Bill Clinton's Name On Epstein's List Comes As No Shock Given Their Past Ties
Court documents concerning convicted sex offender and suspected trafficker Jeffrey Epstein have confirmed a long-standing suspicion: Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is mentioned by Johanna Sjoberg, one of Epstein's alleged victims. Alongside Clinton, other high-profile figures like Prince Andrew and Donald Trump are named, but there isn't a definitive list of clients as some people suspected there would be. The "list" many people are still referring to is really a large tranche of court documents.
The Epstein scandal began in 2005 after he was arrested for paying a minor for sex. The socialite pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 13 months in a work-release program. Then in 2019, new allegations of sex trafficking were leveled against Epstein, painting many of his associates in a terrible light. This spurred Clinton to publicly deny any knowledge of Epstein's crimes. However, the former president's attempt at distancing himself from Epstein did little to erase their eyebrow-raising history.
Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein allegedly knew each other in the 1990s
Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein's relationship came to light in the early 2000s, but The Daily Beast alleges that the pair knew each other as far back as the 1990s. Epstein and his rumored girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, allegedly visited Clinton at the White House during his first presidential term. The New York Post alleges that these visits happened more than 17 times. Given the length of their relationship, it's unsurprising that Clinton is mentioned more than 50 times in numerous Epstein-related court documents (via American Military News).
While Clinton was running for reelection in 1995, several high-profile individuals donated up to $100,000 by buying seats at campaign banquets (per Newspapers). Jeffrey Epstein was among 15 persons named as those donors. The New York Times notes that Epstein and Clinton's relationship only attracted public suspicion once the former president was pictured on Epstein's plane in 2002, more than a year after the end of his presidency.
Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein praised each other
After the media frenzy about Bill Clinton traveling on Jeffrey Epstein's plane, both men spoke to New York Magazine about their mutual respect in 2002. Epstein called Clinton "the world's greatest politician," and the former president described the billionaire as a "generous" and "committed philanthropist with a keen sense of global markets and an in-depth knowledge of twenty-first-century science." Ironically, Epstein did not have an undergraduate degree. Clinton never publicly addressed the 2005 accusation but in 2006, Epstein quietly donated $25,000 to the Clinton Foundation (via The Daily Beast).
When Epstein faced new federal sex trafficking charges in 2019, Clinton released a statement through his spokesperson, Angel Urena. "President Clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York," Urena stated (via CNN). The statement added that the former president had taken "a total of four trips on Epstein's airplane: one to Europe, one to Asia, and two to Africa." Urena noted that these trips were related to Clinton Foundation business. However, in 2016, Fox News reported that Epstein's flight logs showed at least 27 trips with Bill Clinton.
Bill Clinton was photographed receiving a massage from an Epstein accuser in 2002
One year after Bill Clinton denied any knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's wrongdoing, a photo of the former president receiving a massage from an Epstein accuser went public (via The New York Post). The image was taken in 2002, the same year that Epstein and Clinton had publicly praised each other. Clinton was implicated by Chauntae Davies, who allegedly worked as a personal masseuse for Epstein.
Davies alleged that during a trip on Epstein's plane, Clinton, complaining of neck pains, asked her for a massage. She also recounted how Ghislaine Maxwell had insisted she oblige the request. Clinton has continued to deny any wrongdoing through Angel Urena.
Of course, it's worth noting that this isn't the only sex-related scandal Bill Clinton has been involved in. In 1998, Clinton denied claims he'd engaged in improper behavior with White House intern Monica Lewinsky until undeniable evidence unearthed the untold truth of Monica Lewinsky and their affair.
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