Ex-Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine may soon be the subject of a federal probe after a former assistant to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein told Congress he sexually assaulted her more than two decades ago.<\/p>\n
The House Oversight Committee has called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Levine, a Democratic businessman, two-term Mayor and former gubernatorial candidate who appeared multiple times<\/a> in DOJ documents commonly called the Epstein files.<\/p>\n Committee Chair James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, and four of his GOP colleagues sent a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche requesting a probe of Levine and celebrity hairstylist Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Fekkai, both accused of abuse by Sarah Kellen, who worked for Epstein for 15 years, starting in 2001.<\/p>\n Kellen testified<\/a> before the committee May 21 as part of its review of the federal government\u2019s handling of Epstein\u2019s case and that of fellow child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. The Miami Herald reported at the time that, according to sources in the room during the testimony, Kellen said Levine, Fekkai and photographer Patrick Demarchelier sexually abused her<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSarah Kellen bravely provided testimony before the House Oversight Committee about the horrific abuse she endured for years involving Epstein and Maxwell,\u201d Comer said Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMs. Kellen provided new information crucial to our investigation that is helping to bring transparency for the American people and accountability for survivors. During her transcribed interview, the Oversight Committee received serious allegations of criminal misconduct involving two individuals. The Oversight Committee is not a law enforcement entity, and our role is not to determine guilt or innocence. We are referring these allegations to the Department of Justice, which has the tools to investigate criminal misconduct. We will continue to follow the facts and ensure accountability for survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter<\/a> was also signed by U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Clay Higgins of Louisiana and William Timmons of South Carolina.<\/p>\n According to a transcript<\/a> of Kellen\u2019s testimony the committee released Thursday, she said that in the Summer of 2002 or 2003 \u2014 during her first or second year working for Epstein \u2014 she was staying at a house Epstein and Maxwell had rented in Saint-Tropez<\/a>, when Levine came to visit as a guest.<\/p>\n After Epstein and Maxwell went to bed, Kellen said Levine forced himself on her. She said the assault continued on the beach later, when Levine pulled her into a wooden shack while the group was walking. Nobody witnessed the abuse, she said, and she told no one.<\/p>\n She was in her 20s at the time; Levine was around 40.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Levine denied Kellen\u2019s account Thursday, telling the Herald<\/a> that \u201cnearly a quarter century ago, our client had a brief intimate encounter with another consenting adult. Any allegation suggesting otherwise is not true.\u201d<\/p>\n Levine has said he met Epstein only a few times and denied having a business relationship with him. But DOJ files released this year showed Levine\u2019s name appearing more than 600 times<\/a> across Epstein-related documents \u2014 a figure the committee highlighted in its letter to Blanche.<\/p>\n The files also revealed a yearslong correspondence between Levine and Maxwell, including flirtatious emails.<\/p>\n