Jes Staley — a former top executive at JPMorgan who fought to keep Jeffrey Epstein as a client at the bank after Epstein became a convicted sex offender — told the House Oversight Committee Thursday that he spoke to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon at least twice about Epstein’s criminal exposure.
According to people familiar with the exchange, Staley said he spoke to Dimon about Epstein on two occasions: once in 2006, when Epstein was first indicted, and another in 2008, when Epstein was in jail.
Staley’s recollection, which he has shared versions of in previous depositions over the years, deviates from what Dimon previously said under oath in a deposition before federal prosecutors, namely that he and Staley never discussed the matter of whether to retain Epstein as a client.
It also increases the possibility that the House Oversight Committee could at some point call Dimon in for questioning about how JPMorgan was allegedly complicit in allowing Epstein to withdraw huge sums of money he used to traffic young girls and women for years.
It also reinforces the reality that the yearlong congressional Epstein investigation could have no end in sight, as more witnesses give reason for lawmakers to continue the inquiry.
“No such conversation ever occurred, and Staley lacks credibility,” Patricia Wexler, a spokesperson for JPMorgan, said in a statement Thursday. “A UK tribunal found Staley to be evasive and unreliable.”
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority banned Staley, also the former CEO of Barclays, from holding senior management roles in the British financial services industry after finding that Staley misrepresented his relationship with Epstein; a U.K. tribunal said that Staley “lacked credibility” and “has shown no remorse for his conduct.”
A spokesperson for Staley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Democrats were already on the warpath for Staley on Thursday, emerging mid-interview to complain their witness was being evasive and pledging to bring him back to testify under oath if the party retakes the majority in the midterms.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, lamented that the interview was not done in public view and under the terms of a deposition, and suggested he would recall Staley to testify again under more restrictive arrangements if he becomes chair next year.
“What’s happening right now is a good reason why all of these interviews need to be under oath, and we need honest questions. So Staley is clearly, in our opinion, just not being truthful and flat out lying,” Garcia told reporters. “The reality is, he’s claiming first that he had no real friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. I mean, that is just ridiculous.”
He added, “This is someone that chose to work with a person that he knew had been convicted already of sex crimes.”
House Oversight Chair James Comer of Kentucky told reporters that Staley was “very close friends with Mr. Epstein” and “defended Epstein time and time again in front of JP Morgan, regardless of all the red flags to keep him as a client.”
At one point, according a person granted anonymity to describe the closed-door exchange, committee investigators asked Stale whether the cash withdrawals had to do with sexual abuse or paying women for sexual abuse.
Staley replied no, adding that it was shocking to him that Epstein would continue to abuse minors after doing a stint in jail for it.
Epstein was ultimately convicted years later for sex trafficking and died by suicide behind bars in 2019.
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