Epstein’s Assistant Drops Explosive Bombshells in Shocking Testimony

Sarah Kellen has been called a Jeffrey. Epstein [music] second-in-command. after working for him and his apparent. madam Ghislaine Maxwell for years. [music] And she has just named names. Names we apparently [music] hadn't. really spoken about before in connection. with Epstein's alleged empire of abuse. And reportedly, we just found out who. those people are. Raises a lot of. questions. >> [music]. >> Was Kellen a vulnerable and helpless. victim or was she a willing participant.

[music] in Epstein's alleged sex. trafficking organization? The House. Oversight Committee [music] tried to get. answers this week from her during a. highly anticipated closed-door. interview. [music]. >> Of all the people that we've interviewed. thus far, this was by far the most. substantive [music] and productive. interview that we've had. >> We are breaking down what we know. [music] about Sarah Kellen, her deep. connections to Jeffrey Epstein, and more. about those names. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law & Crime. >> [music]. >> I'm Jesse Weber.

Sarah Kellen, you've likely heard that. name come up in connection with Jeffrey. Epstein and his alleged criminal empire, which was reportedly devoted to. satisfying his sexual desires. When you. look at the government files connected. to Epstein, it is essentially exposed. Kellen as allegedly being one of Jeffrey. Epstein's right-hand women, alongside of. course Ghislaine Maxwell. So, it is a. big deal that she agreed to come forward.

and speak with the House Oversight. Committee about her time in Epstein's. inner circle. She appeared Thursday for. a closed-door interview with committee. members, where she was questioned 4. hours by lawmakers from both sides of. the aisle. Committee Chairman James. Comer spoke with reporters before this. interview got underway. >> This is a witness that was a personal. assistant to Mr. Epstein. She was also a victim of Mr. Epstein. So, we're bringing her in. We have a lot. of questions about.

everything from the day-to-day. activities to what she saw and what she. knows and hopefully it'll help us as we. proceed the investigation. It's going to. be a tough interview. Of all the. interviews we've done, this is going to. be the toughest one. I'm here to listen. and learn. Obviously, I can't imagine. the scenario that that she was. she was in and obviously we know enough. about Epstein to know that that he was a. terrible person and he was abusing these.

these women. Now, it it appears to me the Department of. Justice considered her uh um. you know, not necessarily a. co-conspirator but rather. you know, I would I don't want to say. whistle-blower but someone that aided in. the. it appears aided in the prosecution of. Epstein. So, we've just got a lot of. questions about that. I know how the. Department of Justice viewed her. I. don't know how the Oversight Committee. will view her. We're.

Obviously, she's presumed innocent. She's going to have due process and I. appreciate her being here today and we. certainly look forward to to her. testimony but again, it's going to be. it's going to be hard because. you know, there's. there's some that. believe she was. you know, 100%. victim or survivor and then there's some. that think she was a victim and. victimizer. So, it's just a terrible. scenario. I've read her story. I've read. her opening statement and I know that uh. this is going to be a tough one for us.

Now, Kellen has been described as. Epstein and Maxwell's basically an. assistant, a staffer with one source. reportedly telling the New York Post in. 2024 that Kellen quote had a front-row. seat to the debauchery. And Kellen's. name is mentioned many times in the. Epstein files library on the DOJ website. and there are candid photos of her. spending time around Maxwell and Epstein. and powerful friends. Her name can be. seen on passenger manifest for private. jet flights like this manifest which. shows her traveling with Epstein, French.

fashion model scout and alleged sexual. predator Jean-Luc Brunel, and three. people just listed as female. So, here's. how a civil lawsuit, okay, that was. filed against Epstein just how it. described Sarah Kellen. This was filed. more than a decade ago, but it described. her as {quote} "Defendant Jeffrey. Epstein's key lieutenant in the. organization was defendant Sarah Kellen. who served as both his scheduler and a. recruiter procurer of the girls." And. despite those allegations, and despite. being named in official investigations,

Kellen has never faced any sort of. criminal charges related to sex. trafficking or abuse or exploitation or. anything else. I'm going to talk about. why. In fact, she was reportedly. included in a Florida non-prosecution. agreement that got Epstein off the hook. for federal charges. Remember this? It. was the alleged assault of young girls. at his Palm Beach mansion. Again, I'll. get more into that in a minute, but just. want you to read some of Kellen's own. words that were written as part of an. opening statement for her interview with. these lawmakers. It was published in. part by ABC News. We don't have the.

transcript yet. We don't have the video. deposition yet or the video interview. yet. When it comes out, maybe we'll do a. follow-up on it, but I'm going to warn. you what she had to say is very very. difficult to listen to. So, it says. {quote} "He groomed me, sexually and. psychologically abused me, controlled. me, manipulated me, dominated me, and. gaslit me until I could no longer tell. which thoughts were mine and which were. his." According to the report from ABC, Kellen says that she was working at a. hotel out in Hawaii when she was. recruited by a co-worker for a job with.

Jeffrey Epstein. And she said she had. gotten married when she was just 17. years old, and then after getting a. divorce, she was excommunicated from her. church. So, you're talking about a very. difficult time in her life. Her. statement, according to ABC, continues, "I was 21 years old, far from where I. grew up, stuck on an island in the. middle of nowhere with no college. degree, no family, no friends, no money, and nowhere to live. And she claims that. that situation made her a perfect target. for Jeffrey Epstein. Quote, "After. months of unpaid labor, he instructed me.

to draw him a bath on his island, then. ordered me to undress and get in with. him. And he said, 'The job is yours. Now. you just have to keep it.'" "He then. pulled me onto his bed and made clear. what keeping the job required.". "Only after I submitted to his sexual. abuse did the paychecks begin." She goes. on to say, "He knew everyone in the. fashion industry, academics, finance, government, powerful world leaders, dictators, and everyone in between. From. the beginning, he showed me that he was. more powerful than basically anyone in. the world. Jeffrey was able to fool and.

manipulate the brightest minds in the. world. Us victims didn't stand a. chance." And during a break in this. interview, you had Representative Comer. just express shock at some of the. information that Kellen was revealing. >> Let me say, Sarah Kellen has been very. helpful. Of all the people that we've. interviewed thus far, this was by far. the most substantive and productive. interview that we've had. Uh she was very, very coming forward. I. can't imagine. how difficult it was for her to.

go into detail about the abuse that she. endured at the hands of Epstein and. Maxwell. Uh one very. positive thing today is she gave us. three names of people that were involved. in abuse. These were new names for us. So, uh we'll be releasing the transcript. as quickly as possible. I know there are. some names of some victims that she also. mentioned. They're going to We're going. to have to agree on redactions and.

things like that, but as far as the the. men that were uh. that were abusers, alleged abusers, then. uh you know, we'll we'll the whole world. will see that and we'll be able to move. forward. >> And those three men have now reportedly. been named. So, sources have told. NewsNation they are, and again, these. are allegations, hair mogul Frederick. Fekkai, former Miami Beach Mayor Philip. Levine, and fashion photographer Patrick. Demarchelier. Now, Demarchelier died.

back in 2022. He was known for famous. portraits of everyone from Princess. Diana to Janet Jackson. He worked. closely with fashion magazines like. Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. He was also. an official royal photographer for the. British royal family, which is. interesting given former Prince Andrew's. ties to Epstein and the rampant. allegations of sexual assault and abuse. that have been leveled against him. When. it comes to hair stylist Frederick. Fekkai, you know, Bloomberg actually. published an article earlier this year. after uncovering his apparent connection.

to Epstein in the thousands of files. that were released by the DOJ. And. according to Bloomberg's reporting, Epstein had accounts at Fekkai's ritzy. New York salons. Reporters combed. through Epstein's credit card statements. and they found that he spent a crazy. amount of money at Fekkai's businesses. paying for expensive hair and spa. treatments for a lot of different. people, including, the allegation is, former White House counsel Kathy Rumler. Fekkai often appears in Epstein's. emails, has previously acknowledged. flying on his private jet. And what. about former Miami Beach Mayor Philip.

Levine? So, the businessman became mayor. in 2013. He ran for governor of Florida. in 2018. In 2019, he apparently told the Miami Herald. that, yeah, he knew Epstein through. Ghislaine. Quote, "We probably met. We probably met probably 15-20 years ago. at a social event in New York and. probably exchanged business cards. I. really don't recall where and when. Never had any interactions with him and. didn't meet beyond that." Now, the. Herald reports that emails between.

Levine and Maxwell were. flirty and sexually suggestive and that. it appears Levine's relationship with. Epstein dated back to the early 2000s. I. will tell you NewsNation reports they. didn't receive a comment from Fukai, Levine, or Kellen's lawyers at the time. of publication, but there you go, something to think about. Now, I will. tell you from a legal point of view, it. is bold for Sarah Kellen to name names. And if the transcript comes out of her. interview and those names aren't. redacted, which under the law they're. not supposed to be, big accusations, big accusations. Why?

Because there has already been a lot of. talk about how the victims should come. forward and publicly call out their. abusers, name names, shame them. Now, the difficulty with that is of. potential repercussion. And there's also. evidence, right? If they don't have. corroborating evidence to support these. claims of abuse and there's nothing in. the Epstein files to definitively back. up these specific claims, that could be. why maybe you don't have a number of.

people coming out and naming names, potentially opening themselves up to. liability. Now, if they tell it to the. lawmakers and the lawmakers reveal the. names, that's that's kind of a different. legal issue there. But for her to. reportedly publicly mention these names. like that, I mean it does become a very. interesting question as to her. credibility. She didn't have to do this. The reports are true that this is who. she named, significant to say the least. So, what. are the Epstein files, which include, you know, previously sealed. investigative reports, legal briefs,

court records, all that, more? What do. they reveal about Kellen's work with. Epstein? Let's get into it. So, Kellen would end. up named as a defendant in multiple. lawsuits connected to her boss in 2008. An anonymous alleged victim sued Jeffrey. Epstein and some of his compatriots for. abuse. And a section of that lawsuit. reads, quote, "Defendant Jeffrey. Epstein, assisted by defendant Sarah. Kellen, developed a plan, scheme, and. criminal enterprise that included an.

elaborate system wherein the then minor. plaintiff was brought to the defendant. Jeffrey Epstein's residence by the. defendants employees, recruiters, and. assistants including defendant Sarah. Kellen. When the assistants and. employees left the then minor plaintiff. and other minor girls alone in a room at. the defendant's mansion, defendant. Jeffrey Epstein himself would appear, remove his clothing, and direct the then. minor plaintiff to remove her clothing. He would then perform one or more lewd, lascivious, and sexual acts. And I'll.

just tell you the rest of it is just. way too graphic to read on YouTube. But. that section of the lawsuit ends by. saying. he would then pay the plaintiff for. engaging in this sexual activity. Kind. of gives you an idea about what a sex. trafficking trial against Jeffrey. Epstein would have looked like. Now, I. will also tell you that Sarah Kellen is. mentioned again and again in official. FBI interviews as being the alleged. person who got everything ready for. Epstein's massage appointments, which.

instead of being with professional. masseuses, were often instead allegedly. being performed by teenage girls. For. example, this is from an FBI report from. April 2007, quote, "Redacted was. interviewed in West Palm Beach, Florida. regarding a federal investigation. involving the sexual exploitation of. minors. After being advised of the. identity of the interviewing agent and. the nature of the interview, redacted. provided the following information. A. good friend told redacted that she could. make $200 for providing a massage. The. only instruction she received from. redacted was to wear something sexy and.

to say that she was 18 if asked. Redacted remembered being told about. providing massages to redacted around. senior skip day. Redacted and redacted. were redacted's good friends and the. girl she knew the most at that time. Redacted first met redacted upon their. redacted and redacted's arrival to the. Epstein residence. Epstein was. downstairs at the time. Epstein. acknowledged redacted by saying hi and. asking how she was doing. Redacted took. Redacted upstairs to provide Epstein the.

massage. Kellen removed the massage. table from the closet and set it up. She. also set out the lotions to be used. during the massage. Epstein entered the. room wearing a towel. He laid face down. on the massage table. During the. massage, Epstein asked Redacted to take. her shirt off. He also commented that. Redacted was beautiful. Epstein asked. Redacted if she was 18. She told them. that she was 18. And a transcript of. testimony from detectives during these.

secret grand jury proceedings in Palm. Beach County out in Florida the year. before, uh quotes an investigator. saying, "She was taken to the house. She. was introduced to his Epstein's. assistant by the name of Sarah. Sarah. then would escort her upstairs, prepare. the room for the massage by putting out. the ointment and the different oils.". Going back to official FBI reports, quote, "During the FBI's investigation, some of the girls interviewed by PBPD. were re-interviewed and additional girls. were interviewed for the first time.

During those interviews, the girls. related that Redacted, Epstein's. assistant, would contact the girls while. Kellen and Epstein were still in New. York or elsewhere in order to arrange. massage times upon his arrival in Palm. Beach. The FBI also has collected the. flight manifest for Epstein's two. private planes during the period of. January 2004 through December 2005, as. well as cell phone records for Redacted, Epstein, and some of the girls. The. investigation revealed that prior to. flights to Palm Beach, Kellen would.

contact some of the girls via cell. phone. The massage pads show evidence. that the girls responded to those. telephone calls and left messages. confirming their appointments. Now, an. extensive probable cause affidavit that. was filed by Palm Beach police made note. of Kellen's apparent attempts to keep. girls coming back for more quote. work. So, it says redacted said when. Epstein announces to his assistant Sarah. that he's traveling to Palm Beach, Sarah.

would then contact redacted to arrange. girls to work for Epstein. Redacted. stated that once her parents discovered. that she was visiting Epstein, they. disapproved of the encounters with him. and she stopped. Redacted further stated. that Sarah still tries to call. redacted's house and leaves messages. And as investigations ramped up in this. case, it is alleged that Sarah Kellen. made attempts to contact these girls and. find out what they knew about police.

inquiries. This is from the same Palm. Beach police probable cause affidavit. Quote, at the conclusion of the. interview, the tape was stopped. I was. informed that Sarah had attempted to. reach redacted via cell phone. A. voicemail message on October 4th, 2005. at 10:59 a.m. revealed a female voice. who identified herself as Sarah, who. requested redacted to call her back in. reference to the police questioning. Redacted provided the incoming telephone. number. Redacted stated she.

inadvertently told redacted about the. police investigation because redacted. had called her to tell her about how she. just received a rental car from Jeffrey. Epstein. Redacted had called her to tell. her that she was given a rental car, a. 2005 silver Nissan Sentra, to utilize to. visit family and visit Epstein. Redacted. asked her what was going on at the house. that the police would be asking. questions. Redacted stated redacted then. called Jeff and Sarah and asked what was. going on in reference to the ongoing.

police investigation. According to. redacted, Sarah has since then been. trying to contact her to ask about the. police questions. I instructed redacted. not to contact Sarah and do not provide. any more information to redacted as she. would notify Jeff Epstein and Sara what. was transpiring. And it wasn't just. witness accounts that police were using. as part of their investigations. No, they were also keeping an eye on Kellen. herself. What do I mean? So, as part of. the government's case against Ghislaine.

Maxwell, the Attorney General's Office. requested what are called silent hits, which according to the ACLU are ways to. kind of flag someone's travel, basically. an indication that someone's on a watch. list. And part of email communications. within the prosecutor's office says this. in reference to Ghislaine Maxwell, quote, "Yep, she's currently in the US. I have her travel and redacteds already. saved from 2000 to current. I'll put the. silent hit on Kellen and send out an.

update when it's confirmed." So, essentially. they're keeping tabs on her. They're. tracking her in a way. Now, investigators also took a close look at. Kellen's cell phone records. There was a. report that was included in the Epstein. files release and states, quote, "I. began an analysis of redacted cellular. telephone. The telephone number is. assigned to Sara Kellen and the. financially responsible party is Jeffrey. Epstein of redacted in New York City, New York. The time frame which was. subpoenaed was September 2005 through.

October 2005. There were 87 pages of. calls made either to the cell phone or. from the cell phone. The local 561. numbers were analyzed. The spreadsheet. was prepared and placed into the. attachment file of who was called. The. unknown numbers were researched using. phonefinder.com and subpoenas were. requested to determine subscriber. information. This was done to identify. additional victims or witnesses. The. analysis revealed that Kellen had called. the victim witnesses frequently when.

Epstein was in the town of Palm Beach to. quote work. This confirms what the girls. interviewed had previously stated, redacted would notify them when Epstein. was in town and their willingness to. work. The CD was placed into evidence. And I just want to emphasize that this. is reportedly 1 month worth of calls to. or from Kellen's cell. So, you're. talking 87 pages. That is a lot of. calls. And based on multiple. investigations, Kellen was the alleged. point person when it came to lining up.

girls for Epstein. Quote, "In response. to concerns raised regarding charging. counts related to those girls whose. credibility has been attacked by. attorneys for Epstein, I asked the case. agents to work on corroborating the. statements of those girls." This. addendum reports on those efforts. related to Jane Doe 6 redacted. Jane Doe. number 6 is the girl who saw Epstein. most frequently. And there were more. than 250 telephone calls between Jane. Doe number 6 and Sarah Kellen. Jane Doe. number 6 is one of the girls who reports.

the most sexual activity with Epstein. including oral sex, sexual activity with. redacted, and forced sexual intercourse. with Epstein. And I got to call this. out, too, because in addition to. allegations that she was the scheduler. and the procurer of teen victims, it is. also alleged that Sarah Kellen took nude. photos at Epstein's behest. There was another report that reads, quote, "On one occasion, when Jane Doe. was approximately 16 years old, Epstein's assistant redacted telephoned. Jane Doe and told her that Epstein.

wanted Kellen to photograph her. Jane. Doe traveled to Epstein's Palm Beach. home where Kellen took a series of nude. photographs of Jane Doe posing at. several locations on Epstein's. property.". Jane Doe was paid $500 for posing nude. for the photographs. Jane Doe reported. that Kellen used a digital camera to. take the nude photographs. So, there seems to have been a lot of. accusations both from witness accounts. and on paper that Sarah Kellen was.

allegedly intimately involved in the. day-to-day operations in Epstein's. households. So, the question now is why. has she never faced any sort of criminal. prosecution? Fair question, right? Well, I will tell you that prosecutorial. decision-making was never really made. clear in the files. However, this could be a complicating factor. I. mean, according to ABC News, the DOJ. records show that the government didn't. argue against the idea that Sarah. Kellen, quote, was herself a victim of. abuse by Epstein. And highlighted how. her narrative was in line with other.

alleged victims who worked for Epstein. We also have the complication of the. non-prosecution agreement, the NPA that. Epstein entered into as part of a. so-called sweetheart deal back in 2008. 2007. That's when he agreed to plead. guilty to state charges, right? Solicitation of prostitution, solicitation of a minor. And the. extraordinary steps that were taken to. keep details of that NPA a secret. I. mean, according to ABC News, in an email. that recently became public, an attorney. for Epstein said to a prosecutor on the. case, quote, "Please do whatever you can.

to keep this from becoming public." And. this agreement basically shields Epstein. and four co-conspirators, alleged. co-conspirators, females who worked. closely with him from being prosecuted. federally. It reads in part, "In. consideration of Epstein's agreement to. plead guilty and to provide compensation. in the manner described above, if. Epstein successfully fulfills all of the. terms and conditions of this agreement, the United States also agrees that it. will not institute any criminal charges. against any potential co-conspirators of. Epstein, including but not limited to.

Sarah Kellen, Adriana Ross, Leslie. Groff, or redacted." The redacted name. there, probably Ghislaine Maxwell. She's. been, you know, fighting the federal. government for years to get her sex. trafficking convictions overturned. Her. attorneys say this NPA protected her. from prosecution, and I will tell you it. hasn't been a winning argument so far. Her appeals have not been successful, and she's still serving a 20-year prison. sentence. Now, I will tell you this, okay? When it comes to the NPA, Kellen seems. to say now she had no idea it was even a.

thing. ABC News reports that in her. opening statement for this interview on. Capitol Hill, she said, quote, "No one. from law enforcement ever spoke with me, ever heard my side, ever asked me a. single question. I did not even know my. name was in that agreement until after. it had been signed and released to the. public. The federal government of the. United States branded me a criminal in a. secret deal with my own abuser without. ever one speaking to me." Now, other. court filings and communications that. were released over the last few months,

they lay out discussions among federal. investigators after Epstein's death. You. know, as they tried to decide whether. Kellen could face or should face any. charges. And included in those. discussions were emails with Kellen's. attorneys, who of course recommended. against prosecution citing Kellen's own. experiences as a victim of Epstein. And. just to reiterate, ABC News reports that. the decision was made not to charge her, but the exact reasoning hasn't been made. clear. I just got to talk for a moment. about one more thing, about another. connection between Sarah Kellen and.

Jeffrey Epstein. And that is her now. ex-husband and NASCAR champion Brian. Vickers. So, it appears that Vickers and. Epstein were friends for years. Maybe. that's a strong term, I don't know. Associates, I don't know. Look, here's. the way to look at it. So, Vickers' name. and email address showing up in the. Epstein files along financial questions. and inquiries about NASCAR sponsorships. and dirty jokes, that's what's come up. In fact, Vickers was still in contact. with Jeffrey Epstein just months before.

his arrest. You have this February 2019. email that has the subject line, "Thought you would like this." Laughing. emoji and happy Valentine's, buddy. And. then there's a winking face and movie. attachment. What exactly that attachment. is is unclear. You like to 2012, there's. an email believed to be from Sarah. Kellen to Epstein that reads, "Redacted. and Porter are in town for Porter's. B-day. Having a B-day party tonight, had. brunch with them earlier with them and. Brian Vickers. Brian is trying to put.

the moves on. Any thoughts? And a few. days later, Kellen says in an email with. a female friend, "NASCAR guy I like, but. he has a reputation of being a major. playboy. We've been texting a bit the. last few days. He's going to a wedding. in St. Thomas next week and I will also. be on the island the same time, so maybe. I'll see him there. Going to invite him. to the island for lunch, we'll see. Not. going to get my hopes up, but it's been. fun to flirt and help get my mind off of. other things." And then a few months. after that, Sara Kellen emails a. coworker saying, "Anywho, I'm boarded on.

my flight to Cali now. Yes, meeting up. with Brian. He's racing in NASCAR in. Sonoma on Sunday. I'll be meeting the. parents and all his NASCAR friends this. weekend. Yikes." So, Vickers and Kellen, they got married in 2015. He retired. from racing, apparently citing health. issues, and 10 years later in 2025, they. announced they were getting a divorce. And something else interesting that was. spotted in the files, that was. apparently flagged by investigators. working on the Maxwell case. This is a. copy of a message that was reportedly.

sent by Vickers via GoFundMe. It's. unclear who Vickers was exactly. communicating with, but based on the. information in the email, it seems he. was responding to someone who had. directly messaged him thanking him for a. donation. And as part of the long. message, Vickers seemingly wrote this, quote, "We do not know each other, but. having been a survivor of multiple major. near-death health issues myself, plus. having a wife that was completely. abandoned by her family over a cult at a. young age, then sexually abused, trafficked, and forcibly raped by three.

different men for 20 years straight. starting as a child at 13, I was. specifically moved by your own story of. abuse and recent life health challenges. I will never be able to imagine what you. and my wife have suffered, but watching. my wife in therapy for many years and. cry herself to sleep on and off for 8. years, I can only imagine." And that. message appears to have been forwarded. to the FBI in 2020. It's unclear when. the original note was sent, but. obviously you can see. why it's significant, right? We of.

course don't know how much Vickers knew. about his wife's work with Epstein. Maybe she revealed things to him that. changed his opinion on the financier. We. just can't say for sure. Just to close. this out, Oversight Committee Chairman. James Comer said that the transcript or. transcripts of Sarah Kellen's interview. would be released as soon as possible. It is maybe also possible that we could. see a video version of the deposition. released as well. Though her claiming to. be a victim, maybe not. And we'll just. keep an eye out and see what happens. Maybe we'll do a follow-up Sidebar. episode. And other important depositions.

that are set to come as well include one. with former Attorney General Pam Bondi. Because after she was removed as AG, Bondi had said she wouldn't be appearing. for a deposition, but when lawmakers. threatened her with [music] contempt, there was a new deposition date set for. May 29th. That's according to The. Guardian. That's all we have for you. right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. And as. always, please subscribe [music] on. YouTube, our podcast, Spotify, wherever. you should get your podcast. You can. also check us out on NBC's Peacock as. well. If you want to follow me, X, Instagram, my NewsNation show, [music]. Jesse Weber Live, Monday through Friday, 11:00 p.m. Eastern. See you next time,

everybody.