WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jes Staley has agreed to be interviewed on July 23 by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The committee confirmed that Staley accepted a voluntary transcribed interview invitation extended to him three weeks ago by Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.

Staley was a friend of Epstein, who died from a jailhouse suicide in New York in August 2019, weeks after being arrested on federal child sex trafficking charges. Epstein was a major client of JPMorgan's private wealth and asset management divisions when Staley ran them.

In 2023, JPMorgan agreed to pay victims of Epstein $290 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the bank facilitated sex trafficking by Epstein. The bank also agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit by the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands related to Epstein. In both settlements, JPMorgan did not admit wrongdoing in its dealings with Epstein.

That same year, JPMorgan reached a confidential settlement with Staley to resolve the bank's claims that he was responsible for civil damages and costs associated with Epstein-related litigation. Separately, in 2023, the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority fined Staley more than $2 million and permanently banned him from holding a management role in the financial sector.

Staley served as CEO of Barclays from October 2015 until his resignation in late 2021. His departure followed a probe by the Financial Conduct Authority into how he had characterized his relationship with Epstein to Barclays and in the bank's response to the regulator. Barclays later stated that the authority's investigation 'makes no findings that Mr Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr Epstein's alleged crimes, which was the central question underpinning Barclays' support for Mr Staley following the arrest of Mr Epstein in the summer of 2019.'

Staley addressed his connection to Epstein in a 2020 statement, saying, 'Obviously, I thought I knew him well, and I didn't. For sure, with hindsight, with what we know now, I deeply regret having any relationship with Jeffrey.'