Representative Thomas Massie on Monday named 14 people that he said should be investigated over their alleged ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the Kentucky Republican launched a new effort to force the release of more government files related to Epstein. In comments on the House floor, Massie said it had been a year since President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, legislation spearheaded by Massie and California Democrat Ro Khanna that compelled the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release its files on Epstein. We want perpetrators of these crimes to be investigated and prosecuted.” He then went on to list 14 people whom he described as Epstein “co-conspirators” although his remarks did not establish that any of them had committed a crime.
Being named in documents connected to Epstein or having associated with him does not imply guilt. Several of the people Massie named have never been charged with any offenses connected to Epstein and have denied wrongdoing. In the order Massie named them, they are: Jes Staley, Leon Black, Les Wexner, David Copperfield, Lapo Elkann, Tom Pritzker, Glenn Dubin, Frédéric Fekkai, Eduardo Teodorani, Jean-Luc Brunel, Daniel Siad, Ramsey Elkholy, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Lesley Groff.
Newsweek has contacted attorneys or representatives for all of the people via email or online contact forms except Brunel and Siad, who are deceased. As a member of Congress, Massie’s comments are protected by the Constitution's "speech or debate clause," which means he cannot face civil or criminal penalties for any remarks made in speeches on the House floor. In a post on X that included a clip of his remarks on the House floor, Massie said he has been collecting the 218 signatures need for a discharge petition that would force a House vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II.
In an earlier post on X, he said the proposed legislation gives state attorneys general “access to Epstein files required to prosecute perpetrators under state law, and makes it easier for survivors to sue to get their files.” Here are the 14 people Massie named on the House floor: An American banking executive at JP Morgan, Staley is among the people that Massie said should be investigated over his ties to Epstein. Staley has maintained that he had a professional relationship with Epstein and that he was unaware of Epstein's crimes. Prosecutors reviewed allegations of rape against Staley, but there is no evidence that they pursued the allegations, according to documents released earlier this year.
Staley had denied wrongdoing and has never been charged. Staley admitted during a court hearing in the United Kingdom last year to having sex with a member of Epstein's staff but said it was consensual. In July, during an interview before lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee, he denied having sex with a woman dressed as Snow White, according to a transcript released by the committee.
He told lawmakers that he had shared confidential and market-sensitive bank information with Epstein and was at one point named a trustee of his estate. He said in 2020 that he “deeply regrets” his connection to Epstein. Staley left the bank in 2021 following criticism of his ties to Epstein.
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