questioning of Kahn today to probe more about how Epstein made his money, how he spent it, and whether it was used for any illegal activities.Kahn is also a co-executor of Epstein’s estate.Upon entering the deposition room, Kahn was asked by reporters Wednesday if he was on Capitol Hill to answer questions and Kahn’s counsel interjected, “Yes.”Looking ahead, Comer said he hopes he can finish his investigation by the end of this Congress but mentioned that each time they interview a witness, new leads emerge.Last week, the panel in a bipartisan vote moved to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi, but it has not yet been sent to her. Comer said Wednesday he hopes to depose her “very soon.”
Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime accountant is answering questions on Capitol Hill Wednesday as part of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the late convicted sex offender.
Richard Kahn is behind closed doors for a deposition as the Republican-led panel seeks answers on Epstein’s finances. The committee had been digging into those finances for months ahead of the interview through subpoenas to banks and visits to the Treasury Department.
Video above: Key moments from Bill Clinton’s testimony about Jeffrey Epstein
“We have a lot of questions. I think everyone in America has questions about how Epstein was able to accumulate so much wealth,” House Oversight Chair James Comer said ahead of the deposition. “We have specific financial questions we’re going to be asking today and hopefully we’ll be able to report some new information.”
Comer said a number of the expenditures his panel has found went toward college tuition for some of Epstein’s victims. The Kentucky Republican said he also wants to know if Kahn was involved in creating any settlements for victims and whether he helped Epstein set up video cameras on Epstein’s island, which was something mentioned in the Epstein files but hasn’t been proven.
“We’ve been getting bank records in for a long time, and we haven’t talked publicly about them because we were waiting to bring the accountant in once we got a feel on where the money we think was going and where it was coming from,” he said.
CNN has reached out to an attorney for Kahn for comment.
In November, Comer subpoenaed JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank for their records on Epstein and since then, his panel has reviewed approximately 44,000 financial documents and counting, a committee aide told CNN.
Epstein had at least 64 trusts and entities associated with him and there were large amounts of money being moved each day between Epstein’s entities and his associates, the aide added. Some of those activities included payments to women, tuition to various universities and routine large cash withdrawals for unknown purposes, according to the aide.
Committee staff have also gone to the Treasury Department to view the suspicious activity reports – a type of confidential report financial institutions file to flag potentially nefarious activity but that do not necessarily indicate wrongdoing — related to Epstein.
One month after Epstein died in a jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, JPMorgan Chase reported to U.S. authorities more than $1 billion in transactions it viewed as suspicious from October 2003 until July 2019, according to court records. The transactions included Wall Street titans, numerous related companies, his former lawyer and others. Two accounts included in the report were linked to Russian banks Alfa Bank and Sberbank.
The panel will use this information in its questioning of Kahn today to probe more about how Epstein made his money, how he spent it, and whether it was used for any illegal activities.
Kahn is also a co-executor of Epstein’s estate.
Upon entering the deposition room, Kahn was asked by reporters Wednesday if he was on Capitol Hill to answer questions and Kahn’s counsel interjected, “Yes.”
Looking ahead, Comer said he hopes he can finish his investigation by the end of this Congress but mentioned that each time they interview a witness, new leads emerge.
Last week, the panel in a bipartisan vote moved to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi, but it has not yet been sent to her. Comer said Wednesday he hopes to depose her “very soon.”
