As Bondi’s Epstein deposition nears, others caught lying to Congress without consequence
Victims described Darren Indyke as Epstein’s mafia-esque enforcer who kept them from talking with law enforcement and shook them down for money to keep them in line.
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What Happened
Four of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims have come forward with allegations that Darren Indyke, the convicted sex offender’s personal lawyer, either shook them down for money or prevented them from speaking with law enforcement. These accusations directly contradict Indyke’s sworn testimony before the Oversight Committee last month.
This revelation of a second potential instance of perjury comes as the Trump administration announced it would not honor a subpoena issued by US House Oversight Committee to former US Attorney General Pam Bondi regarding her role in the cover-up of Epstein’s criminal network. How Congress handles Indyke and others’ apparent disrespect of subpoenas and sworn depositions could play a role in whether or not Bondi will respect hers.
“Leaving office doesn’t mean you get to dodge accountability,” US Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC). “Pam Bondi was subpoenaed by name, not by title, and because the DOJ stonewalled Congress and refused to follow the law, she needs to appear before the Oversight Committee and answer for it. She promised she would comply. April 14 is her chance to prove it. Chairman Comer must make one thing clear: show up or face contempt.”
Indyke told the Oversight Committee, in no uncertain terms, that he had no involvement in — or knowledge of — the billion-dollar sex trafficking operation, despite his role in handling the business side of the criminal enterprise. He also denied ever steering victims away from law enforcement, but evidence in the Epstein Files portrays him as the first line of defense between victims and the police.
Despite this, no one on the Oversight Committee has threatened contempt, as they have for Bondi.
“Did you at any time ever tell any woman making allegations about Epstein not to communicate with law enforcement?” investigators asked Indyke.
“I would never have told them not to communicate with law enforcement,” Indyke replied, in one of his most blunt and straightforward responses during the nearly seven-hour deposition.
But Epstein’s victims told federal investigators a different story. In 2005 and 2006, some women who had been sexually abused were called into Indyke’s office, where he told them never to talk to law enforcement and to only speak with him regarding legal matters. In other instances, victims reported that when contacted by law enforcement, Epstein directed them to Indyke to have him act as intermediary.
The most direct accusation against Indyke came in 2005, from an international student named Lynn*. She had been lured into Epstein’s network with the promise of her own apartment in Manhattan and a modeling job with Victoria’s Secret. Instead, she traveled back and forth with Epstein between his New York and Florida residences, working as a household assistant under Ghislane Maxwell.
While working to become a model, Epstein introduced her to a number of his associates in the industry, including Italian agency owner Paolo Zampolli. Through him, she met Melania Krauss, who was also introduced to Donald Trump by Epstein, Lynn told investigators. Melania would go on to marry Trump, and Zampolli was appointed to lofty roles in both Trump administrations. Melania has since denied being introduced to Epstein by Trump, or even knowing Epstein at all, despite numerous photos of her with Epstein and Maxwell that disprove the First Lady’s claims.
“I think that if they have learned any lessons, it’s that Trump — and anybody else connected, however closely or loosely, to the Epstein Ring, they can’t make this go away,” said US Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), ranking member of the Oversight Committee. “They’ve wished it away. They hoped it away. They try to ignore it away. And it has endured. The American people are now collectively in one voice demanding this accountability.”
Shortly before Epstein’s 2006 arrest, Lynn noticed law enforcement collecting evidence. Epstein told her the investigation was into her family, who he had obtained visas for.
“Lynn knew that Epstein was lying about how her parents got their visas,” investigators wrote in the 2019 report. “Lynn did not recall how she had learned about the actual reason for the initial investigation. Epstein’s counsel Darren Indyke called her into his office and told her not to talk to law enforcement.”
These detailed accounts sharply contrast with Indyke’s portrayal of his decades-long career as a mid-level lackey filing routine paperwork and running administrative errands. In reality, he appears to have served as a mafia-esque enforcer, threatening abused women with legal warnings and executing Epstein’s threats with cold bureaucracy.
As part of his manipulation tactics, Epstein bound his victims to him through a number of legal avenues: he co-signed leases and paid rent, fast tracked immigration paperwork through illicit means, secured them employment with his friends and alleged clients — such as at Les Wexner’s Victoria’s Secret — and bestowed lavish gifts that came with contractual strings attached.
As the signatory on all of his legal dealings, Indyke was at the helm of every unscrupulous tool in Epstein’s repertoire. And when pressure needed to be applied, a combination of Epstein’s emotional temper tantrums and Indyke’s emotionless legal threats kept victims under his thumb. In one instance, after a victim attempted to cut ties, Epstein screamed at her and called her ungrateful. Shortly after, Indyke contacted her, claiming she owed Epstein $10,000 for an apartment he had co-signed on.
Indyke’s apparent omissions under oath come at a time when Congress’ authority to subpoena witnesses and hold them in contempt for perjury is being tested. Last month, the US Supreme Court issued an unsigned order allowing Trump ally and Epstein confidant Steve Bannon to have his 2022 contempt conviction thrown out.
Now, later this month, Bondi is expected to ignore a congressional subpoena. Such an act by the country’s former top law enforcement officer would ordinarily trigger contempt of Congress charges. But without consequences for Indyke and with Bannon’s conviction overturned, violating a congressional subpoena appears to carry no long-term consequences.
“This is why we need a DOJ that is not acting as Donald Trump’s cover,” said Lee. “Our first, immediate interest is to make sure that she still is accountable to the subpoena, and comes before our committee to answer questions about her handling of the Epstein Files.”
Bondi’s deposition is scheduled for April 14, and members of the Oversight Committee warn she will face contempt charges if she fails to appear.
*As all victim’s names are redacted, a pseudonym has been used to avoid confusion.
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