House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said former Jeffrey Epstein aide Sarah Kellen provided “the most substantive” testimony to date after Kellen spent hours Thursday answering questions about the convicted sex offender’s inner circle and alleged abuse network during a closed-door deposition. 

“Of all the people that we’ve interviewed thus far, this was by far the most substantive, productive interview that we’ve had. She was very brave 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,” Comer told reporters after the deposition, later adding, “I believe she was a victim now.”

Kellen is the latest figure to appear before the House Oversight Committee as lawmakers ramp up their investigation following the release of more than three million pages of Epstein-related files earlier this year.

During her testimony, Kellen denied she was an accomplice in Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation and instead portrayed herself as one of his victims amid renewed scrutiny of the late financier’s inner circle.

Kellen, who worked as Epstein’s personal assistant for years, told lawmakers she was abused by Epstein and had been manipulated, controlled and groomed from a young age, according to prepared remarks obtained by MS NOW.  

“I worked for and was sexually and psychologically abused by Jeffrey Epstein for over a decade,” Kellen said.

She said Epstein initially hired her as an unpaid assistant before coercing her into sex, and that said she believed enduring the abuse was necessary to keep her job.

Kellen, who referred to herself as “a literal indentured slave” to Epstein, said she worked constantly for low pay and described herself as trapped financially and emotionally.

“I know some of you are wondering why I did not leave. I had nowhere else to go. I had no money, no family, no education and no sense that I deserved any better,” she said.

She also alleged the abuse continued even while Epstein was serving his Florida jail sentence, saying he contacted her from jail and demanded sexually explicit video calls.  

Kellen has long faced public scrutiny because she was identified as one of four alleged “co-conspirators” granted immunity in Epstein’s controversial 2007 plea deal with federal prosecutors in Florida. But Kellen testified Thursday that federal prosecutors labeled her a “potential co-conspirator” in Epstein’s deal without ever interviewing or contacting her until 2019.

Victims and court filings over the years accused Kellen of scheduling massages and recruiting girls for Epstein.

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Ebony Davis

Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at CNN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.