Lesley Groff Congressional Testimony Before the House Oversight Committee
Overview
On June 9, 2026, longtime Jeffrey Epstein executive secretary Lesley Groff appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for a transcribed interview as part of the Committee’s ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and the networks that enabled their activities. The interview lasted several hours and focused on Groff’s role inside Epstein’s organization, her knowledge of massage scheduling, her interactions with Maxwell, her access to Epstein’s contact databases, and whether she had any awareness of criminal conduct occurring around her.
Groff described working for Epstein from February 2001 until July 2019. The Committee released the interview transcript on June 23, 2026. At the beginning of the voluntary interview, staff reminded her of the obligation to answer Congress truthfully under 18 U.S.C. § 1001. The transcript records her answers and the questions put to her; it is not a judicial determination that every statement or premise in the questioning is established fact. (Transcript, pp. 8–9, 11, 24–25.)
Lesley Groff’s Role Inside Epstein’s Organization
Groff testified that she was hired in February 2001 after being recruited by a headhunter who found her resume on Monster.com. She interviewed first with Ghislaine Maxwell and then with Jeffrey Epstein before accepting a position as his executive secretary.
According to Groff, her responsibilities included:
- Managing Epstein’s calendar
- Coordinating appointments
- Scheduling meetings
- Managing calls
- Coordinating staff activities
- Arranging travel related logistics
- Scheduling massages requested by Epstein
She described the position as extremely demanding, with Epstein frequently calling every fifteen minutes to issue instructions throughout the day.
Claims of Limited Knowledge
A central theme of Groff’s testimony was her assertion that she had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct during her employment.
Groff said Epstein and Maxwell prohibited her from socializing with their friends and contacts. She said she never traveled on his airplane or attended his parties. She also described three brief visits to Little St. James, one helicopter trip from St. Thomas to the island, and a stay with her husband in Epstein’s Paris guest apartment while Epstein was absent. She said her workplace moved into the New York mansion around 2013. Those distinctions are important: her account was not that she had never entered an Epstein residence. (Transcript, pp. 13–14, 60–61.)
She further stated that she never witnessed illegal conduct and never saw evidence that women being scheduled for massages were minors. According to Groff, no alleged victim ever informed her that abuse had occurred.
Testimony Regarding Massage Scheduling
One of the most heavily examined topics involved Groff’s role in arranging massages.
Groff acknowledged that scheduling massages was a routine part of her job from the beginning of her employment. She testified that Maxwell and other employees informed her that massages were a normal part of Epstein’s daily schedule.
She stated that:
- Epstein provided the names and phone numbers of individuals he wanted contacted
- She generally made brief phone calls to confirm availability
- She did not independently select massage providers
- She did not inquire about ages
- She generally assumed they were professional massage therapists
- She never personally met most of the women she contacted
When asked about the number of massage providers between 2001 and 2007, Groff gave an approximate estimate of twenty to thirty but emphasized that she did not really know. Her later answers also varied. She said some providers called the office seeking appointments and described asking the accounting department to send cash in envelopes by messenger or driver; she denied paying the women directly. (Transcript, pp. 28–33, 88–89, 166–167.)
Groff said that her routine massage scheduling did not resume after Epstein’s jail term. Asked about a possible exception, she recalled that she might have arranged a Palm Beach spa appointment. She denied booking massages from the New York mansion after the office moved there around 2013. This was her account, not a finding that Epstein’s abuse or other appointment scheduling had ended. (Transcript, p. 91.)
The Black Book and Contact Directories
Committee investigators questioned Groff extensively regarding Epstein’s contact databases and phone directories.
Groff identified committee exhibits as versions of Epstein’s well known contact directories, commonly referred to as the Black Book. She testified that copies existed in offices and residences associated with Epstein.
According to Groff:
- She did not create the directories
- She believed Ghislaine Maxwell originally created them
- Employees could add contacts to the computerized database
- She sometimes added names and phone numbers when directed by Epstein
- Multiple staff members had access to edit entries
Groff said she entered names and numbers into a computer system and believed the printed directory was produced from it. She did not independently recall the platform used or where its backups were stored. (Transcript, pp. 35–36, 40–41, 86–87.)
Ghislaine Maxwell’s Role
Throughout her testimony, Groff repeatedly referenced Maxwell’s influence within Epstein’s organization.
Groff said Maxwell participated in her hiring and was among the people who told her that scheduling massages was part of the job. In her opening statement, she described being trained by the employee she was replacing. She said Maxwell and Epstein prohibited her from socializing with their friends and contacts. When asked who created the directory lists, she said she believed it was Maxwell, but did not know how the lists had been compiled. (Transcript, pp. 12–13, 20–21, 34–35.)
The 2008 Investigation and Epstein’s Explanation
Groff testified that she remained employed after Epstein’s 2008 conviction because she believed his explanation of events.
According to her testimony, Epstein claimed he had been blackmailed and falsely accused. Groff stated that Epstein’s attorneys repeated similar explanations and that she believed those claims at the time. She testified that she now believes Epstein manipulated those around him and concealed his activities from employees.
Groff said she learned only after Epstein’s conviction that the 2007 non-prosecution agreement named her as a potential co-conspirator, and said she would not have agreed to that description. Being named in that agreement was not itself a criminal conviction or a judicial finding that she participated in Epstein’s crimes. (Transcript, p. 15.)
Resignation Following the 2019 Arrest
Groff testified that she resigned shortly after Epstein’s July 2019 arrest.
She stated that the arrest caused her concern and that she no longer wanted to be associated with Epstein. According to her testimony, she communicated her resignation through attorney Darren Indyke rather than directly to Epstein.
Key Takeaways
- Lesley Groff worked for Jeffrey Epstein from 2001 until shortly after his 2019 arrest.
- She testified that she had no knowledge of Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
- She acknowledged scheduling massages earlier in her employment, but said her routine massage scheduling did not resume after Epstein’s jail term, while allowing for a possible spa appointment.
- Her estimate of twenty to thirty massage providers was approximate; she repeatedly said she did not know the exact number.
- She identified Ghislaine Maxwell as a key figure in office operations and contact management.
- She confirmed that staff members had access to contact databases that became the basis for the Black Book.
- She testified that she believed Epstein’s explanation following his 2008 conviction.
- She stated that she resigned after Epstein’s 2019 arrest because she no longer wanted to be associated with him.
- The interview provides Groff’s account of administrative operations, alongside questions testing her account. Later survivor challenges and the Committee’s response are addressed below.
July 2026: Survivor Challenges and Committee Follow-up
On July 9, 2026, CNN reported that six Epstein survivors disputed parts of Groff’s account, including her statements about meeting women scheduled for massages, knowledge of their ages and direct cash payments. CNN also reported that a Committee spokesperson said investigators were comparing her transcript with the available evidence. These were challenges to her testimony, not adjudicated findings that she had knowingly made false statements. (CNN, July 9, 2026.)
On July 15, Chairman James Comer told CNN that the Committee was working with survivors, reviewing witness transcripts and seeking sworn affidavits to evaluate disputed testimony. His comments described an evidence-gathering process and the possibility of a referral; they did not announce a completed criminal referral or a judgment against Groff. Groff’s attorney Michael Bachner told CNN that she stood by her testimony. (Comer interview, July 15, 2026; CNN report and attorney response.)
November 2026 House Oversight report
The House Oversight majority report states on page 61 that Groff was not successfully interviewed by the FBI or any other law-enforcement agency. Its cited source, her June 9, 2026 transcript at page 180, lines 10–16, instead records her confirming a completed voluntary FBI interview. Counsel then clarified that the statement was not sworn. The report’s assertion is therefore contradicted by the testimony it cites. (majority report, printed p. 61, note 340; Groff transcript, p. 180, lines 4–22.)
The interview date requires a separate distinction. The FD-302 titled “Proffer of Lesley Groff,” EFTA01246216–EFTA01246224 identifies the interview as July 23, 2021, the drafting date as August 3 and the date of entry as September 24. Page 2 again states that the proffer occurred on July 23. The House questioning identifies the same Bates document but calls the interview September 24, and Groff agrees. These are conflicting date descriptions of the cited record, not evidence establishing a second interview.
The earlier encounter was an attempted interview at her home in August 2007. A government account said she called Epstein; Groff testified that she called Darren Indyke and declined to speak without a lawyer. That dispute remains separate from the documented 2021 interview. (Transcript, p. 90; majority report, printed pp. 60–61; EpsteinWiki’s analysis of the November 2026 report.)
Related EpsteinWiki Articles
- Jeffrey Epstein
- Ghislaine Maxwell
- Sarah Kellen
- Darren Indyke
- Jeffrey Epstein Black Book
- 2007 Non Prosecution Agreement