Lesley Groff, the former executive secretary for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, testified to lawmakers that she arranged phone calls between her boss and President Donald Trump multiple times a year for at least a decade, according to a transcript released Tuesday by the House Oversight Committee. Groff, hired by Epstein in 2001, told lawmakers she did not recall setting up any in-person meetings between the two men, but acknowledged it was possible. She later described their relationship as “friendly.”
Groff's Testimony on Epstein-Trump Relationship
“I suppose they were friendly,” Groff said. “I don’t know if they had any business going on. That wasn’t something that I asked. That’s not something I discussed with Mr. Epstein or Mr. Trump, so I don’t really know. It’s possible that they were friendly.” When asked about reports that Epstein kept a photo of himself with Trump on his desk, Groff said she did not recall seeing one.
In her opening statement, Groff testified that she handled scheduling Epstein’s daily massages with dozens of various women, including in New York and the United Kingdom. Survivors of Epstein’s abuse, many of whom were minors, have said they were forced to perform massages on him as a pretext to sexual abuse.
Conflict with Vice President JD Vance's Comments
Groff’s testimony appears to conflict with Vice President JD Vance’s comments last week on The View. Vance repeatedly pushed back when hosts pointed to Trump’s longtime friendship with Epstein. He falsely asserted that the two had known each other in the 1980s but stopped being friends after Trump threw Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club and reported him to the police. However, evidence shows their relationship lasted into the early 2000s.
“Jeffrey Epstein hated Donald Trump,” Vance said. “Donald Trump literally reported Jeffrey Epstein to the police.”
Democratic Lawmakers Question Groff's Credibility
Many Democrats on the House Oversight Committee took issue with Groff’s testimony and found her account of Epstein untrustworthy. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) told reporters that he did not believe Groff’s claims that she never saw Epstein do anything inappropriate with a minor and never scheduled him for massages with underage girls.
“It is highly inconsistent what she is maintaining, that she really didn’t know Jeffrey Epstein even though she worked for him for 18 years,” Lynch said. “I just question whether she can rightfully and truthfully maintain that she saw nothing improper.”
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