As she hobbled past journalists outside the congressional oversight hearings last week, visibly shaking, Epstein’s personal assistant of almost 20 years had good reason for her demeanour. While she denies any wrongdoing, Lesley Groff was in Washington, DC, to face a taste of accountability. As the 58-year-old was held upright by her husband Ike Groff and twin sister Ashley Hull, one congressional member said her testimony was “90 percent” not believable.
In the private, transcribed congressional interview, the mother-of-one told the government oversight committee that she was a shy person who had no experience with public speaking. In my opinion, her nerves may also stem from the possibility that she has been skating on thin ice when it comes to the law and that, despite her denials, Groff knows more than she lets on. You don’t have to dig far into the Epstein Files to find questions to challenge her narrative.
Ike Groff, Lesley Groff and Ashley Hull
In her dealings with the FBI, the Connecticut retiree told law enforcement she had been frightened of making a mistake while she worked for Epstein.
But was Groff aware she might be breaking the law while trying to keep her boss happy?
The issue is not whether Groff booked flights for Epstein. The records show that she did. When you read the Epstein Files, it’s heartbreaking to imagine the young females who took the flights, train journeys, hotels or money. It is a fact that Groff also organised the passports, visas and travel arrangements. In one email, she even organised a primary healthcare package for five “girls.” In another, she organised €5000 to be transferred to a person who called Epstein “Sir”.
The key question here is: at what point does administrative assistance become deliberate awareness?
Moreover, Groff says she was unaware of Epstein’s crimes, but was she aware of the victims of disgraced model agent Jean-Luc Brunel?
Her emails to a redacted person reference his ability to secure visas for young women travelling internationally. A French model scout and alleged sex trafficker, Brunel gained prominence with modelling agency Karin Models and founded MC2 Model Management with financing by Epstein. An email from 2011 places Groff in the middle of discussions involving visas for women connected to Epstein’s network. Writing directly to Epstein, she reported that a contact named Raghu had been unable to find assistance obtaining a visa.
She then suggested another solution:
“Possibly Jean Luc could help? [Redacted] says he is able to get Visa’s (sic) for his girls quickly…?”
Finally, this may be another documented link between Groff, Brunel, international travel, and the movement of females across borders.
There is an easy way for Lesley Groff to shed her Epstein skin – she needs to tell the truth. Can she go public? Done the right way, it may make her a hero.
The question is: does she feel safer behind her present stance?
Moreover, someone inside the survivor circle told me there was far more than we know to Groff’s story. The documents raise questions about what she knew, what she suspected, and how she interpreted the activities she helped coordinate. While the email does not explain the purpose of the travel, it demonstrates Groff’s role in helping solve logistical problems for women within Epstein’s wider network.
