Ohio residents are sounding off after billionaire Les Wexner’s attorney was caught on a hot mic threatening to “*expletive* kill” his client if he didn’t keep his answers short during a marathon congressional deposition tied to the Jeffrey Epstein probe.
The jaw-dropping moment roughly four and a half hours into Wexner’s closed-door testimony before the House Oversight Committee has since erupted online. Particularly so, over on Ohio’s Columbus community Reddit.
“Bro wants to speedrun self-incrimination. Attorney’s losing his mind and wondering if the money is really worth it lmao,” one user wrote, summing up the mood of many commenters who believed Wexner was talking too much.
The 88-year-old retail magnate, who has denied any wrongdoing in connection to Epstein, had been answering questions about why he hired the disgraced financier decades ago. According to users who reviewed the footage, Wexner began describing why he thought Epstein had the “bandwidth” to manage his affairs before his attorney leaned in with the expletive-laced warning.
Video of the exchange, posted publicly by the committee, shows Wexner laughing after the whisper.
For many online, the episode was less scandalous than it was predictable.
“Every lawyer has wanted to say this to their client. Even when they don’t have anything to hide,” one commenter quipped.
Another, identifying as an attorney, confirmed the instinct: “Lawyer. Can confirm.”
Several users noted that the hot mic moment was not an isolated incident. One commenter noted that earlier in the deposition, the attorney had paused proceedings to whisper, “Stop telling stories. Just answer the question.”
Still, beneath the punchlines was clear frustration from Ohio residents watching one of the state’s most influential figures endure national scrutiny. Wexner, long credited with reshaping Columbus and developing New Albany into an affluent suburb, now finds his legacy overshadowed by a renewed focus on his former ties to Epstein.
While Wexner has maintained he cut ties with Epstein nearly two decades ago and was unaware of his crimes, the viral hot mic exchange has only intensified public fascination with his testimony and skepticism from some corners of his home state.
As one Reddit user dryly observed after Wexner responded to a follow-up question with a single word: “I love how the next question, he just says ‘No.’ Awkward silence. And then he looks to the lawyer like ‘Well, the answer IS no, I did what you wanted this time!’”
For now, in Ohio at least, the deposition’s most memorable line may not have come from under oath, but from a whisper that wasn’t supposed to be heard.
