House Oversight Committee set to interview Jeffrey Epstein's former private banker

The House Oversight Committee on Thursday is set to interview Jeffrey Epstein's former private investment banker, Jes Staley. 

Staley, 69, had spent 30 years at JPMorgan Chase. He served in senior roles in the private banking and investment divisions, where he managed relationships with ultra-wealthy clients, including Epstein, ABC News reported. His career as a finance executive collapsed after Epstein, who was convicted of sex offenses, died in 2019. 

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., requested Staley's appearance as part of the committee's investigation into the federal government's handling of the Epstein case, and Staley consented to a voluntary transcribed interview with the committee. 

Following Epstein's arrest and death, Staley came under scrutiny in a lawsuit filed by the disgraced financier's victims, who argued in court filings that JPMorgan Chase and Staley ignored red flags that helped enable Epstein to traffic women and girls. JPMorgan Chase settled the case in 2023 for $290 million. The firm denied any wrongdoing. 

Staley left JPMorgan Chase in 2015 to become CEO of the British multinational bank Barclays. Barclays executives told U.K. financial regulators that Staley had cut off contact with Epstein well before he joined the bank as CEO, and the regulators allege that Staley had provided misleading information about the extent of his relationship with Epstein and its timeline. He left Barclays in 2021 and was later banned by U.K. regulators from working in Britain's financial sector.