Leslie Wexner’s past became uncomfortably present again on Wednesday. 

House Democrats put the retired retail legend under oath at his Ohio mansion, questioning him at length about his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

That thrust Wexner — who let generations in on Victoria’s Secret and is credited with inventing specialty retailing through his founding of The Limited and other chains — into the white hot center of the politically charged investigation. 

The Epstein case already has pulled back the curtain on how the high and mighty operate behind the scenes and led to the release of millions of documents highlighting Epstein’s extensive ties in society, fashion and business.

The 88-year-old Wexner has not been accused of wrongdoing, but he holds a special place in the Epstein affair. 

Wexner gave the financial adviser sweeping control over his billions, ultimately helping to fund an extravagant lifestyle that had Epstein jetting around the world connecting his powerful friends with a steady stream of very young women. 

Democrats from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform went to Ohio in what they described as an effort to “follow the money” in the investigation. 

After about two hours of asking questions behind closed doors, lawmakers detailed their first impressions in a press conference during a break in the deposition. 

Ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) indicated that Wexner said he has never been questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or Department of Justice about Epstein. 

“How outrageous is that?” Garcia said. “He’s someone that’s been named by survivors, someone that’s in the files more than most people, someone that’s clearly the financial benefactor to Jeffrey Epstein and has not been contacted or interviewed by the FBI or the DOJ. What the hell is going on? That is shameful.”

Garcia said “it looks like it’s about a billion dollars that was either transferred, provided in stocks or given directly to Mr. Epstein by Wexner.” 

The lawmaker said Wexner did not assert his Fifth Amendment rights, but that he had “already begun to clarify in his mind that somehow he and Mr. Epstein weren’t even friends. They spent a lot of time together. Mr. Wexner admitted that he traveled to both of Epstein’s islands as well as his other properties. 

“It’s clear that Mr. Wexner is trying to downplay how close Jeffrey Epstein and Mr. Wexner actually were. And we should be very clear that there would be no Epstein Island, there’d be no Epstein plane, there’d be no money to traffic women and girls — Mr. Epstein would not be the wealthy man he was — without the support of Les Wexner.” 

Wexner cut off ties with Epstein shortly before the latter was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008 and served 13 months. Epstein was later hit with federal sex trafficking charges and died by suicide in 2019, before the trial started. 

In a written statement to the committee on Wednesday, Wexner said he was “pleased” to testify. 

“Pleased because it is an opportunity to set the record straight,” he said. “Over the years, I have been the subject of outrageous untrue statements and hurtful rumors, innuendo and speculation. Let me state from the start: I was naïve, foolish and gullible to put any trust in Jeffrey Epstein. He was a con man. And while I was conned, I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide. I completely and irrevocably cut ties with Epstein nearly 20 years ago when I learned that he was an abuser, a crook and a liar. 

“And, let me be crystal clear: I never witnessed nor had any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity,” Wexner said.

“I was never a participant nor coconspirator in any of Epstein’s illegal activities. To my enormous embarrassment and regret, I — like many others — was duped by a world-class con man. I cannot undo that part of my personal history even as I regret ever having met him.”

He also acknowledged the survivors of Epstein’s “terrible crimes” and said the “pain [Epstein] inflicted upon them is unfathomable to me.”

Wexner, who left Victoria’s Secret’s former parent company L Brands in 2021, appears to have broken ties with the financial adviser after his wife, Abigail, found that Epstein had stolen or misappropriated hundreds of millions of dollars. 

But Epstein looked to get back into the billionaire’s good graces. “I have never once, not once, done anything but protect your interests,” Epstein wrote in an undated letter to Wexner that was released by the government. “I owe a great debt to you, as frankly you owe to me. I was not surprised by your reticence to sit with me when my bad judgment with women became a cause célèbre….You and I had ‘gang stuff‘ for over 15 years. A great deal of it, that [Abigail] was unaware of. I had no intention of divulging any confidence of ours, no matter what accusations she made.”

Now the relationship between Wexner and Epstein is back under the microscope. 

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) said: “We know that there are reports of girls that went in thinking that they were potentially going in to model. These are not coincidences. There’s two things that have been clear…that there were always young girls seemingly looking for an opportunity to model and there were always rich and powerful people on the other side dangling a carrot saying, ‘I will give you the life that you’re seeking.’”

Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) added: “We have heard over and over from these victims the name of Les Wexner and the importance of following the money because the story of Jeffrey Epstein is one that almost is the plot of a movie that is turned into a nightmare. 

“The real reason Jeffrey Epstein was able to get away with raping and abusing children, young women, boys, young men for so many years was because of the vast amounts of money that he was able to acquire,” Ansari said. “And that largely came from Les Wexner here in Ohio. So we’re here to ask Les Wexner the critical questions.”

It remains to be seen just what answers he has.