Two big developments landed in the Epstein investigation this week: lawmakers pressed his former banker in a tense closed-door hearing, and a potential witness turned up dead overseas.Members of the House Oversight Committee interviewed Jes Staley, a former top executive in the world of finance who has now been shunned from the industry after he spent years helping Jeffrey Epstein build his vast fortune.The closed-door interview left members of Congress frustrated.“He’s become incredibly an uncredible witness,” said U.S. Robert Garcia.“He’s claiming first that he had no real friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. I mean that is just ridiculous,” Garcia added.Records released by the Department of Justice show that while working at JPMorgan, Epstein was one of Staley’s top clients and visited his now-infamous private island and New Mexico ranch.
Investigators say Staley used his top position at the bank to sweep concerns about Epstein under the rug.“Staley was the one, we know this, that defended Epstein time and time again in front of JP Morgan, regardless of all the red flags, to keep him as a client,” said U.S. James Comer, R-Kentucky.Lawmakers have been digging into how Epstein was able to build a network of some of the world’s most rich and powerful people, and are now looking at new suspicions that Epstein could have been acting on behalf of foreign intelligence agencies.“Could he have been blackmailing some of these rich and powerful men and government leaders, perhaps on behalf of others?” Garcia said.Meanwhile, an international model scout linked to Epstein was found dead in his home outside Paris this week. Daniel Siad was under investigation by French police for alleged rape and human trafficking.Siad was paid tens of thousands of dollars to arrange for models to meet Epstein, two of whom later claimed they were abused by the disgraced financier.Before his death, Siad told CNN he did not know about Epstein’s criminal activity.“So, for me he’s a free man.
He was such a powerful person and how can I not trust him?” Siad told CNN.Siad’s cause of death still has not been released by French authorities, but his lawyer says he died of a heart attack and that his client had never stopped insisting he was innocent.
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