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President Trump Celebrates Black History Month at White House Ceremony; Interview with Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ): Oversight Democrats Say Les Wexner is Downplaying Epstein Ties. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired February 18, 2026 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And rescue, which is one of the groups that has been responding to help recover the bodies that are still out there. And they're saying that's still very active right now. But this weather is so intense that they can't get out to them to bring them back just yet.

But they're working actively to do that. But they've also got to take the safety of these first responders in mind, keep that in mind. But just to put this into perspective, Brianna, this is the deadliest avalanche in the United States since 1981.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes, and it's unbelievable, quite frankly, and it's hitting this community hard. And I think that's why so many people are paying attention to it. Stephanie, thank you so much. Really appreciate the update.

Billionaire retail magnate Les Wexner deposed by the House Oversight Committee over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. What he told lawmakers about his relationship with the convicted sex offender next.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We're going to go straight to the East Room at the White House where President Trump is holding a reception for Black History Month. Let's listen to the president.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... Doing that a couple of times, Bruce, I said, uh, I got the Olympics, I got the World Cup and I got the 250th year. They said, "You didn't do that." I said, "You're right about that."

I didn't do too bad. We happen to be here at the right time. That's all that was.

But we thank God for the strength and courage and grit and devotion of Black Americans who have helped make America the most powerful country in the history of the world. We now have, and you saw that with our attack a few weeks ago on Venezuela. We have the greatest military in the world. We make the greatest equipment in the world. There's nobody even close. Nearly 10,000 African Americans fought for the Patriot cause in the Revolutionary War.

Did you know that 10,000 and it's actually a number even I've heard even higher than that helping secure our independence and every generation since from the Buffalo soldiers to the Tuskegee Airmen. Black Americans have stepped forward to defend the flag and to defend our country like few others really, like few others. And you've never really been given the recognition that you should get for that.

You know that Ben, they never, I don't think a lot of people have given the kind of recognition, but everyone knows all about the Tuskegee Airmen. They were great and amazing. The Buffalo soldiers, you know, the Buffalo soldiers.

CROWD: Yes.

TRUMP: Good stuff, right? From jazz to the blues -- that you know. That you do get recognition for. Jazz, the blues, from rock 'n' roll to rap ...

SANCHEZ: President Trump there in the East Room at the White House, citing the contributions of African Americans to American history. The president taking part in this reception. We should note at the beginning of which he began by expressing sadness at the passing of someone Trump says that he knew well, and that is the Reverend Jesse Jackson, describing him as a real hero. Jackson passed away yesterday at the age of 84.

We're going to keep monitoring that and bring you the latest as we get it.

Right now, we have new developments in the House Oversight Committee's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Democrats say the retail magnate, Les Wexner, is downplaying his relationship to Epstein in a deposition happening today, telling them that he was conned.

The former owner of Victoria's Secret is named as a quote, co- conspirator in the newly released DOJ files. He's not been charged with any crime. He's denied any knowledge of Epstein's sex trafficking.

Let's get the latest from CNN correspondent Kara Scannell, who's been following this story. So Kara, what are we learning from this deposition?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So according to the lawmakers who are on scene in Ohio where this deposition is taking place, they are not satisfied with the answers that Les Wexner is giving them. And they came out during a break and spoke to the cameras that were set up there to say that they didn't think they were getting full answers. They thought that Wexner was trying to distance himself from Epstein.

In a statement that was released publicly and also provided to the committee in advance, Wexner had said that he was conned by Epstein, that he did give him his money to manage after he was given referrals from sophisticated financiers and then only discovered once the police began investigating Epstein for child sex trafficking in the mid-2000s that Epstein had stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from him. So we did hear from some of the lawmakers during a break, a couple of Democrats who had traveled there, and one of them, Representative Stephen Lynch, had said that he just did not find his answers credible.

Here's more of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEPHEN LYNCH (D-MA), OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: There was a deep trust between these two men. There was a deep friendship there, not only in a business sense, but Les Wexner gave Epstein the ability to handle his children's and his family's money. So at least that part of it, that part of it makes it hard to believe Les Wexner's testimony thus far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: Now, the deposition has been continuing for the past few hours. It is expected to go all day and wrap up today. So more questions will be posed to him, although the lawmakers are saying he has said he doesn't recall a number of times in response to these answers.

And as you said, in one FBI document in 2019, when Epstein was arrested in New York for child sex trafficking on federal charges, one of these documents had identified Les Wexner as a co-conspirator. There was also another document from the FBI that same year in which they said they called him a secondary co-conspirator. And in an e- mail, an FBI official said there was limited evidence of his involvement.

Certainly, this is what the House Oversight Committee is trying to get to the bottom to -- Boris.

[15:40:00]

SANCHEZ: Kara Scannell, thank you so much for that reporting -- Brianna.

KEILAR: We're joined now by Democratic Congresswoman Yasmeen Ansari of Arizona. She serves on the House Oversight Committee. Tell us, Congresswoman, did you get any new concrete information from Mr. Wexner today?

REP. YASSAMIN ANSARI (D-AZ) OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: I would have to say no. We have been in the deposition for several hours now. It started at about 10 a.m. this morning. And the reason why this deposition is seen as so important is because Les Wexner is the person who was responsible for Jeffrey Epstein's vast financial wealth. He paid him and gave him hundreds of millions of dollars over the years. He gave Jeffrey Epstein power of attorney over his decision making. And they had a close relationship for decades. And to me, it was very disappointing that even when asked about the nature of their relationship, Les Wexner downplayed it significantly. Going so far as to say there was no personal connection whatsoever or that he didn't remember why certain decisions financially were made when we're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars in decision making.

Now, we did get some information in pertaining to, you know, he answered questions whether or not he went to Epstein's Island. He told me that he did go for one hour, one time. I asked him if he went to Zorro Ranch, which was another one of Epstein's properties where many crimes were committed.

He said he did, again, just for one hour. Another interesting point of this, the line of questioning that took place today was about other allegations against Wexner and other involvements relating to Ohio State University. The Epstein relationship is not the only one in Wexner's life that has caused controversy.

He also was known to have paid a gynecologist at Ohio State University via Epstein millions of dollars quarterly over a long period of time. When we asked Wexner about that, he basically told us he doesn't remember and doesn't know why he did that. So not a credible witness at all.

And we urged him and we continue to urge him to do the right thing and give the information to the committee to be able to hold people who did commit these crimes accountable once and for all.

KEILAR: You would expect that someone would recall why they had paid millions of dollars through someone. Do you believe he is lying or do you believe he is unable to answer those questions? What do you think?

ANSARI: Well, he's under oath, so he was reminded that he's under oath and that lying is committing perjury and there will be consequences to this. So for me, it is hard to understand why if you are under oath, you would lie to this extent when you could be held accountable. Now, let's remember, this is somebody in their late 80s and we're talking about crimes committed decades ago.

I don't want to hypothesize, but he could be making a judgment call about, you know, whether it makes sense to be honest at this point in his life or not. But some of these, you know --

KEILAR: Well, let me ask you that. Did he did he seem sharp? I mean, did he otherwise seem sharp as you're asking him questions? So, I mean --

ANSARI: He's with it, yes, absolutely. He knows 100 percent what's going on. I mean, he seems healthy. I don't know the details, but yes.

KEILAR: Yes. So I just spoke with a lawyer who represents Maria Farmer, the first woman to report Epstein to the Feds in 1996, who said that Epstein and Maxwell abused her at Epstein's Ohio estate that is described by The Times as inside a complex developed by Wexner. Did lawmakers ask Wexner about that? ANSARI: That is the intention that we have not gotten to that part of the question yet. OK, that lawyer, James Marsh said --,

ANSARI: Right that is a very important.

KEILAR: Yes, no, very important. So that lawyer said the lawmakers should challenge Wexner on his story about his association with Epstein, which he finds it unbelievable, specifically that he's saying he was conned by Epstein and yet never reported it to any authority. Did anyone challenge him about that?

ANSARI: Yes. No, absolutely. That is one of the most, you know, egregious parts of this alleged story from Wexner.

He never -- because what happened was allegedly his wife, Abigail, found out years later that Jeffrey Epstein, quote unquote, stole hundreds of millions of dollars from them. Now, we have our doubts about that story as well, whether or not the money was stolen or not. But let's say you find out somebody stole hundreds of millions of dollars from you.

Why don't you press charges?

[15:45:00]

Why don't you, you know, go after that person? You're a billionaire. And his response to that was so wishy washy. He essentially said, that's just not the, you know, it comes from a family that, you know, came a long way and they didn't want to make -- he was advised not to make a big show about it.

It was very unclear, very vague and not sufficient in my view. And I think this is these are the big gaping holes in Wexner's story. You can't claim, you know, you can't have known someone and work with them and made them your power of attorney and given them hundreds of millions of dollars and say you weren't personal friends.

And then you can't say they stole hundreds of millions --

KEILAR: Can you get his financial records?

ANSARI: -- from you years later and you just did nothing. We can absolutely subpoena his financial records, and I think that needs to be, you know, that that's a very clear follow up from this.

And there are other questions that we have asked for in writing that the lawyer and himself seem, you know, seem like they will comply. But they say one thing in the room and then it's another.

KEILAR: If you want to see his financial records, I will note your colleague, Congressman Dave Min, said no Republican showed up to the deposition today. Was that ultimately the case? And I mean, do you have any hope that that's something Republicans would do with you to get those financial records?

ANSARI: I hope so. I mean, Republicans voted for the subpoena for Les Wexner, which was led by Democrats, but a couple of Republicans voted for it in January. But, you know, it was very disappointing that no Republican member of Congress showed up today in Ohio to do this.

I mean, this is one of the most important depositions in this case. I mean, when you're talking about how Jeffrey Epstein became Jeffrey Epstein with the vast wealth that he had that allowed him to traffic children and rape children, it was because of Les Wexner's money. So if you don't show up for this very important piece of the investigation, you obviously don't care about the truth.

I'm very sure many of them will show up next weekend for the Clintons. So, you know, for them, it's obviously more political. For me and the Democrats on the committee. I will go to any deposition that I can go to because there are so many.

This is such a vast and unprecedented cover up. And I think we're really just at the beginning of the investigation.

KEILAR: Yes, we'll have to leave it there. I have many more questions. We would love to talk with you next week ahead of that Clinton deposition or during that to see how things are going there.

Congresswoman Yasmin Ansari, thank you. And we'll be right back.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We want to take you back to the White House now and a Black History Month reception being hosted by President Trump. He spoke moments ago about the late Reverend Jesse Jackson.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to begin by expressing our sadness at the passing of a person who I knew very well. Jesse was a piece of work -- I want to tell you. He was a piece of work.

But he was a good man. He was a real -- he was a real hero, and I just want to pay my highest respects to Reverend Jesse Jackson.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: He was a good man. He was actually, as you got to know him, he got better and better all the time.

A lot of people, you get to know them, they get worse and worse. Jesse got better and better. But I knew him well long before becoming president and he really was special with lots of personality, grit and street smarts.

You would say Jesse had serious street smarts, right? A very important ingredient to life, I will tell you. He was gregarious and someone who truly loved people and a force of nature.

He was somebody that we're going to greatly miss. And on behalf of everyone here today, I know you joined me in sending our condolences to the entire family. What a great family.

We're also honored to be joined this afternoon by many exceptional African American leaders and patriots, including Secretary Scott Turner. Recommended --

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: Where is Scott? Where is Scott? Will you come up here, Scott? He was recommended by somebody who's very special to me, Ben Carson.

Ben Carson.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: Where's Ben? Where's Ben?

Come on up here, Ben. Come here. I got to get him. And his wonderful wife, Candy. Candy, I'm going to steal Ben for a second because, you know, Ben recommended Scott. And when Ben recommends somebody, I just do it.

Did I make a good decision? Be careful. Don't fall, Ben.

If you fall, that's the end. You can never recover from a fall. You know, you can make the greatest speech ever, but if you fall, my predecessor taught me that.

So, is Scott doing a good job, Ben?

BEN CARSON: He's doing the best job ever.

TRUMP: Come on, say that.

CARSON: One of the reasons I was so high on Scott Turner is he was really the driving force behind the Opportunity Zones, which was ...

KEILAR: All right, we are listening to Ben Carson there at the White House during Black History Month as the president had some very warm words for Jesse Jackson. We are going to get in a quick break, and we'll be right back.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: I believe it was Shakespeare who said a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Well now, according to a federal judge, that same thing might also be said about buffalo wings. A lawsuit brought against restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings, also known as BW3, to be initiated.

All right, took issue with their boneless wings menu item, saying they're nothing more than chicken nuggets.

SANCHEZ: Au contraire, a judge has now dismissed the case saying that it has no meat on its bones. The judge says the plaintiff did not drum up enough factual allegations to state a claim. That's an exact quote, actually.

KEILAR: Is it really?

SANCHEZ: This judge is having a good time. The lawsuit still does have some legs. The judge is giving the plaintiff until March 20th to amend his complaint. I feel like I got to read more into this one because it seems like the most frivolous lawsuit.

KEILAR: It's best if you don't.

SANCHEZ: Why would you, I mean, lawyers are not cheap, right?

KEILAR: No.

SANCHEZ: So why would you hire somebody for --?

[16:00:00]

KEILAR: That's like a lot of boneless wings you could eat, right?

SANCHEZ: Popcorn chicken's not real popcorn. I'm going to sue McDonald's. It's such a silly lawsuit.

I wish we had props here, though.

KEILAR: We wish we had some wings.

SANCHEZ: Do you like how I said au contraire?

KEILAR: No, it's Au contraire.

"THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

END