Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein: A timeline of their relationship
Considering that Jeffrey Epstein moved around New York’s social circles, it’s not surprising that he crossed paths with former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Clinton’s wife, Hillary Clinton, was a U.S. Senator representing New York, so the Clintons frequented Manhattan a lot.
Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship actually started in the White House, not on the New York social scene. Here’s everything to know about Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein’s interactions, including the events that might shine a light on their relationship.
How Bill met Jeffrey
Jeffrey Epstein visited the White House for a charity event while Bill Clinton was still president. Epstein met with White House aides through the 1990s, and they had some discussions about financial stabilization.
Bill Clinton’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein didn’t deepen until after Clinton’s tenure. According to one source, Clinton sought a friendship with Epstein for one reason, “he had a plane.” Clinton traveled for philanthropy work after he served as president and sought after major donors for The Clinton Foundation, including Bill Gates and Epstein.
Scandals
Amid their friendship in the 1990s, Bill Clinton was impeached for having an affair with 21-year-old intern Monica Lewinsky. Clinton kept the presidency through the scandal, but it gave him a reputation for infidelity. Further, since Clinton initially lied about his affair with Lewinsky, his reputation for honesty was tarred.
Bill Clinton’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein went public in 2016 during Hillary Clinton’s presidential run. During Hillary Clinton’s campaign, their former ties to Epstein were reported by right-wing media. Democrats hit back, accusing them of trying to smear the Clintons and pointing out Epstein’s friendship with Donald Trump.
Current U.S. President Donald Trump also had ties to Jeffrey Epstein. They met in the late 1980s in the New York social scene and were remembered as each other’s “wingman” in the 1990s in the New York and Palm beach social scenes. After a falling out with Epstein over a 2004 bidding feud, their friendship ended.
Little St. James
One of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, Virginia Roberts-Guiffre, reported seeing Bill Clinton on Epstein’s private island, Little St. James. Clinton denies ever going to Epstein’s island, but recently-released records show that Clinton traveled to the island.
Virginia Roberts-Guiffre never mentioned that she was abused by Clinton, but she stated that he stayed in a guest house where “orgies happened constantly.” When she asked Epstein why Clinton was there, Epstein told her that Clinton “owed him some favors.”
Bill Clinton also traveled on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet, dubbed the Lolita Express. He appeared in the plane’s manifest twenty-seven times. He did not fly after Epstein pled guilty to sex crimes in 2008.
Ghislaine Maxwell
Rumors circulated that Bill Clinton had an affair with Jeffrey Epstein’s girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, in the early 2000s. Bill Clinton denies the affair, although recent photos released from The Sun show Clinton arm-in-arm with Ghislaine Maxwell as they boarded the Lolita Express. The Sun released another photo showing Clinton with a girl.
The girl Bill Clinton was photographed with was one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims. It’s reported that Epstein made her wear a pilot shirt while aboard the airplane to make her look like a regular employee. It’s unclear whether Clinton knew she was being sex trafficked by Epstein at the time. He denies any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity.
What’s up with the painting?
Jeffrey Epstein owned a bizarre painting of Bill Clinton in a dress & heels in his private art collection. The painting, named Parsing Bill, was composed by New York artist Petrina Ryan-Kleid. The work features Bill Clinton reclining in a blue dress smoking a cigarette in the Oval Office.
The portrait of Bill Clinton hung in Jeffrey Epstein’s private quarters and was discovered by a staff member in 2012. The dress Clinton was painted in has a striking resemblance to a blue ball gown worn by his wife, Hillary, and the dress Monica Lewinsky wore during Clinton’s affair with her in the White House.
Conspiracy theories
After Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest, conspiracy theories about the Clintons operating a pedophile ring exacerbated. Clinton’s former relationship with Epstein fueled conspiracies like Pizzagate, which alleged the Clintons ran a sex trafficking operation under a pizza parlor in Washington, DC.
Final visit in prison
According to prison logs from 2008 and 2009, Jeffrey Epstein was visited by a mutual friend of his and Bill Clinton. Clinton, however, appeared to sever ties with Epstein along with most of Epstein’s other rich & powerful friends after he pled guilty to soliciting a minor.
Bill Clinton’s name doesn’t appear in Jeffrey Epstein’s flight roster after 2007 when Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges. Clinton still maintains that he knew nothing of Epstein’s illegal activities.
