Former JPMorgan Chase executive and Barclays CEO Jes Staley was pressed by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in July on his relationship with late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Staley’s answers, made public via published transcript Wednesday, appear to show a close relationship between him and Epstein.
Below are some of his testimony’s most notable revelations.
1. He advocated to keep Epstein’s checking account after his 2008 sex crimes conviction.
Staley told other JPMorgan executives that he wanted to keep Epstein’s account open following his 2008 conviction. His reason? “Closing a checking account is a tough move,” he told Congress. He said he was “completely unaware” that those counts facilitated sex trafficking.
JPMorgan documents show that Epstein withdrew $40,000 to $80,000 several times monthly. Staley said he learned about those withdrawals “at some point, but I need to think about what year I learned.”
2. He admitted to sharing confidential information about JPMorgan with Epstein.
Staley shared information about two separate deals he was working on at JPMorgan.
“I went to him for advice and his views, but completely trusted that he would not use this information for personal gain,” Staley said.
Staley, at one point, also shared that JPMorgan’s private bank had brought in $44 billion in the previous two weeks. He acknowledged it was confidential to the bank, but that as a senior executive he thought he “could share it with someone that I was seeking advice from.”
He referred to Epstein, in an email exchange with the late financier, as “a smart friend to help me think through this stuff.” Notably, Epstein was, at the time, incarcerated for sex crimes.
In one email, Staley suggested getting Epstein out of prison “for the weekend” to discuss business.
One questioner, whose name was redacted in the committee transcript, asked at last month’s hearing if it struck Staley as “problematic to be asking a convicted sex offender” to do that.
“Epstein had very interesting insights into the financial markets,” Staley told the questioner.
“It was a very difficult time in those markets, and I thought that I could benefit from getting his thoughts.”
3. Staley said he spoke with CEO Jamie Dimon about Epstein.
The two executives spoke about Epstein twice, Staley said – once when he was indicted in 2006, and once in 2008, following his conviction.
This contradicts Dimon’s own 2023 testimony during a deposition in which Dimon said he didn’t “recall” ever having heard of Epstein before his 2019 arrest.
4. Staley may have told Epstein that he was categorized as a high-risk client.
When asked if he told Epstein about his status as a high-risk client, Staley said, “I believe so, yes.” Brittany Brignac, senior counsel of the House Oversight Committee, then asked him if he advised Epstein about how to challenge his categorization as a high-risk client, and Staley said no.
But he said he did seek to have Epstein’s categorization reviewed.
“I knew him. You know, again, he made important referrals to the bank,” Staley told Brignac. JPMorgan generated “well over $100 million” from Epstein’s new client referrals, Staley said.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed a question to Brittany Brignac, senior counsel of the House Oversight Committee. The question was asked by someone whose name was redacted in the committee transcript.
