1 Jan, 2024 18:37
Bill Clinton to be named in Epstein files – media
Former US President Bill Clinton will be identified as “John Doe 36” in a trove of court documents concerning deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, ABC News has reported. Clinton’s relationship with the child molester came under intense scrutiny after Epstein’s arrest in 2019.
Hundreds of pages of redacted documents are to be declassified and released on Tuesday, following an order from Manhattan judge Loretta Preska in December. The documents stem from a 2015 civil lawsuit brought against Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed that she had been sexually abused and trafficked by the pair.
According to ABC, Clinton is mentioned more than 50 times in the files. Most of the mentions are said to concern Giuffre’s unsuccessful attempts to compel Clinton to testify against Epstein and Maxwell, with ABC stating that the files do not implicate Clinton in any criminal activity.
More than 170 other individuals will be named in the documents, having previously been referred to as “John Doe” and “Jane Doe.” Some are expected to be employees of the late sex offender, such as drivers and groundskeepers at his private island of Little Saint James, as well as high-profile associates like tech billionaire Bill Gates and Britain’s Prince Andrew.
A prominent socialite and financier, Epstein was jailed in 2008 for soliciting a child for prostitution. He was arrested again in 2019 and accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, including Giuffre, but was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell before he could be brought to trial. His death was officially ruled a suicide.
Clinton issued a statement in 2019 saying that he had “never been to Little Saint James Island,” where some of Epstein’s worst offenses are believed to have taken place, and that he “knows nothing” about Epstein’s crimes. However, Giuffre alleged that she saw Clinton on the island multiple times, as did a member of Epstein’s staff and one of Clinton’s former aides.
Flight logs show Clinton traveling aboard Epstein’s jet – a Boeing 727 dubbed the ‘Lolita Express’ – at least 26 times, reportedly without his security detail on at least five jaunts. In his 2019 statement, Clinton admitted to taking four trips aboard the ‘Lolita Express’, but not to visiting the island.
Giuffre’s case against Maxwell ended in 2017 with an out-of-court settlement, as did a lawsuit she brought against Prince Andrew in 2021, claiming she had been trafficked to the prince by Epstein and Maxwell. The criminal case against Epstein ended with his apparent suicide, although Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for the enticement of minors and sex trafficking of underage girls.
