Republicans urge investigation into two men accused of abuse by Epstein assistant

Republican lawmakers have asked the Department of Justice to investigate sexual assault allegations involving two men made by Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime assistant. In a transcribed closed-door interview in late May, as part of a congressional investigation into Epstein, Sarah Kellen, one of the late sex offender’s former aides, told the House oversight and reform committee she was “sexually and psychologically abused” by him during her employment – but also alleged she was sexually assaulted by the French celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai, and by Philip Levine, the former mayor of Miami Beach, in separate incidents in the early 2000s. Hundreds of people, including dozens powerful and prominent figures , have been linked to Epstein, and named in files released by the justice department, with no evidence of wrongdoing. James Comer, the Republican who chairs the oversight panel, and four other Republican lawmakers, said Fekkai and Levine are the “first names of alleged criminal conduct” the committee has referred to the department amid the panel’s investigation into Epstein. Epstein died in a Manhattan jail in 2019, while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. …