A tense exchange behind closed doors erupted into public view after video from a congressional deposition showed a blunt warning from a lawyer to his own client during questioning about ties to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
According to the New York Post, the footage, released Thursday by House Oversight Committee investigators, captured attorney Michael Levy leaning toward his client, retail billionaire Les Wexner, and issuing a sharp directive as the hours-long session dragged on.
“I will f***ing kill you if you answer another question with more than five words, OK?” Levy whispered roughly four hours and 25 minutes into the testimony.
Wexner, 88, laughed after the remark, according to the video, and the deposition continued.
The exchange came as investigators pressed the former L Brands chief about the scope of Epstein’s work managing his wealth and the nature of their decades-long relationship.
Wexner had been describing how Epstein handled inventories of his assets when Levy intervened.
Despite the moment, Wexner used his prepared remarks to distance himself from Epstein’s crimes.
“I completely and irrevocably cut ties with Epstein nearly 20 years ago when I learned that he was an abuser, a crook and a liar,” he said. “I was never a participant nor co-conspirator in any of Epstein’s illegal activities.”
He also described the disgraced financier as a “world Olympic con artist” who had “stolen vast sums” from him.
During questioning, Wexner acknowledged visiting Epstein’s private Caribbean island once with his wife, calling it “crummy” and “a pile of rocks.”
He was also asked about a crude note he contributed to a book for Epstein’s 50th birthday.
“He was a bachelor so I drew a pair of boobs,” Wexner told investigators, adding he was “trying to be funny.”
Lawmakers have scrutinized Wexner because of his long financial association with Epstein, though an FBI email included in Justice Department files said agents found “limited evidence regarding his involvement” after Epstein’s 2019 arrest.
Wexner said he could not recall being with Epstein and President Donald Trump at the same time, suggesting they may have only crossed paths at a Victoria’s Secret fashion show.
He also downplayed any connection to Britain’s former Prince Andrew, saying they had just “one brief, like, two sentence phone conversation” about aircraft and that he “never met Prince Andrew.”
Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, and congressional investigators continue reviewing records and testimony tied to his network.
