Introduction to Clinton’s Epstein Connections
There is a photograph depicting Bill Clinton swimming at night alongside Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite now convicted of sex trafficking.
Another image captures Clinton smiling backstage at a Rolling Stones concert in Hong Kong with Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and globally notorious sex offender.
A third undated photograph shows the former US president reclining in a hot tub beside an individual whose face is blacked out to protect their identity.
Clinton’s links to Epstein have been publicly acknowledged for years, with the former president stating that his charity work after leaving the White House was the basis for their association.
Recently released images and emails from the Department of Justice provide insight into the extent of the relationship and reveal efforts by Maxwell to cultivate the connection between Clinton and Epstein.
This newly released material is expected to be central in the rigorous questioning Clinton will face from a Republican-led congressional committee. This scrutiny adds Clinton to the list of powerful figures examined for their ties to Epstein.
The files do not implicate Clinton in any wrongdoing; no accusations of misconduct have been made against him by Epstein’s victims, and there is no evidence he was aware of Epstein’s crimes. Clinton’s spokesperson has emphasized that the photos are decades old and that Clinton ceased associating with Epstein before Epstein’s crimes became public.
The documents do, however, illustrate how Clinton’s world intersected with Epstein’s in the early 2000s, a period when Clinton was redefining his role as an ex-president focused on philanthropy. He was seeking wealthy donors for the Clinton Foundation and later the Clinton Global Initiative, a forum for leaders addressing global challenges.
At that time, Epstein was a money manager and jet-setting financier who, alongside Maxwell, mingled with the world’s elite from Buckingham Palace to Palm Beach, cultivating influential friendships.
While no direct communications between Clinton and Epstein were found in the emails reviewed by the BBC, much correspondence exists between Maxwell and Clinton’s top aide, Doug Band, concerning both men.
Emails exchanged between Maxwell and Band from 2002 to 2004 reveal a close relationship filled with flattery and sexual innuendo. Band referred to Maxwell as his "social matchmaker" and "lover," while Maxwell complimented his social and physical attributes.
The extensive communications shed light on Clinton’s proximity to Epstein and the eagerness of those working for both men to maintain the connection. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Band.
Maxwell and Band coordinated meetings for the Clinton Global Initiative and arranged Clinton’s flights on Epstein’s private jet, according to the documents. Flight logs show Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane at least 24 times.
Clinton’s spokesperson stated that these trips included stops related to the Clinton Foundation’s work.
The flight logs, documents, and correspondence support Clinton’s claim that he ended contact with Epstein well before Epstein’s 2006 indictment and 2008 guilty plea for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Hillary Clinton, then a US senator from New York, did not accompany Bill Clinton on Epstein-related trips and has stated she does not recall meeting Epstein.
Bill Clinton’s Deputy Chief of Staff Angel Ureña told the BBC,
"President Clinton knew nothing about Epstein's crimes and has nothing to hide."Ureña added that Clinton did not send any emails found in the Epstein files.
"We have told the media everything we know about President Clinton's travel with Jeffrey Epstein,"he said.
"The facts are the facts and the truth is the truth, and they're both on our side."
A whirlwind tour
On 21 September 2002, Clinton boarded Epstein’s private jet and embarked on a whirlwind tour of African countries accompanied by several celebrities, according to flight logs.
The trip received significant press coverage, as did the connection between Clinton and Epstein.
At the time, Clinton’s spokesperson told New York Magazine that Epstein was "both a highly successful financier and a committed philanthropist," and that Clinton "especially appreciated his insights and generosity during the recent trip to Africa to work on democratisation, empowering the poor, citizen service, and combating HIV/AIDS."
The magazine described the relationship as transactional:
"What attracted Clinton to Epstein was quite simple: He had a plane."
Clinton stated in a sworn statement submitted to Congress last month, obtained by the BBC,
"Mr Epstein offered a plane that was large enough to accommodate me, my staff, and my US Secret Service detail, in support of visiting the Foundation's philanthropic work."
He added that he and his staff took flights to visit Foundation projects and attend conferences and meetings, and that he never visited Epstein’s private island.
Between February 2002 and November 2003, Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane to Europe, Africa, Asia, Russia, Miami, and New York, according to flight logs. During this period, Clinton’s team was attempting to raise up to $100 million (£74.3 million) for his foundation, as indicated by a memo published by WikiLeaks.
Recently released images from these trips include photos of Clinton smiling while walking with staff and shaking hands with local officials.
However, there are also images that have drawn lawmakers’ attention, such as Clinton swimming with Maxwell in an undated photo; reclining in a hot tub beside a person whose face is obscured; and a previously published photo showing a young woman seated on his armrest.
Maxwell was the key figure linking Epstein and Clinton, as she stated in a 2025 deposition to the Department of Justice. Epstein had attended White House events in the early 1990s, along with hundreds of other guests, and was photographed with Clinton during his presidency.
"Epstein had gone to the White House, but they had not met,"she told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
"They met because of me."
A lawyer for Maxwell, currently imprisoned for sex trafficking, did not respond to BBC requests for comment. When summoned to testify before the House committee this month, she declined to answer questions, citing her constitutional right against self-incrimination.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of recruiting and trafficking four teenage girls for sexual abuse by Epstein when he was her boyfriend. Epstein died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. He had previously been convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a minor and served a year in jail under a plea deal widely criticized as lenient, despite accusations of trafficking dozens of women and girls.
Maxwell told Blanche last year that Clinton would not have been on Epstein’s jet without her involvement.
"I was the one who asked Epstein to provide the plane,"she said.
"I thought it was an honour and a privilege to be part of something so amazing and to have an opportunity to spend time with a man that I found truly extraordinary. And please, I don't mean it in any other way, other than as a former fantastic ex-president."
Maxwell plays 'matchmaker'
Doug Band, Clinton’s closest staff member during his presidency and post-presidency, frequently appears alongside Clinton on flight logs for international trips with Epstein and Maxwell.
Band describes himself as the "key architect" of Clinton’s post-presidency role, instrumental in creating and growing the Clinton Global Initiative conference. He later co-founded a consulting firm valued at $2.3 billion in 2023.
Band began working with Clinton as a White House intern in 1995, advancing through the White House Counsel’s Office to become deputy assistant to the president. He continued as Clinton’s chief adviser after he left office in 2000, helping him transition into a global elder statesman.
Band’s travels with Clinton and Maxwell in 2002 and 2003 included stops in London, Morocco, Hong Kong, Japan, Brunei, Norway, Siberia, and China.
Emails recently released reveal a flirtatious rapport between Maxwell and Band.
In these emails, Band addressed Maxwell as "booboo" and "babycakes." Maxwell called him "a supper stud," said she had a "crush" on him, and claimed he was "hung like a horse."
Band referred to Maxwell as his "social matchmaker" and "pimp," and wrote,
"But at the same time, you are my lover."
The BBC made multiple attempts to contact Band via public records but received no response. He has not been accused of any crimes or wrongdoing related to Epstein.
In a statement to The New York Times earlier this month, Band said his communications with Maxwell occurred when he was unmarried and in his twenties. He called her a "monster" and denied any physical relationship.
The correspondence mixed logistical details with innuendo, including coordination of movements and meetings in New York with Epstein or Clinton.
London was a frequent destination, including during the Africa trip in September 2002. A recently released undated photo album labeled "Clinton London/Africa" features Clinton visiting the Churchill War Rooms.
A few weeks after the Africa trip, Band asked Maxwell for "Andrew's address to send a ty for dinner for Clinton." Maxwell replied,
"Buckingham Palace SW1 London HRH Prince Andrew."
Emails suggest Band sought Maxwell’s assistance in arranging beneficial connections for the Clinton Global Initiative.
Band requested Maxwell’s help setting up meetings, including with Richard Attias, a Moroccan events organizer who played a key role connecting global elites at Davos and later for the Clinton Global Initiative conference.
Maxwell wrote in February 2004,
"I will talk to Attias Mon and set it up for you. He has been involved w/Davos for large no of yrs so he is probably one if not the only person for you to talk to. I think there is big money to be made from a possible assoc w/him _ I have ideas I want to talk to you about but only after I have seen him."
Attias confirmed to the BBC that he met with Band and initially spoke with Clinton at Davos, proposing a way to leverage Clinton’s political stature to effect global change. He worked with Band to realize this vision through the Clinton Global Initiative.
Maxwell told the Department of Justice she was "very central" to the effort as a convener who "helped bring key personnel" to the project. Attias described her as a "catalyst."
"Ghislaine was a point of contact, and definitely, she put me in touch with Doug Band, who was the right hand of President Clinton,"he said.
On 16 September 2005, Bill Clinton spoke at the inaugural Clinton Global Initiative event in New York. The gathering, modeled as an American counterpart to Davos, aimed to address "the world's most pressing challenges" and solidify Clinton’s role as a global leader post-presidency.
Clinton moderated a panel featuring former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
'I wish I had never met him'
In his 2024 memoir, Clinton wrote that he
"had always thought Epstein was odd but had no inkling of the crimes he was committing."
He added,
"He hurt a lot of people, but I knew nothing about it and by the time he was first arrested in 2005, I had stopped contact with him."
Ureña declined to comment on Band’s involvement with Maxwell and Epstein or its potential influence on the Clinton Global Initiative, stating,
"We'll leave it to others to describe their own relationships."
Ureña also did not address questions about the photos of Clinton in the hot tub, swimming with Maxwell, and with the woman on his armrest.
Band, who parted ways with Clinton’s circle after a falling out around 2015, told Vanity Fair in 2020 that he had advised Clinton to distance himself from Epstein following the Africa trip in 2002. Band said he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes but had a bad feeling and urged Clinton to sever ties.
In his memoir, Citizen: My Life After the White House, Clinton expressed deep regret:
"The bottom line is, even though it allowed me to visit the work of my foundation, traveling on Epstein's plane was not worth the years of questioning afterward,"
"I wish I had never met him."
