One of Jeffrey Epstein's longtime ***** istants told members of the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday morning that she did not know about the late convicted ***** offender's crimes, describing him as a master manipulator who had every reason to keep them a secret from her, according to two sources familiar with the testimony.
As a way to try to demonstrate her ignorance about Epstein's wrongdoing, Lesley Groff, Epstein's former executive ***** istant, said she believed the massage appointments she made for Epstein with young women and girls were with massage therapists, the sources said.
Groff is one of the most notable members of the late financier's inner orbit to speak to Congress as part of its Epstein investigation — a ubiquitous ***** istant who helped manage every aspect of Epstein's life from appointments with women to meetings with powerful individuals, as evidenced in the Justice Department's millions of Epstein files.
She told lawmakers Tuesday that she was not ***** ually abused by Epstein, one of the sources said. She also did not need her job with Epstein, she said, and both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell told Groff that she should not ***** ociate with their friends and colleagues and insisted their business was none of hers.
Groff, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight, also told members that she wants to be helpful to them, and that since Epstein's arrest, she's been shunned by friends and her family has been harassed.