Jes Staley seeks to sever, delay JPMorgan trial over Jeffrey Epstein ties

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Jes Staley, the former JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:) private banking chief, wants a U.S. judge to sever the bank’s lawsuit against him for concealing what he knew about Jeffrey Epstein from other lawsuits over JPMorgan’s ties to the late financier.

In a letter filed on Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, Staley also asked to delay the scheduled Oct. 23 trial to March 2024, saying the current “breakneck” schedule affords him “grossly insufficient” time to defend against JPMorgan’s claims.

“The stakes could hardly be higher for Mr. Staley,” his lawyer Brendan Sullivan said in the letter. “Disproving these false and highly-publicized allegations is of paramount importance to him.”

JPMorgan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Epstein had been a JPMorgan client from 2000 to 2013.

The largest U.S. bank is being sued by the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein had a home, and by the financier’s accusers for allegedly aiding in his sexual abuses.

JPMorgan then sued Staley, who had been friendly with Epstein, seeking to have him cover its losses in both lawsuits, and forfeit eight years of compensation.

Epstein was in a Manhattan jail awaiting trial for sex trafficking when he killed himself at age 66 in August 2019.