According to CNBC, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said former JPMorgan Chase investment banking chief Jes Staley encouraged the bank to retain Jeffrey Epstein as a client despite internal red flags. Comer said there were warning signs about Epstein inside JPMorgan, but Staley defended him and pushed the bank to keep him on. Staley served as Epstein's private banker for more than three decades at JPMorgan and maintained a close personal relationship with him, while U.K. regulators cited more than 1,000 emails between the two men. JPMorgan agreed in 2023 to pay $290 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Epstein's victims and $75 million to resolve a separate case brought by the U.S. Virgin Islands, without admitting liability, and later reached a confidential settlement with Staley.