Former Barclays CEO Jes Staley described the one sexual encounter he claims he had with an assistant of Jeffrey Epstein as consensual, in an interview with congressional investigators last month.
“She was an assistant to Jeffrey Epstein, and I met her at his townhouse,” Staley told the House Oversight Committee, according to a transcript released Wednesday.
“We met and began to have a dialogue and it turned flirtatious. And we met and had one intimate encounter,” the ex-Barclays chief acknowledged.
Staley was brought in by the House panel after the Justice Department’s “Epstein files” showed Staley exchanged some 1,200 communications with Epstein between 2008 and 2012.
At the time, Staley was the head of JP Morgan’s Private Bank and Epstein was one of his clients.
Staley was adamant that the sexual encounter with the woman (whose name is redacted in the transcript) was consensual and not set up by Epstein.
The banker claims the woman, who he said was “in her twenties or thirties,” invited him up to her Upper East Side apartment in New York one morning in 2009 or 2010.
“I think we talked. I believe we were sitting on her couch together while we talked. And one thing led to another and we had an intimate engagement,” Staley testified.
“My recollection is, she invited me into her bedroom,” he said when pressed about how he knew the encounter was consensual.
Staley claimed the woman invited him over “months after” they first met at Epstein’s residence, and that they crossed paths up to a dozen times before and after, but only had the one sexual encounter – which he said he never told Epstein about.
The ex-Barclays chief said he was not aware if Epstein had ever instructed women to have sex with his associates.
When informed by an investigator that the woman had “sued Mr. Epstein for sexual abuse and settled with his estate,” Staley indicated that he had no knowledge of Epstein having ever abused his assistants.
The House panel also grilled Staley about whether he had ever seen a woman dressed as Snow White at Epstein’s residence or had sex with a woman in the Disney character costume.
Staley insisted that he did not recall ever seeing a woman in a Snow White costume at Epstein’s place and was adamant that he did not have sex with a woman in such an outfit.
The files released by the DOJ show that Staley wrote to Epstein on July 9, 2010: “Maybe they’re tracking u?? That was fun. Say hi to Snow White.”
“[W]hat character would you like next?” asked Epstein in response the following day
“Beauty and the Beast,” Staley said.
To which Epstein replied, “well one side is available.”
Another unidentified person emailed Epstein on July 10, 2010: “the snow white was f..ed twice as soon as she put her costume.”
During his appearance before the committee, the transcript shows investigators provided Staley with a photograph Epstein emailed to a redacted name on July 11th, 2010 of a young woman in a Snow White costume.
Staley said he did not know who the woman in the costume was and maintained that he did not recall ever seeing that person with Epstein.
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