Epstein's Assistant of 18 Years Testifies She Arranged Regular Calls Between Trump and Epstein — Claims She "Never Saw Anything Improper"

On June 9, 2026, Lesley Groff — Jeffrey Epstein's executive assistant for nearly two decades — sat for a closed-door transcribed interview before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. She denied knowing about her boss's crimes. Multiple survivors say that's impossible.

Who is Lesley Groff

• Worked for Epstein from 2001 to July 2019, when he was arrested on sex trafficking charges
• Got the job through a headhunter who asked if she wanted "a job to organize one man's life"
• Managed Epstein's schedule, travel, payments, and — critically — massage appointments with young women and girls
• Her name appears more than 164,000 times in the millions of DOJ-released Epstein documents
• Listed as a potential co-conspirator in the 2008 non-prosecution agreement alongside Ghislaine Maxwell
• Listed again as a co-conspirator in a 2019 FBI document
• Signed an NDA with a $100,000 penalty if she discussed Epstein's "business people"
• Epstein called her "an extension of my brain" in a 2005 interview, bought her a Mercedes-Benz, and funded a full-time nanny so he wouldn't "lose Lesley to motherhood"
• Has never been charged with any crime

What she told the committee

Groff's testimony amounted to a wall of denial:

"I never saw anything improper."

She claimed she believed the massage appointments she scheduled for Epstein with young women and girls were with legitimate massage therapists. She said she was unaware that some of the women were minors. She told the FBI in 2021 that scheduling massages was "about 1% of her job responsibilities" and the appointments were "presented like it was totally normal."

Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) said the transcript will show the words "I don't recall, I don't know. No, I wasn't aware" repeated extensively. She told CNN she found Groff's testimony "very difficult to believe":

"Somebody who was so intimately involved as an executive assistant to somebody for 18 years — she did anything that Jeffrey Epstein directed her to do."

The Trump calls

Groff told the committee she arranged phone calls between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein "about once a quarter" before their alleged falling out. She did not specify the years. She said she knew nothing about the content of the calls. She said she was unaware of any employees from Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort going to Epstein's residence.

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) told reporters that Groff's efforts to distance herself from Epstein were "highly inconsistent" with someone who worked for him for 18 years: "There are young women who say she knew, and that they told her that [they were] under age."

What the survivors say

Four survivors directly contradicted Groff's denial:

• Marina Lacerda, who was abused by Epstein as a minor, said at a 2025 news conference that Groff "would call me and tell me that I needed to be at the house so often that I ended up dropping out of high school before ninth grade"
• Danielle Bensky, a 2004-2005 survivor, said Groff would arrange for her to meet with Epstein: "She oversaw everything. There were girls that picked money up from her. I sincerely don't know how it would be possible to be that oblivious"
• Sharlene Rochard: "One of the hardest parts for survivors is hearing the people who were closest to Epstein claim they saw nothing. That doesn't match my experience"
• Jess Michaels: "It is very, very, very hard to believe that anyone that spent any amount of time with Jeffrey Epstein would not know what was happening, especially because of the age of the girls"

A DOJ memo details one survivor's account of Groff sitting outside Epstein's office while he forced the survivor to perform a sex act on him. The survivor stated she did not know whether Groff was aware of what was occurring inside.

The committee's response

Chair James Comer (R-KY) described Groff as "very forthcoming" and "compelling." But he acknowledged discrepancies with victim accounts and said the committee has referred two names to the Department of Justice — he did not identify them.

The top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia, said Groff provided the committee with additional names in Epstein's orbit for further investigation.

Rep. Ansari called for future accountability: "I believe when Democrats are in power, we're going to have to bring every single one of these people back."

The chaplain in the room

Groff's interview was attended, for unexplained reasons, by House Chaplain Margaret Grun Kibben, who does not normally attend such proceedings. When asked why she was there, Kibben told reporters: "Pastoral care is confidential."

The broader investigation

Groff is the latest in a growing list of high-profile witnesses who have appeared before the committee:

• Sarah Kellen — another Epstein assistant, testified May 2026
• Pam Bondi — former AG, testified May 29 after being subpoenaed; refused to answer questions about Trump; was fired by Trump in April partly over her handling of the files
• Howard Lutnick — Commerce Secretary
• Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton — both testified
• Les Wexner — Ohio billionaire
• Bill Gates — scheduled for Wednesday, June 11

All have denied knowledge of Epstein's crimes. The DOJ and FBI said their review of the files "revealed no incriminating 'client list'" — though the DOJ's internal watchdog is separately investigating whether the agency fully complied with the 2025 transparency law.

Groff's defense

Groff told the committee that both Epstein and Maxwell instructed her not to associate with their friends and colleagues and insisted their business was "none of hers." When she attended a work-related party early in her tenure, Epstein "torched" her and threatened termination. She said she did not need the job.

Her attorney, Michael Bachner, maintained she "never witnessed or was told of anything illegal."

This is the position: a woman who worked for Jeffrey Epstein for 18 years, whose name appears 164,000 times in his records, who was designated a co-conspirator twice, who scheduled the massage appointments that prosecutors say were the recruitment mechanism, who called a minor so frequently the girl dropped out of school — that woman says she never saw anything improper. She says the massages were normal. She says it was 1% of her job. She says she didn't know the girls were underage. Four survivors say otherwise. The chaplain was there. Pastoral care is confidential.