That JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive Mary Callahan Erdoes excused Jeffrey Epstein being a paedophile with “oh boy!” and “I don’t know what to believe” emails is proof of how rotten-to-the-core that finance house truly is
On Friday, Inside Edition shared news that they’d obtained Jeffrey Epstein’s appointment schedules from his “longtime assistant” Lesley Groff and aside from mentioning the likes of the former treasury secretary Larry Summers and his wife Lisa meeting with the since croaked paedophile more than ten times between 2012 and 2016, the documents also mentioned the likes of Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, the Crown Princess of Norway, and Rupert Murdoch’s now ex-wife Wedni Deng Murdoch.
As ever, the rabbit warren that is the story of Epstein and his puppet mistress Ghislaine Maxwell is a gift that keeps on giving and elsewhere Friday, The Washington Post’s Jacob Bogage and Aaron Gregg published a fascinating report containing the deposition from J. P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s chief executive of its asset and wealth management unit Mary Callahan Erdoes about her dealings with her now deceased client.
In it, they revealed:
“When the banker learned a court had affirmed Jeffrey Epstein’s status as a sex offender likely to harm more victims, she had a terse response.”
“‘Oh boy,’ Mary Erdoes wrote in a 2011 email to a fellow executive at JPMorgan Chase, where Epstein was a client for 15 years.”
“It was at least the sixth time Erdoes, who leads the bank’s asset and wealth management division, had been alerted to Epstein’s criminal or civil legal trouble for sex crimes. She had also been informed as early as 2006 that JPMorgan flagged suspicious activity on his accounts.”
“Erdoes’s statements in a nearly nine-hour deposition conducted in March shed new light on the actions of JPMorgan’s highest-ranking officials while Epstein’s conduct faced legal and public scrutiny.”
“The Washington Post obtained the transcript of the deposition, much of which has been unreported until now. This report is based on Erdoes’s answers in that deposition, as well as emails and other internal bank documents that were read into the record during the deposition or introduced as evidence in other court filings.”
“The deposition transcript shows Erdoes said she had been made aware of Epstein’s convictions for sexual offenses, his status as a high-risk sex offender, and public allegations of abuse of minors and human trafficking. But she said she didn’t think it was her responsibility to remove him as a client, launch an inquiry into his accounts or refer them to compliance officials. JPMorgan has a separate process for dealing with client-related legal issues, she said”
“Jes Staley, Erdoes’s supervisor and one of Epstein’s close friends, did investigate the allegations against Epstein by asking the financier about them, according to records read during the deposition.”
“JPMorgan in a statement said it was ‘unfair for The Post to draw these kinds of conclusions without context for the relevant processes at JPMorgan, the tens of millions of clients, and the many professionals involved.’”
“On more than 100 occasions during the deposition, Erdoes said she did not recall details of her role helping supervise Epstein’s accounts, some of which date back two decades. She described Epstein’s crimes as “allegations” even though he pleaded guilty to procuring a child prostitute in 2008 and was declared a Level 3 sex offender – the most serious designation – by a New York state appeals court in 2011.”
“Asked in the March 15 deposition whether she believed Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019, was engaged in sex trafficking, Erdoes said, ‘I don’t know what to believe.’”
Editor’s Note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party. Follow Matthew Steeples on Twitter at @M_Steeples.