已故性侵犯者的长期律师和前会计杰弗里·爱泼斯坦根据众议院监督委员会周二公布的证词视频，本月早些时候告诉立法者，他们从未被联邦当局询问过他们为这位名誉扫地的金融家所做的工作。
在长达两天的证词中，律师达伦·因迪克和会计师理查德·卡恩提供了他们多年来为爱泼斯坦工作的新细节，提出了联邦检察官在调查他的罪行后似乎缺乏审查的问题，以及为什么两人在爱泼斯坦被指控后仍继续为他工作2008年认罪协议州法院的教唆罪。
“我当时喝了Kool-Aid。我认为这就是答案，我当时喝了库尔Aid，”当被问及为什么他从未放弃为爱泼斯坦工作时，Indyke告诉立法者。
两人都否认知道爱泼斯坦的罪行范围，并将他们的关系描述为严格的职业关系，尽管他们与爱泼斯坦数十年的工作使他们成为最了解爱泼斯坦生活和业务的人。因迪克和卡恩作为爱泼斯坦遗产的共同执行人，分别被爱泼斯坦遗赠5000万美元和2500万美元，并管理爱泼斯坦的法律和财务事务。
以下是证词的主要内容。
据称，爱泼斯坦的年度支出为3000万美元
两人都试图为爱泼斯坦的财务状况辩护，辩称爱泼斯坦使用的控股公司网络和银行账户是标准做法，爱泼斯坦在2008年认罪后需要现金运营，这限制了他获得信贷的机会。他们否认他们知道或帮助支付支持他的包括未成年妇女和女孩在内的性贩运活动。
“爱泼斯坦先生的生意、家庭和个人需要经常需要大量现金，这并没有让我感到不寻常。我从不相信我从爱泼斯坦先生和他的员工那里提取的现金被爱泼斯坦先生或他的员工用于任何不正当的目的，”因迪克说。
Indyke否认试图“安排”银行取款以避免引发财政部的警报，尽管他承认他定期为Epstein一次提取7500美元，总计超过70万美元。
“我不相信我给会计部门的任何现金会被用于不正当的目的。我相信有合法的理由将现金带进来，我这样做了，”他说。
根据Kahn的说法，Epstein的住宅、员工和其他费用每年花费2500万到3000万美元。
“我曾经在一张纸上为爱泼斯坦准备一份预算，其中包括他的所有实体，我相信他每年的一切维护费用，不仅仅是他的员工，还有他的房子、员工、飞机、汽车、礼物和个人支出，大约在2500万至3000万美元之间，”卡恩说。“这包括他的飞机燃料，飞机的维修和保养，如果他对他的一处房产进行资本改进，如果他买了一辆车，如果他送了一份礼物，如果他雇了一个装潢师。一切。”
为什么他们没有放弃为爱泼斯坦工作
两人都被问及为什么尽管2008年爱普斯坦认罪并随后对他提起民事诉讼，他们仍继续为他工作。因迪克告诉立法者，他认为爱泼斯坦对自己的罪行“悲痛欲绝，并且非常后悔”。
“当他在监狱里的时候，他看起来很沮丧，告诉我他再也不会在那个位置上了，告诉我他不知道有未成年人，并说这种事情再也不会发生了，我相信他，”Indyke说，他经常去监狱探望Epstein。
根据因迪克的说法，他后来对针对爱泼斯坦的一些指控持怀疑态度——告诉立法者他“当时喝了库尔Aid”——并且不相信爱泼斯坦会继续犯罪，因为对他的审查越来越多。
“显然，他做了很多可怕的事情，”因迪克说。“我再说一遍，因为我希望每个人都清楚这一点。我没看见。我什么也没看见，也没人跟我抱怨什么。所以我不知道。但所有这些人都站了出来，所以很明显有些什么。所以你的问题是，我现在相信什么。我相信他做了坏事。”
国会议员就爱泼斯坦出狱后对他提起的数十起诉讼向他施压，暗示他知道有更多指控针对爱泼斯坦，但他仍继续为他工作。
“如果我知道他在做这件事，我就会走开。但在所有这些情况下，所有提供的信息表明，许多所说的都是不真实的，许多声称的事情都发生在过去，在他入狱后，在他说他不会再这样做后，我没有理由相信，在他出狱后，他会再次这样做，”他说。
卡恩同样告诉立法者，他认为爱泼斯坦声称他的被捕是一个“错误”。当被问及2018年针对爱泼斯坦的公开指控时，卡恩说他太忙于“灭火”，以至于决定放弃这项工作。
“一切都发生得很快。我们被银行抛弃了，然后我被要求做一些事情。我仍在考虑离开，但你知道，我当时正忙着灭火，”卡恩说。“我希望用清醒的头脑来思考...我肯定会离开为他工作。”
他们在所谓的“假婚姻”中的角色
Indyke和Kahn也面临着关于他们所谓的角色安排“假婚姻”以使Epstein的受害者留在美国的问题。多项诉讼指控这两人帮助为爱普斯坦安排婚姻，这些诉讼后来都以不承认有不当行为而告终。
卡恩说，他后悔写了一封“修饰过的”推荐信来支持其中一段婚姻，他说他没有意识到这段婚姻是被迫的。
“这两位女士给我提供了一份格式信函，后来她们来到我的办公室，建议我在信函中加入一些样本。我同意这封信是经过修饰的。卡恩说:“我认为这封信与我为一位10年未见的朋友写合作推荐信没有什么不同，我在信中写道，他的孩子有多棒，这些孩子我从未见过。”。
“这两个女人从来没跟我说过这段婚姻是被迫的。事后我会告诉你，我后悔写这封信，因为我现在知道我在不知不觉中造成了这些妇女的痛苦和折磨。但这不是我参与移民欺诈，”他说。
Indyke在他的证词中承认了这些婚姻，尽管他反驳了这些婚姻是“骗局”或欺诈的说法。
“我不知道这是一场假婚姻。我仍然不确定这是假婚姻，但她是结过婚的人之一，”他谈到爱泼斯坦的一个受害者时说。
因迪克对他所谓的告诉目击者的事情的否认
立法者还向因迪克施压，指控他阻止爱泼斯坦的一名受害者向执法部门说话。
据安介绍美国联邦调查局报告今年早些时候被司法部释放的一名受害者告诉调查人员，Indyke建议她“永远不要和警察说话”,如果她需要帮助，可以来找他。
Indyke否认他曾建议受害者不要去执法部门，尽管他说他建议他们与律师交谈。
“现在已经过去很长时间了，但我相信我会说而且确实说了一些话，大意是你不必在没有律师在场的情况下与他们交谈，如果你愿意，将为你提供律师。我被要求这样做的原因是，人们表达了对必须与执法部门对话的恐惧。他们不知道，他们以前从未做过，这让他们感到害怕，他们想知道，”Indyke说。
卡恩对爱泼斯坦保险箱的回忆
在2019年对爱泼斯坦的纽约联排别墅进行突袭后，卡恩也立即面临关于他行动的质疑。根据文档由DOJ释放，卡恩恢复了一些物品，这些物品被存放在爱泼斯坦的保险箱里，在移交给美国联邦调查局之前，这些物品是在搜查后留下的。
根据Kahn的说法，Epstein的房屋经理认为留在保险箱里的物品“单独留在房子里是不安全的”，因为大楼的锁和安全措施在搜查后被禁用。卡恩说，房屋经理将物品放入两个行李箱，送到卡恩家中保管。
“我从来没有打开过它们。我把它们留在我的餐厅了。我相信一两天后，我接到一个电话...美国联邦调查局家的人又来了，想收集他们第一次来时没有带走的东西。我相信我的要求是，‘你能把这两个包拿到家里来吗?’"卡恩对议员们说. "我回家了。我抓起两个袋子。我把它们带到了住处，我相信在那个时候，美国联邦调查局给了我这两个包的收据。"
'I drank the Kool Aid': House Oversight releases deposition videos of 2 key Epstein associates
The longtime attorney and one-time accountant of the late sex offenderJeffrey Epsteintold lawmakers earlier this month that they were never questioned by federal authorities about their work for the disgraced financier, according to deposition videos released Tuesday by the House Oversight Committee.
During their hourslong depositions over two days, attorney Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn provided new details about their years of work for Epstein, raising questions about the lack of scrutiny they seemingly faced from federal prosecutors after investigations began into his crimes, and why both men continued to work for Epstein despite the allegations against him following Epstein's2008 plea dealon solicitation charges in state court.
"I drank the Kool‑Aid at the time. I think that's the answer, is I drank the Kool‑Aid at the time," Indyke told lawmakers when pressed about why he never quit working for Epstein.
Both men denied being aware of the scope of Epstein's crimes and described their relationship as strictly professional, though their decades-long work with Epstein make them some of the most knowledgeable people about Epstein's life and businesses. Indyke and Kahn serve as co-executors of Epstein's estate, were bequeathed by Epstein $50 and $25 million respectively, and managed Epstein's legal and financial affairs.
Following are the main takeaways from the depositions.
Epstein allegedly had $30M in annual expenses
Both men sought to defend Epstein's finances, arguing that the web of holding companies and bank accounts used by Epstein were standard practice and that Epstein needed to operate in cash after his 2008 guilty plea limited his access to credit. They denied that they either knew of or facilitated payments to support his sex trafficking operation that included underage women and girls.
"It did not strike me as unusual that Mr. Epstein's business, household and personal needs required large amounts of cash on a regular basis. I never believed that the cash I withdrew from Mr. Epstein, and his staff, was used by Mr. Epstein, or his staff, for any improper purposes," Indyke said.
Indyke denied attempting to "structure" bank withdrawals to avoid triggering an alert to the Treasury Department, though he acknowledged that he regularly withdrew $7,500 at a time for Epstein, totaling more than $700,000.
"I did not believe that any amount of cash that I gave to the accounting department was going to be used for an improper purpose. I believed that there were legitimate reasons to bring that cash in and I did so," he said.
According to Kahn, Epstein's homes, employees, and other expenses cost between $25M and $30M annually.
"I used to prepare for Epstein a budget on one sheet of paper that included all of his entities, and I believe his annual upkeep for everything, not just his employees, for his homes, employees, planes, cars, gifts, and personal expenditures was somewhere in the $25 to $30 million range," Kahn said. "That includes the fuel for his planes, repairs and maintenance for his planes, if he does capital improvements on one of his properties, if he buys a car, if he gives a gift, if he hires a decorator. Everything."
Why they didn't quit working for Epstein
Both men were pressed about why they continued working for Epstein despite his 2008 guilty plea and subsequent civil lawsuits against him. Indyke told lawmakers that he believed Epstein was "devastated and extremely contrite" about his crimes.
"When he was in jail and he looked devastated and told me he wasn't ever going to be in that position again and told me he didn't know that there were people that were underage and said this was never going to happen again, I believed him," said Indyke, who frequently visited Epstein in jail.
According to Indyke, he later became skeptical about some of the accusations against Epstein -- telling lawmakers he "drank the Kool‑Aid at the time" -- and did not believe Epstein would continue to commit crimes based on the increased scrutiny on him.
"Obviously, he did a lot of terrible things," Indyke said. "I say this again because I want everybody to be clear about this. I didn't see it. I didn't see anything, and nobody complained to me about anything. So I don't know. But all these people came forward, so obviously there's something there. So your question is, what do I believe now. I believe he did bad things."
Lawmakers pressed Indyke about the dozens of lawsuits filed against Epstein following his release from jail, suggesting he knew that more allegations were levied against Epstein yet he continued to work for him.
"Had I known that he was doing it, I would have walked away. But in the context of all of this ‑‑ all of the information that was provided, which suggested that a lot of what was being said was not true and a lot of what was being claimed happened in the past after he had gone to jail and after he said he wasn't going to do it again, I didn't have a reason to believe, after he got out, that he was doing it again," he said.
Kahn similarly told lawmakers that he believed Epstein's claim that his arrest was a "mistake." When pressed about the public allegations that came out against Epstein in 2018, Kahn said he was too busy "putting out fires" to decide to step away from the work.
"Everything was happening quite fast. We got dropped by the bank, and I was then being asked to do things. I still was thinking about leaving, but I was, you know, quite busy at that time putting out fires," Kahn said. "I would have liked to think with a clear head ... I would have certainly left working for him."
Their roles in alleged 'sham marriages'
Both Indyke and Kahn also faced questions about their alleged role arranging "sham marriages" to keep Epstein's victims in the United States. Multiple lawsuits, which were later settled with no admission of wrongdoing, alleged that the men help arrange the marriages for Epstein.
Kahn said he regretted writing an "embellished" letter of recommendation to support one of the marriages, saying he was unaware that the marriage was forced.
"These two women provided me with a form letter and later came to my office and advised me on sample lines that I should include in the letter. I agree that the letter was embellished. I saw the letter as no different than me writing a co-op recommendation letter for a friend who I had not seen in 10 years, and I wrote in the letter how great his kids are, and these are kids that I never met," Kahn said.
"These two women never told me that this marriage was forced. I will tell you, in hindsight, I regret writing this letter because I now know that I unknowingly contributed to these women's pain and suffering. But this was not me participating in immigration fraud," he said.
Indyke acknowledged the marriages in his deposition, though he pushed back on the claim they were "shams" or fraudulent.
"I was not aware that it was a sham marriage. I'm still not sure that it's a sham marriage, but she was one of the people that was married," he said about one of Epstein's victims.
Indyke's denials about what he allegedly told witnesses
Lawmakers also pressed Indyke over allegations that he discouraged one of Epstein's victims from speaking to law enforcement.
According to anFBI reportreleased earlier this year by the Department of Justice, a victim told investigators that Indyke advised her "never talk to the police" and to come to him if she needed help.
Indyke denied that he ever advised a victim not to go to law enforcement, though he stated he advised them about speaking with an attorney.
"It's been a long time now, but I believe I would have said and did say something to the effect that you don't have to speak to them without a lawyer present, and if you want, counsel would be provided for you. And the reason that I was asked to do that is that people were expressing fear about having to talk to law enforcement. They didn't know ‑‑ they had never done it before and it scared them and they wanted to know," Indyke said.
Kahn's recollections about Epstein's safe
Kahn also faced questions about his actions immediately after the raid on Epstein's New York townhome in 2019. According todocumentsreleased by the DOJ, Kahn recovered some items that were stored in Epstein's safe that were left behind following the search before turning them over to the FBI.
According to Kahn, Epstein's house manager thought the items left behind in the safe "were not safe to be left alone in the house" because the building's locks and security were disabled following the search. Kahn said that the house manager put the items into two suitcases and delivered them to Kahn's home for safekeeping.
"I never opened them. I left them in my dining room. I believe a day or two later, I got a call ... that the FBI was at the house again looking to collect things that they didn't take from their first visit. I believe the request of me was, 'Can you please bring the two bags to the home?'" Kahn told lawmakers. "I went home. I grabbed the two bags. I brought them to the residence, and I believe at that point in time, the FBI gave me a receipt for the two bags."
