Billionaire retail magnate Les Wexner is set to face questions about his long-time friendship with Jeffrey Epstein during a closed-door congressional deposition in Ohio on Wednesday. The 88-year-old retired founder of L Brands will address new revelations contained in recently released Justice Department documents related to the late sexual predator.

Wexner has agreed to cooperate with a subpoena from Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. As one of Epstein’s most prominent former associates, Wexner has spent years addressing their decades-long relationship, which began around 1986.

In court documents, prominent Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre claimed that Wexner was among the men Epstein trafficked her to. Wexner has consistently denied any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s crimes and maintains he never met Giuffre. In 2019, he told L Brands investors that he was “embarrassed” about his closeness to someone “so sick, so cunning, so depraved.”

Wexner has never been charged with any wrongdoing, and Justice Department documents indicate Epstein did not operate a sex trafficking ring. Nevertheless, Wexner’s name appears more than 1,000 times in the Epstein files, reflecting their extensive relationship.

The timing of their meeting was fortuitous for Wexner’s business empire. By the late 1980s, the Ohio businessman had transformed a single Limited store in Columbus into a retail powerhouse that included The Limited, Limited Express, Lane Bryant, and Victoria’s Secret. Abercrombie & Fitch and other brands would later join his portfolio.

Within a few years of their meeting, Wexner had entrusted Epstein with managing his vast fortune. In 1991, he granted Epstein power of attorney, allowing him to make investments, broker business deals, purchase property, and help develop what would become the expansive Wexner estate in New Albany, Ohio. Wednesday’s deposition will take place either at this estate or nearby.

In a 2003 Vanity Fair interview, Wexner praised Epstein for his “excellent judgment and unusually high standards,” describing him as “always a most loyal friend.” However, the newly released documents reveal a more complex relationship. In self-addressed notes, Epstein wrote: “never ever, did anything without informing les” and “I would never give him up.” A draft letter to Wexner mentioned they had “‘gang stuff’ for over 15 years” and were mutually indebted to each other.

A spokesperson for Wexner, Tom Davies, stated that Wexner never received this letter, suggesting it “appears to fit a pattern of untrue, outlandish, and delusional statements made by Epstein in desperate attempts to perpetuate his lies and justify his misconduct.”

While Wexner publicly claimed in August 2019 that he had severed ties with Epstein in 2007, Justice Department records show continued communication after that date. When Epstein agreed to a plea deal in June 2008 requiring him to serve time for soliciting prostitution from a minor, Wexner emailed him: “Abigail told me the result… all I can say is I feel sorry. You violated your own number 1 rule…always be careful.” Epstein replied simply: “no excuse.”

Davies clarified that the 2007 date cited by Wexner referred specifically to firing Epstein as his financial adviser, revoking his power of attorney, and removing his access to Wexner’s bank accounts. In 2019, Wexner revealed that Epstein had misappropriated “vast sums” from his family’s fortune. An investigative memo from the latest document release indicates Epstein repaid Wexner $100 million, believed to be only a portion of what he stole.

The newly released documents have emboldened sexual assault survivors in ways that have increased scrutiny on Wexner. Epstein survivor Maria Farmer has said she feels vindicated by an FBI report confirming she filed one of the earliest complaints against Epstein. Her account includes an alleged sexual assault by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in 1996 at Epstein’s New Albany home, located about half a mile from the Wexners’ residence. The Wexners maintain they knew nothing about Farmer’s allegations until years later when they appeared in news reports.

The fallout continues to affect Wexner’s legacy beyond his Epstein connection. Survivors of another sexual predator, Dr. Richard Strauss of Ohio State University, are citing Wexner’s association with Epstein in their efforts to have his name removed from a campus football complex built with his donations. A district court judge recently ruled that these alumni can compel Wexner to testify in their lawsuit against the university.