Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Wednesday, February 18, 2026

NEW ALBANY, Ohio (AP) " The billionaire behind the retail empire that once blanketed shopping malls with names such as Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch is telling members of Congress that he was "duped by a world-class con man" " close financial adviser Jeffrey Epstein.

Les Wexner also is denying knowing about the convicted sex offender's crimes or participating in Epstein's abuse of girls and young women.

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"As one of Epstein's most prominent former friends, Wexner has spent years answering for their decades-long association. In court documents, prominent Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre claimed that Wexner was one of the men Epstein trafficked her to.

Wexner has denied any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein's crimes and says he never met Giuffre. He told L Brands investors in 2019 that he was embarrassed that he ever got close to someone "so sick, so cunning, so depraved."

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"In one of the newly released documents, Epstein sent rough notes to himself about Wexner saying: "never ever, did anything without informing les" and "I would never give him up."

Another document, an apparent draft letter to Wexner, said the two "had 'gang stuff' for over 15 years" and were mutually indebted to each other " as Wexner helped make Epstein rich and Epstein helped make Wexner richer."

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On Trump's and Johnson's Orders, NO Republicans showed up at this Deposition.

"GOP Goes INTO HIDING as Epstein CO-CONSPIRATOR DEPOSED!!
MeidasTouch"

www.youtube.com

#1 | Posted by Corky at 2026-02-18 05:50 PM | Reply

Related ...

Americans believe Epstein files show the powerful get a pass, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
www.reuters.com

... Americans believe that wealthy and powerful people are rarely held accountable, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found after the release of millions of records on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's connections in elite U.S. business and political circles.

Some 69% of respondents in the four-day poll, which concluded on Monday, said their views were captured "very well" or "extremely well" by a statement that the Epstein files "show that powerful people in the U.S. are rarely held accountable for their actions."

Another 17% said the statement described their views "somewhat well," while 11% said it didn't reflect their thinking.

Among both Republicans and Democrats, more than 80% said the statement described their thinking at least somewhat well. ...


#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-02-18 06:58 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

In the video in #1, one of the Dems there afterwards said that what WAS clear is that Epstein would have never been as wealthy as he was without Wexner.

#3 | Posted by Corky at 2026-02-18 07:08 PM | Reply

Also in the video above, an attny for the Survivors says almost all remember Wexner being close to Epstein.

And of course, Wexner is the one who provided the money for Epstein to pay the Ohio State Gynecologist.

#4 | Posted by Corky at 2026-02-18 07:27 PM | Reply

House Panel: Wexner gave Epstein 'about a billion dollars'
komonews.com

... Garcia pointed to what he described as a billion dollars in value moving to Epstein. "To be very clear, we know that approximately over a billion dollars, it looks like -- it's about a billion dollars -- that was either transferred, provided in stocks, or given directly to Mr. Epstein by Wexner," he said.

Garcia said Wexner claimed he was unaware of how much money moved between them and was trying to minimize how close the two men were over roughly two decades.

"We should be very clear that there would be no Epstein island, there would be no Epstein plane, there would be no money to traffic women and girls, Mr. Epstein would not be the wealthy man he was without the support of Les Wexner," Garcia said. ...



#5 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-02-18 07:31 PM | Reply

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