Epstein-Related Assault Claims
House Republicans Push DOJ to Investigate Epstein Assistant's Assault Claims Against Ex-Mayor, Stylist
Sarah Kellen, a former personal assistant to Jeffrey Epstein, has alleged she was sexually assaulted by Philip Levine, the former Mayor of Miami Beach, and celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai. WMAR2 News reported that Republican lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee have now referred those allegations to the Department of Justice, urging a formal criminal investigation.
Kellen testified in a closed-door congressional interview on May 21, 2026. She said she met both men through Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. She also told lawmakers that federal investigators never once contacted her before Epstein's 2019 arrest — despite her spending 15 years working directly for him.
Kellen Describes Herself as an 'Indentured Slave'
Kellen says Epstein forced her to work without pay and threatened her life to keep her in line. "Jeffrey made sure I knew that defying him would cost me my life," she said, according to Miami Herald. She describes herself not as an Epstein lieutenant but as a "captive survivor" who was "sexually and psychologically abused" for years.
Kellen was named as one of four "potential co-conspirators" in Epstein's controversial 2007 non-prosecution agreement, which shielded her from prosecution. That legal status caused many victims to view her as an accomplice for nearly two decades. Her attorney, Kimberly Hamm, successfully argued before the committee that she should be treated as a victim, not a suspect.
Levine Named 600 Times in the Released Epstein Files
Philip Levine served as Miami Beach mayor from 2013 to 2017 and ran for Florida governor in 2018. His name appears roughly 600 times in the 3.5 million pages of Epstein records released by the DOJ in early 2026, according to CNN. Emails show Levine referring to Epstein as "a great guy" and "my friend."
Kellen alleges Levine assaulted her in Saint Tropez around 2002–2003 while she was vacationing with Epstein and Maxwell. A spokesperson for Levine told CNN the encounter was a "brief intimate encounter with another consenting adult" and called any other characterization "not true." Fekkai has also denied any wrongdoing through his representatives.
House Republicans Push DOJ for Criminal Charges
Committee Chairman James Comer sent a formal letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on June 4, requesting a criminal probe. Comer said Kellen "provided new information crucial to our investigation that is helping to bring transparency." Republicans Reps. Andy Biggs, Lauren Boebert, and Clay Higgins also called on the DOJ to grant immunity to other witnesses to surface more names, according to NewsChannel 5.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna backed the broader investigation but criticized the partisan handling of certain interviews. He expressed frustration that some Republicans were shielding former officials from tough questions about how Epstein files were managed under past administrations, according to KJRH.
Zero Federal Contacts Before 2019 — A Damning Claim
One of Kellen's sharpest allegations is simple: in all the years the government investigated Epstein and Maxwell, no one ever called her. She says the first time law enforcement contacted her was after Epstein's July 2019 arrest on federal sex-trafficking charges — years after the original 2007 deal was struck, according to KTNV.
Legal analysts note Kellen was not sworn in for her May interview. However, under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, it is still a federal crime to lie to Congress — giving her statements legal weight. The committee's referral now puts pressure on the DOJ to decide whether to open formal cases against Levine and Fekkai, according to LEX 18.
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