December 9, 2025 • 18 mins
Jeffrey Epstein’s ascent into elite financial and social circles was not accidental, according to sustained criticism aimed at retail magnate Les Wexner, who is widely regarded as a central early enabler of Epstein’s power and legitimacy. Epstein, despite lacking conventional financial credentials, was granted extraordinary authority over Wexner’s assets, including sweeping power of attorney, access to properties, and control of finances. Critics argue this patronage gave Epstein the money, credibility, and institutional cover that allowed him to embed himself among political, academic, and royal elites for decades. Wexner, they contend, was not a passive bystander but a key architect in Epstein’s rise, with his financial backing serving as the foundation upon which Epstein built his broader influence and protection.
The criticism extends beyond Wexner himself to the institutions that continued to honor him while avoiding scrutiny of his ties to Epstein. Universities, particularly Ohio State University, are accused of prioritizing donor relationships and endowments over accountability, despite past failures to address sexual abuse allegations in other contexts. Observers argue that Wexner’s philanthropy and political donations helped deflect investigation and shield him from serious congressional inquiry, even as Epstein’s crimes became undeniable. Calls have grown for Congress to compel Wexner to testify under oath, framing his continued avoidance of direct questioning as emblematic of how wealth and institutional power have delayed accountability in the Epstein case.
to contact me:
bobbycapucci@protonmail.com
source:
OSU alumni hold photos of billionaire Les Wexner with Jeffrey Epstein while demanding testimony
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.
The criticism extends beyond Wexner himself to the institutions that continued to honor him while avoiding scrutiny of his ties to Epstein. Universities, particularly Ohio State University, are accused of prioritizing donor relationships and endowments over accountability, despite past failures to address sexual abuse allegations in other contexts. Observers argue that Wexner’s philanthropy and political donations helped deflect investigation and shield him from serious congressional inquiry, even as Epstein’s crimes became undeniable. Calls have grown for Congress to compel Wexner to testify under oath, framing his continued avoidance of direct questioning as emblematic of how wealth and institutional power have delayed accountability in the Epstein case.
to contact me:
bobbycapucci@protonmail.com
source:
OSU alumni hold photos of billionaire Les Wexner with Jeffrey Epstein while demanding testimony
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
Epstein Chronicles. Whenever we have the conversation about how Jeffrey
Epstein was quote unquote made, it has to start with
Les Wexner, because without less Wexner, Jeffrey Epstein doesn't exist,
at least not in the capacity that we're talking about.
(00:20):
Wexner was the man who was there to fund him
and to hold his hand in the early days when
Epstein was first getting started. And if anybody out there
thinks that less Wexner had no idea what Jeffrey Epstein
was or what he was up to, I'm going to
have to call bullshit because everybody knew, especially people like
Les Wexner. And now not only is the Jeffrey Epstein
(00:43):
situation popping up, we have the situation here at Ohio
State where the wrestlers were abused by a coach, and
now they're demanding that less Wexner's name gets pulled off
all these buildings on campus. And if Ohio State University
had any good sense, they'd be doing it right now.
But the truth is, Les Wexner is like a king
(01:06):
in the state of Ohio, and there is nothing that's
going to knock him off that perch. If the Epstein
stuff hasn't done it, nothing's going to do it. And
if you think that joke that comer is running in
Congress is going to step up, you're sadly mistaken. Les
Wexner is a gigantic donor to the Republicans, donated over
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to the gubernatorial campaign.
(01:30):
You know, the National Republican gubernatorial campaign donated a two
hundred and fifty g's to That Guy's been spread money
around all over the place. So if you think that
they're going to go after him and try and bring
him in for a subpoena, well I think history is
going to tell you something differently. So today we're going
to talk a little bit more about Les Wexner and
(01:50):
the situation that is arising on the campus of Ohio
State University. This article was published by NBC News and
the headline OSHU alumni whole photos of billionaire Less Wexner
with Jeffrey Epstein while demanding testimony in school abuse case.
Bro won't give any kind of testimony ever, and he'll
(02:12):
be protected for it. You know, people like you and
I we'd be up right away talking about what we know,
whether we wanted to or not. But when you're Less
Wexner and you have this kind of money, this kind
of power, this kind of reach, you could do whatever
you want, whenever you want to do it. This article
was authored by Quirky Si Masco, former Ohio State University
(02:36):
students trying to get billionaire Less Wexner to testify about
Richard Strauss, a former campus doctor who allegedly abused dozens
of men. Stage of protest Thursday at a Board of
Trustees meeting, where they brought up Wexner's past friendship with
sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. And if you didn't know, good
old Jim Jordan was part of this coaching squad where
(02:58):
this was allegedly taking place. Yes, and of course Jim
Jordan didn't do shit about it, and they did so
without uttering a word at the actual meeting. We wanted
to let them know that Wexner has been avoiding the subpoena.
Former OSU wrestler Mike DiSabato said, they didn't let us
speak to the board. Of course not. They're gonna insulate
(03:20):
their guy, right, the guy who's bringing them the bag.
And now, look, I'm not going to say that Les
Wexner was you know, Jeffrey Epstein as far as trafficking people,
but not a good look for the university. This man
was bankrolling that and vouching for him. So in my world,
if you're bankrolling something and you're vouching for somebody, that
(03:41):
means you support it. I don't really think there's any
gray area here. Nearly a dozen former OSU students held
a protest outside the building before the meeting. Once inside,
they silently held up posters with the words whereas Wexner
and a photo on the other side of Wexner with
a former close associate. He has publicly distanced himself from
(04:03):
accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Accused accused? Is it no
human trafficker? Abuser of women? General, fucking piece of shit,
Jeffrey Epstein. That's the proper way to talk about this, dude.
Don't give him the benefit of the doubt. We know
what he did, Oh, Bobby, Well, that's just speculation. No, no,
it's not. Just take a look at all the payouts
(04:25):
that were made to people from the estate. Not exactly
what I would call speculation. I think we made our point,
Di Sabato said. OSU's board of trustees is chaired by
John Zieger, who is both the father and law partner
of Wexner's lawyer, Matthew Zieger. No conflict of interest here,
nothing to see, folks, keep them moving. Les Wexner hell
(04:47):
of a guy. We're gonna keep his name on all
these buildings. As mister Zieger runs to the bank to
cash a check. Never mind what Virginia said about Les Wexner,
never mind what Maria Farmer said about Les Wexner. Let's
slap his name on all these buildings and send our
kids here. And it was the elder Zieger who had
joined the meeting before Tom Lizzy, a former OSU wrestler
(05:08):
from eighty six to eighty eight, could deliver a statement
about Wexner. Of course they're going to insulate and protect them.
It is unacceptable, and if Ohio State won't do the
right thing, then the powers that be need to step
in and make them do the right thing. It read
in part, we're here today to publicly express our dismay
that Leslie Wexner is avoiding service of a court ordered
(05:30):
subpoena for a deposition in the Richard Straus case. Well,
this is what they do. They avoid these subpoenas until
the time runs out or they can find a way
out of it, you know, a payoff, get some judge
to acquiesce to their request, whatever it might be. But
if you think they're just going to march in there
happily and answer questions, you're crazy. Do you really think
(05:52):
that these people think they're accountable to you. We believe
mister Wexner's testimony will shed light on the matter, the
statement said OSU KEKs ers In Benjamin Johnson said Strauss's
survivors have addressed the board in the past, but did
not request to do so at this meeting. There is
no standing public comments portion at these meetings, he said.
When asked about the subpoena evasion allegation Thursday, the law
(06:15):
firm representing Wexner said in a statement it will respond
in court at the appropriate time. What is the appropriate time?
Does that mean enough time to get to the judge?
Does that mean enough time to get to the clerk
or the prosecutor? What does it mean? Since early September,
we have asked plaintiff's council on several occasions to identify
(06:35):
what knowledge they believe mister Wexner has relevant to the
Strauss matter, so we could consider the request. The statement said,
in the past three months, plaintiff's council have failed to
answer that question. They always turn it around, right, Oh,
it's the wrestler's fault. No, it's less Wexner's fault for
being involved with all these comebacks, point blank period. And
(06:56):
if he has nothing to do with mister Strauss, so
what we all know he had something to do with Epstein.
So answer those questions, and folks, look, this is why
I've been pushing for Congress to subpoena Les Wexner. It
needs to happen, but unfortunately the little band of obstructionists
that are led by Comer and directed by Trump will
never let it happen. The university has been battling lawsuits
(07:18):
since twenty eighteen, when Di Sobato and other former wrestlers
went public with allegations at Strauss had sexually abused them
and hundreds of other students, and that the school knew
about it but did nothing to stop them. Well, that
tracks and for people out there who wonder how the
girls could get abused. Do you have the same questions
about how these wrestlers could get abused. We're talking about
(07:41):
the most alpha of Alpha mel's and they got caught
up and they got abused. So don't think that it
can't happen to anyone. It can. If you're in a
situation where you're being manipulated, where you're being groomed, shit
can go south real quick. Strauss allegedly preyed on hundreds
of men from the mid seventies to the late nineties.
(08:02):
He died by suicide in two thousand and five. Yeah,
because that's what innocent people do, right, They take their
own lives. Ah, yeah, you know what. I'm innocent, But
why don't I just cut my own head off. He
was never charged in relation to the abuse allegations, but
the results of an OSU investigation published in twenty nineteen
found that at least one hundred and seventy seven Mile
(08:23):
students were sexually abused by Strauss. OSU has settled most
claims from survivors, saying it's paid out more than sixty
million dollars to two hundred and ninety six people. Chew
on that for a minute. Two hundred and ninety six people,
and they have the audacity to put Less Wexner's name
on these buildings. The school says it's still working to
(08:45):
resolve lawsuits from plaintiffs who rejected monetary offers. Well, yeah,
they don't want to take your hush money. People want trial,
people want discovery, people want to out you for the
scumbags you are. Wexner, the founder of Limited Brands, which
is now called de L Brands Incorporated and owns Victoria's
Secret Pink and Bath and Bodyworks, served on the board
(09:07):
when Strauss allegedly abused young men at the school, mostly
under the guys of doing physicals, according to the OSU report,
allegedly again, so the school paid out sixty million to
two hundred and ninety six people for allegedly doing it. Huh.
I mean, there's a point where you have to just
stop with the nonsense as a journalist or a writer,
(09:30):
and the truth is what it is, not allegedly what
they're going to sue you. Strauss is coming back from
the dead to sue you call him what he is,
bro A motherfucking abuser, a dude who touched other men,
a man who groomed other men, a sick, degenerate, fuck
anything but allegedly. Last month, the lawyers for the final
batch of Strauss survivors, who are currently suing OSU for damages,
(09:53):
told the federal judge overseeing their case that Wesner may
have information about Strauss but has evaded their attempts to
serve them with the subpoena. They said, Wexner's private security
has barred their process servers from subpoenaing the Ohio billionaire
at his home in the Columbus suburb of New Albany. Well.
I wonder if it's Randy Bowie, the same guy that
(10:14):
held Maria Farmer captive. Probably, they said, His attorney, Matthew Zeiger,
has refused to forward the subpoena to Wexner. Why, how
and how is that acceptable? They asked Judge Michael H.
Watson for an alternate way to deliver the subpoena to Wexner,
like leaving the document with the security team or ameling
(10:35):
it to his residence or sending it electronically to his lawyer.
Watson still has not ruled on their request, the court
docket shows. When asked Thursday by NBC affiliate WCMH and
Columbus if the school would settle the suit. OSU athletic
director ross Byorke said, that's a legal process that has
to play out. We always think about the victims, and
(10:57):
we're always going to have them in our hearts. What
a bunch of bullshit. If that was the case, you
would just admit that had happened and be done with it,
and you'd pull Less Wexner's name off the building. Wexner
has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the Strauss case,
but his name was invoked recently by another group of survivors,
the women who said they were victimized by Epstein and
(11:18):
his accompliced Glain Maxwell, and who have been pushing to
have the Epstein files made public, who said, huh, this
Corey Seismanski guy really needs to get a reality check.
Call these scumbags what they are. Your readers deserve to
have the truth. A batch of Epstein documents released by
a US district judge in New York in January twenty
twenty four includes an allegation made by the late Epstein accuser,
(11:42):
Virginia Roberts, who said she was forced to have sex
with Wexner numerous times. Wexner has denied the allegation. Another
Epstein accuser, Maria Farmer, alleged in twenty twenty lawsuit against
the Epstein estate, that she was assaulted by Epstein in
ninety six at an Ohio property owned and secured by
the Wexners. And if you go back and listen to
(12:03):
my interview with Maria, she talks about the whole thing,
about the dude who was in control of it, Randy Bowie,
the security, how her dad had to come get her,
a horrible, horrible ass story. But this Wexner dude still
hasn't been called to account. Nobody is making him come
in and speak to Congress. Must be nice to be
James Comer's homie. But Wexner's relationship with Epstein as well documented.
(12:30):
Epstein was the primary investor and money manager for Wexner.
Their relationship was so close that the mogul gave Epstein
power of attorney and made him a trustee of the
Wexner Foundation. According to court documents. Wexner has condemned Epstein's
crimes as abhorrent and claimed he was used. He said
he severed ties with Epstein in two thousand and seven
(12:51):
after allegations that he was trafficking in and sexually abusing
young women first emerged. What an absolute liar, that's rights Wexner.
He's a liar. Epstein died by suicide in twenty nineteen,
allegedly while awaiting trial in jail on sex trafficking charges.
Notice he doesn't say allegedly here right, So, Corey, are
(13:14):
you buying the official narrative? Is that what you want
us to believe? Imagine being a journalist and buying that narrative. Maxwell,
who was convicted of sex trafficking in twenty twenty one,
is seeking to get her twenty year prison sentence commuted
by President Donald Trump, according to a whistleblower report to Congress. Look,
let's stop pretending that this story is complicated or worse, accidental.
(13:39):
Epstein didn't rise like some rogue comet from the financial wilderness.
Bro was manufactured, and the man who supplied the money,
the legitimacy, the access, and the institutional camouflage was Les Wexner,
full stop. Before Epstein was globe trotting with royalty and
intelligent adjacent mystique, he was an unqualified nobody handed the
keys to an empire by one of the wealthiest retail
(14:01):
magnates in America, no track record, no credentials, just blind trust,
unchecked authority, and power flowing downhill like fucking sewage. And
for decades now, polite society is treated Wexner like a
misunderstood philanthropist instead of what he actually is, a foundational
enabler of one of the most prolific sex traffickers in
(14:23):
modern history. And spare me the donor wash fairy tale
about ignorance. When you're spreading a quarter million dollars to
the Republican Governor's Association, slapping your name on buildings, and
buying yourself immunity through endowments, the system chooses not to
ask the hard questions. Ohio State knows this game well.
This is the same institution that stared straight through years
(14:45):
of sexual abuse allegations, tied to its wrestling program, and
decided the brand mattered more than the bodies. So no
nobody should act shocked that OSU keeps Wexner's name polished
and honored while the victims brotten. The footnotes cities don't
care about morality, folks, They care about balance sheets. And
Wexner brought silence in bulk lest Wexner shouldn't get the
(15:07):
hide behind age, philanthropy or selective amnesia. He funded the rise,
he normalized the monster. He institutionalized Epstein long before anyone
else dared. And the fact that Congress hasn't dragged them
under oath yet isn't proof of innocence, it's proof of cowardice.
The era of protected patrons should be over. If Epstein
(15:27):
is finally being spoken about in full sentences, then Wexner
doesn't get a whisper pass. It's time to stop treating
them like a donor and start treating them, at the
very least, like a witness. And unlike the powers that be,
I'm not looking away. And what makes Wexner's role so
insidious isn't just the money. It's the control. Epstein didn't
(15:48):
merely receive checks. He was installed, empowered, insulated, and unleashed.
He was given sweeping power of attorney over Wexner's finances, properties,
and operations, a level of authority that orders on dereliction
of sanity unless there was something deeper at work. We're
not talking about a mentorship here or charity. That was
deliberate elevation of a man who would go on to
(16:10):
use that power as a shield, a passport, and a
hunting license, and every time journalists or investigators circle too close,
the same response echoed back. Silence, denials, lawyers, and institutional paralysis.
Funny how that works. And look, let's be very clear,
this wasn't some naive billionaire getting duped by a smooth
talking con artist. Wexner was not a rube. Dude was ruthless,
(16:34):
a meticulous businessman who built a global retail empire by
controlling every variable he can get his hands on. The
idea that this man suddenly misplaced his instincts, his oversight,
and his judgment. For years on end, strange credulity passed
the breaking point. You don't accidentally hand over the vault,
the alarm codes, and the guards unless you're either criminally
(16:54):
negligent or deeply invested in not knowing what's being done
with them. So no, he doesn't get to launder this away.
Writing checks to universities, art institutions, or political organizations doesn't
erase the downstream damage of what he enabled. Upstream. The
money does not cleanse the stain. It just brings better
lighting and quieter rooms, and the institutions that accepted it
(17:19):
didn't just look the other way. They all make sure
no one else could ever see either. They offered prestige
in exchange for silence and called it civic virtue. Congress
has subpoenaed lesser men for far less. If this were
truly about accountability and not theater less, Wexner would already
be sitting under the hot lights answering very simple questions
(17:40):
he spent years avoiding. What did he know, when did
he know it? And why after everything became impossible to deny,
did the consequences never seem to land where they should
Until that happens. Every plaque bearing his name is a
reminder that money still talks louder than survivors, and that
some men are allowed to fund monsters and walk away untouched.
(18:03):
All of the information that goes with this episode can
be found in the description box.
What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
Epstein Chronicles. Whenever we have the conversation about how Jeffrey
Epstein was quote unquote made, it has to start with
Les Wexner, because without less Wexner, Jeffrey Epstein doesn't exist,
at least not in the capacity that we're talking about.
(00:20):
Wexner was the man who was there to fund him
and to hold his hand in the early days when
Epstein was first getting started. And if anybody out there
thinks that less Wexner had no idea what Jeffrey Epstein
was or what he was up to, I'm going to
have to call bullshit because everybody knew, especially people like
Les Wexner. And now not only is the Jeffrey Epstein
(00:43):
situation popping up, we have the situation here at Ohio
State where the wrestlers were abused by a coach, and
now they're demanding that less Wexner's name gets pulled off
all these buildings on campus. And if Ohio State University
had any good sense, they'd be doing it right now.
But the truth is, Les Wexner is like a king
(01:06):
in the state of Ohio, and there is nothing that's
going to knock him off that perch. If the Epstein
stuff hasn't done it, nothing's going to do it. And
if you think that joke that comer is running in
Congress is going to step up, you're sadly mistaken. Les
Wexner is a gigantic donor to the Republicans, donated over
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to the gubernatorial campaign.
(01:30):
You know, the National Republican gubernatorial campaign donated a two
hundred and fifty g's to That Guy's been spread money
around all over the place. So if you think that
they're going to go after him and try and bring
him in for a subpoena, well I think history is
going to tell you something differently. So today we're going
to talk a little bit more about Les Wexner and
(01:50):
the situation that is arising on the campus of Ohio
State University. This article was published by NBC News and
the headline OSHU alumni whole photos of billionaire Less Wexner
with Jeffrey Epstein while demanding testimony in school abuse case.
Bro won't give any kind of testimony ever, and he'll
(02:12):
be protected for it. You know, people like you and
I we'd be up right away talking about what we know,
whether we wanted to or not. But when you're Less
Wexner and you have this kind of money, this kind
of power, this kind of reach, you could do whatever
you want, whenever you want to do it. This article
was authored by Quirky Si Masco, former Ohio State University
(02:36):
students trying to get billionaire Less Wexner to testify about
Richard Strauss, a former campus doctor who allegedly abused dozens
of men. Stage of protest Thursday at a Board of
Trustees meeting, where they brought up Wexner's past friendship with
sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. And if you didn't know, good
old Jim Jordan was part of this coaching squad where
(02:58):
this was allegedly taking place. Yes, and of course Jim
Jordan didn't do shit about it, and they did so
without uttering a word at the actual meeting. We wanted
to let them know that Wexner has been avoiding the subpoena.
Former OSU wrestler Mike DiSabato said, they didn't let us
speak to the board. Of course not. They're gonna insulate
(03:20):
their guy, right, the guy who's bringing them the bag.
And now, look, I'm not going to say that Les
Wexner was you know, Jeffrey Epstein as far as trafficking people,
but not a good look for the university. This man
was bankrolling that and vouching for him. So in my world,
if you're bankrolling something and you're vouching for somebody, that
(03:41):
means you support it. I don't really think there's any
gray area here. Nearly a dozen former OSU students held
a protest outside the building before the meeting. Once inside,
they silently held up posters with the words whereas Wexner
and a photo on the other side of Wexner with
a former close associate. He has publicly distanced himself from
(04:03):
accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Accused accused? Is it no
human trafficker? Abuser of women? General, fucking piece of shit,
Jeffrey Epstein. That's the proper way to talk about this, dude.
Don't give him the benefit of the doubt. We know
what he did, Oh, Bobby, Well, that's just speculation. No, no,
it's not. Just take a look at all the payouts
(04:25):
that were made to people from the estate. Not exactly
what I would call speculation. I think we made our point,
Di Sabato said. OSU's board of trustees is chaired by
John Zieger, who is both the father and law partner
of Wexner's lawyer, Matthew Zieger. No conflict of interest here,
nothing to see, folks, keep them moving. Les Wexner hell
(04:47):
of a guy. We're gonna keep his name on all
these buildings. As mister Zieger runs to the bank to
cash a check. Never mind what Virginia said about Les Wexner,
never mind what Maria Farmer said about Les Wexner. Let's
slap his name on all these buildings and send our
kids here. And it was the elder Zieger who had
joined the meeting before Tom Lizzy, a former OSU wrestler
(05:08):
from eighty six to eighty eight, could deliver a statement
about Wexner. Of course they're going to insulate and protect them.
It is unacceptable, and if Ohio State won't do the
right thing, then the powers that be need to step
in and make them do the right thing. It read
in part, we're here today to publicly express our dismay
that Leslie Wexner is avoiding service of a court ordered
(05:30):
subpoena for a deposition in the Richard Straus case. Well,
this is what they do. They avoid these subpoenas until
the time runs out or they can find a way
out of it, you know, a payoff, get some judge
to acquiesce to their request, whatever it might be. But
if you think they're just going to march in there
happily and answer questions, you're crazy. Do you really think
(05:52):
that these people think they're accountable to you. We believe
mister Wexner's testimony will shed light on the matter, the
statement said OSU KEKs ers In Benjamin Johnson said Strauss's
survivors have addressed the board in the past, but did
not request to do so at this meeting. There is
no standing public comments portion at these meetings, he said.
When asked about the subpoena evasion allegation Thursday, the law
(06:15):
firm representing Wexner said in a statement it will respond
in court at the appropriate time. What is the appropriate time?
Does that mean enough time to get to the judge?
Does that mean enough time to get to the clerk
or the prosecutor? What does it mean? Since early September,
we have asked plaintiff's council on several occasions to identify
(06:35):
what knowledge they believe mister Wexner has relevant to the
Strauss matter, so we could consider the request. The statement said,
in the past three months, plaintiff's council have failed to
answer that question. They always turn it around, right, Oh,
it's the wrestler's fault. No, it's less Wexner's fault for
being involved with all these comebacks, point blank period. And
(06:56):
if he has nothing to do with mister Strauss, so
what we all know he had something to do with Epstein.
So answer those questions, and folks, look, this is why
I've been pushing for Congress to subpoena Les Wexner. It
needs to happen, but unfortunately the little band of obstructionists
that are led by Comer and directed by Trump will
never let it happen. The university has been battling lawsuits
(07:18):
since twenty eighteen, when Di Sobato and other former wrestlers
went public with allegations at Strauss had sexually abused them
and hundreds of other students, and that the school knew
about it but did nothing to stop them. Well, that
tracks and for people out there who wonder how the
girls could get abused. Do you have the same questions
about how these wrestlers could get abused. We're talking about
(07:41):
the most alpha of Alpha mel's and they got caught
up and they got abused. So don't think that it
can't happen to anyone. It can. If you're in a
situation where you're being manipulated, where you're being groomed, shit
can go south real quick. Strauss allegedly preyed on hundreds
of men from the mid seventies to the late nineties.
(08:02):
He died by suicide in two thousand and five. Yeah,
because that's what innocent people do, right, They take their
own lives. Ah, yeah, you know what. I'm innocent, But
why don't I just cut my own head off. He
was never charged in relation to the abuse allegations, but
the results of an OSU investigation published in twenty nineteen
found that at least one hundred and seventy seven Mile
(08:23):
students were sexually abused by Strauss. OSU has settled most
claims from survivors, saying it's paid out more than sixty
million dollars to two hundred and ninety six people. Chew
on that for a minute. Two hundred and ninety six people,
and they have the audacity to put Less Wexner's name
on these buildings. The school says it's still working to
(08:45):
resolve lawsuits from plaintiffs who rejected monetary offers. Well, yeah,
they don't want to take your hush money. People want trial,
people want discovery, people want to out you for the
scumbags you are. Wexner, the founder of Limited Brands, which
is now called de L Brands Incorporated and owns Victoria's
Secret Pink and Bath and Bodyworks, served on the board
(09:07):
when Strauss allegedly abused young men at the school, mostly
under the guys of doing physicals, according to the OSU report,
allegedly again, so the school paid out sixty million to
two hundred and ninety six people for allegedly doing it. Huh.
I mean, there's a point where you have to just
stop with the nonsense as a journalist or a writer,
(09:30):
and the truth is what it is, not allegedly what
they're going to sue you. Strauss is coming back from
the dead to sue you call him what he is,
bro A motherfucking abuser, a dude who touched other men,
a man who groomed other men, a sick, degenerate, fuck
anything but allegedly. Last month, the lawyers for the final
batch of Strauss survivors, who are currently suing OSU for damages,
(09:53):
told the federal judge overseeing their case that Wesner may
have information about Strauss but has evaded their attempts to
serve them with the subpoena. They said, Wexner's private security
has barred their process servers from subpoenaing the Ohio billionaire
at his home in the Columbus suburb of New Albany. Well.
I wonder if it's Randy Bowie, the same guy that
(10:14):
held Maria Farmer captive. Probably, they said, His attorney, Matthew Zeiger,
has refused to forward the subpoena to Wexner. Why, how
and how is that acceptable? They asked Judge Michael H.
Watson for an alternate way to deliver the subpoena to Wexner,
like leaving the document with the security team or ameling
(10:35):
it to his residence or sending it electronically to his lawyer.
Watson still has not ruled on their request, the court
docket shows. When asked Thursday by NBC affiliate WCMH and
Columbus if the school would settle the suit. OSU athletic
director ross Byorke said, that's a legal process that has
to play out. We always think about the victims, and
(10:57):
we're always going to have them in our hearts. What
a bunch of bullshit. If that was the case, you
would just admit that had happened and be done with it,
and you'd pull Less Wexner's name off the building. Wexner
has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the Strauss case,
but his name was invoked recently by another group of survivors,
the women who said they were victimized by Epstein and
(11:18):
his accompliced Glain Maxwell, and who have been pushing to
have the Epstein files made public, who said, huh, this
Corey Seismanski guy really needs to get a reality check.
Call these scumbags what they are. Your readers deserve to
have the truth. A batch of Epstein documents released by
a US district judge in New York in January twenty
twenty four includes an allegation made by the late Epstein accuser,
(11:42):
Virginia Roberts, who said she was forced to have sex
with Wexner numerous times. Wexner has denied the allegation. Another
Epstein accuser, Maria Farmer, alleged in twenty twenty lawsuit against
the Epstein estate, that she was assaulted by Epstein in
ninety six at an Ohio property owned and secured by
the Wexners. And if you go back and listen to
(12:03):
my interview with Maria, she talks about the whole thing,
about the dude who was in control of it, Randy Bowie,
the security, how her dad had to come get her,
a horrible, horrible ass story. But this Wexner dude still
hasn't been called to account. Nobody is making him come
in and speak to Congress. Must be nice to be
James Comer's homie. But Wexner's relationship with Epstein as well documented.
(12:30):
Epstein was the primary investor and money manager for Wexner.
Their relationship was so close that the mogul gave Epstein
power of attorney and made him a trustee of the
Wexner Foundation. According to court documents. Wexner has condemned Epstein's
crimes as abhorrent and claimed he was used. He said
he severed ties with Epstein in two thousand and seven
(12:51):
after allegations that he was trafficking in and sexually abusing
young women first emerged. What an absolute liar, that's rights Wexner.
He's a liar. Epstein died by suicide in twenty nineteen,
allegedly while awaiting trial in jail on sex trafficking charges.
Notice he doesn't say allegedly here right, So, Corey, are
(13:14):
you buying the official narrative? Is that what you want
us to believe? Imagine being a journalist and buying that narrative. Maxwell,
who was convicted of sex trafficking in twenty twenty one,
is seeking to get her twenty year prison sentence commuted
by President Donald Trump, according to a whistleblower report to Congress. Look,
let's stop pretending that this story is complicated or worse, accidental.
(13:39):
Epstein didn't rise like some rogue comet from the financial wilderness.
Bro was manufactured, and the man who supplied the money,
the legitimacy, the access, and the institutional camouflage was Les Wexner,
full stop. Before Epstein was globe trotting with royalty and
intelligent adjacent mystique, he was an unqualified nobody handed the
keys to an empire by one of the wealthiest retail
(14:01):
magnates in America, no track record, no credentials, just blind trust,
unchecked authority, and power flowing downhill like fucking sewage. And
for decades now, polite society is treated Wexner like a
misunderstood philanthropist instead of what he actually is, a foundational
enabler of one of the most prolific sex traffickers in
(14:23):
modern history. And spare me the donor wash fairy tale
about ignorance. When you're spreading a quarter million dollars to
the Republican Governor's Association, slapping your name on buildings, and
buying yourself immunity through endowments, the system chooses not to
ask the hard questions. Ohio State knows this game well.
This is the same institution that stared straight through years
(14:45):
of sexual abuse allegations, tied to its wrestling program, and
decided the brand mattered more than the bodies. So no
nobody should act shocked that OSU keeps Wexner's name polished
and honored while the victims brotten. The footnotes cities don't
care about morality, folks, They care about balance sheets. And
Wexner brought silence in bulk lest Wexner shouldn't get the
(15:07):
hide behind age, philanthropy or selective amnesia. He funded the rise,
he normalized the monster. He institutionalized Epstein long before anyone
else dared. And the fact that Congress hasn't dragged them
under oath yet isn't proof of innocence, it's proof of cowardice.
The era of protected patrons should be over. If Epstein
(15:27):
is finally being spoken about in full sentences, then Wexner
doesn't get a whisper pass. It's time to stop treating
them like a donor and start treating them, at the
very least, like a witness. And unlike the powers that be,
I'm not looking away. And what makes Wexner's role so
insidious isn't just the money. It's the control. Epstein didn't
(15:48):
merely receive checks. He was installed, empowered, insulated, and unleashed.
He was given sweeping power of attorney over Wexner's finances, properties,
and operations, a level of authority that orders on dereliction
of sanity unless there was something deeper at work. We're
not talking about a mentorship here or charity. That was
deliberate elevation of a man who would go on to
(16:10):
use that power as a shield, a passport, and a
hunting license, and every time journalists or investigators circle too close,
the same response echoed back. Silence, denials, lawyers, and institutional paralysis.
Funny how that works. And look, let's be very clear,
this wasn't some naive billionaire getting duped by a smooth
talking con artist. Wexner was not a rube. Dude was ruthless,
(16:34):
a meticulous businessman who built a global retail empire by
controlling every variable he can get his hands on. The
idea that this man suddenly misplaced his instincts, his oversight,
and his judgment. For years on end, strange credulity passed
the breaking point. You don't accidentally hand over the vault,
the alarm codes, and the guards unless you're either criminally
(16:54):
negligent or deeply invested in not knowing what's being done
with them. So no, he doesn't get to launder this away.
Writing checks to universities, art institutions, or political organizations doesn't
erase the downstream damage of what he enabled. Upstream. The
money does not cleanse the stain. It just brings better
lighting and quieter rooms, and the institutions that accepted it
(17:19):
didn't just look the other way. They all make sure
no one else could ever see either. They offered prestige
in exchange for silence and called it civic virtue. Congress
has subpoenaed lesser men for far less. If this were
truly about accountability and not theater less, Wexner would already
be sitting under the hot lights answering very simple questions
(17:40):
he spent years avoiding. What did he know, when did
he know it? And why after everything became impossible to deny,
did the consequences never seem to land where they should
Until that happens. Every plaque bearing his name is a
reminder that money still talks louder than survivors, and that
some men are allowed to fund monsters and walk away untouched.
(18:03):
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