Richard Kahn, Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime accountant and co-executor of his estate, testified for roughly seven hours before the House Oversight Committee on March 11, telling investigators he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and saw no financial red flags — even as Democrats said his admissions under questioning told a different story.
Kahn said his relationship with Epstein was “strictly on a professional level” and that he was “not aware of the terrible and unforgivable things that he did to women and girls,” adding that he deeply regrets having “unknowingly assisted Epstein in any way,” according to his prepared remarks obtained by NPR.
He started as Epstein’s accountant in 2005, managed his finances through his firm HBRK Associates Inc., and appears more than 50,000 times in the DOJ’s Epstein files. Two days before his 2019 death, Epstein named Kahn co-executor of an estate once valued at more than $750 million.
The committee has reviewed more than 40,000 documents subpoenaed from JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank and confirmed Epstein ran at least 64 business entities.
Committee Chair James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said Kahn named five individuals who paid significant sums to Epstein: former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner, former Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black, former Microsoft Windows Division President Steven Sinofsky, hedge fund investor Glenn Dubin, and the Rothschild family.
A Dubin spokesperson told NBC News the framing was backwards — Epstein was an investor in Dubin’s fund, not a client. A Black spokesperson pointed to a 2021 Dechert report finding he paid Epstein for tax work with no awareness of his crimes.
No one Kahn named has been accused of wrongdoing. Comer also said Kahn testified he had never seen any financial transaction involving Trump or his family.
Democrats pushed back sharply. Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking member, said Kahn admitted to impersonating Epstein in communications with banks and helping facilitate a fake marriage between two women connected to Epstein.
Rep. James Walkinshaw of Virginia said the trafficking ring “would not have been possible without Richard Kahn,” and that any ignorance was willful. Kahn repeatedly said he could not recall details of specific transactions and communications.
The deposition also surfaced Epstein’s financial ties to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak — confirmed by Kahn — though Kahn said he could not recall specifics. Barak has not been accused of wrongdoing.
The most contested moment came when Rep. Suhas Subramanyam told reporters that Kahn testified that a Trump accuser received a settlement from Epstein’s estate. Kahn’s attorney corrected the record on the record, calling the earlier testimony inaccurate.
Rep. Ro Khanna, who posed the original question, told CNN he was not convinced by the walkback. “I don’t know which time he’s telling the truth,” Khanna said. Republicans said the attorney’s correction settled the matter.
The deposition triggered fresh demands: Comer said he wants Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear within 30 days and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick within 10.
Fox News reported some Republican frustration with Bondi, with one lawmaker suggesting the Senate may open its own inquiry.
Lutnick agreed to testify after his name surfaced in Epstein documents, but no date is set. The committee voted 24-19 on March 4 to subpoena Bondi — five Republicans joined Democrats — with no testimony date set for her either.
Kahn is the seventh witness deposed. Epstein’s former lawyer Darren Indyke, the other co-executor, testifies on March 19.
The Epstein Victims’ Compensation Fund awarded more than $121 million to more than 135 survivors; a separate class-action settlement announced last month — up to $35 million pending judicial approval — carries no admission of wrongdoing by either executor.
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