The U.S. House Oversight Committee will depose Ohio billionaire Les Wexner next week in Ohio, rather than in Washington D.C. as ordered by a congressional subpoena issued in January.
A spokesman for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee told WOSU in an emailed statement that the deposition will be moved to the Buckeye State. Members of Congress plan to question Wexner about his close ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“The House Oversight Committee will conduct a deposition with Mr. Wexner on February 18 in Ohio. As is standard with all deposition subpoenas, committee staff coordinated in good faith with Mr. Wexner’s legal counsel and are proceeding in accordance with established House and Committee procedures," the statement said.
Wexner was named as a "co-conspirator" of Epstein in recently unredacted Epstein File document. Wexner was never charged with a crime.
The house committe spokesman said that following the issuance of deposition subpoenas, the committee engages with witnesses’ counsel to accommodate reasonable considerations such as location, scheduling and other relevant circumstances. For example, the spokesman said that in coordination with legal representatives for Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Committee negotiated in good faith and offered to conduct the depositions in New York.
The spokesperson didn't say the exact location or time of the deposition. Previously, the subpoena issued to Wexner ordered him to appear in room 2335 of the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill at 10 a.m. on Feb. 18.
WOSU has asked for the location of the deposition in order to cover the meeting.
Wexner lives in his New Albany mansion. He is the founder of L Brands and the New Albany Company and has sat on the boards of important regional groups like the Ohio State University Board of Trustees, the Columbus Partnership and more.
Wexner is still the chair of the Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center Board of Trustees. He is one of OSU's biggest donors.
