Bill Clinton Responds to Jeffrey Epstein Document Release

The unsealing of documents in a case involving deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has put former President Bill Clinton's association with the financier in the spotlight again, shedding light on claims that he visited Epstein's private island.

The hundreds of pages of unsealed documents contain emails and transcripts of depositions pertaining to the now-settled case brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleged that Epstein sexually abused her as a minor. She also alleged that Ghislaine Maxwell, his girlfriend, aided in the abuse.

Clinton is mentioned in the documents alongside other high-profile names, including Alan Dershowitz and former President Donald Trump. When asked for comment on the documents, Angel Urena, a spokesperson for Clinton, told Newsweek that "nothing has changed" since he released a statement about Epstein in 2019.

Urena previously said Clinton knows "nothing" about the crimes Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida or the sex trafficking crimes he was charged with in 2019. In June 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to the two state charges of soliciting prostitution and soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail, but was not charged federally and served most of his term in a work-release program.

Clinton took four trips on Epstein's plane in 2002 and 2003, according to Urena, in connection with the Clinton Foundation.

At the time of Epstein's death, which was ruled a suicide, Clinton hadn't spoken to him in over a decade, according to Urena. While Giuffre has placed Clinton on Epstein's private island, she has made no allegations of wrongdoing by Clinton.

Included in the document release was the deposition of Johanna Sjoberg, who accused Prince Andrew of touching her breast. He and the palace have vehemently denied the claim.

Sjoberg testified that she knew Epstein had "dealings" with Clinton but didn't know they were friends until she read a Vanity Fair article about them taking a trip to Africa together. She added that Epstein told her that Clinton "likes them young" in reference to girls.

Sjoberg added that she never met Clinton and neither saw him on the island nor saw him in a helicopter being flown by Maxwell. The questions were a reference to a claim that Virginia Giuffre spent time with Clinton on Epstein's island and that she flew there with Clinton in a helicopter piloted by Maxwell.

The claims were reported in a Daily Mail article by Sharon Churcher, but in her deposition, Giuffre denied it ever happened. According to the unsealed documents, when Giuffre was asked if she was ever in a helicopter with Clinton that was flown by Maxwell, she said no. She added that she didn't recall telling Churcher that she was in the helicopter and said that her comments were taken out of context. She said she was recalling to Churcher what Maxwell told her.

"I told Sharon Churcher that Ghislaine flew Bill Clinton onto the island, based upon what Ghislaine me," Giuffre said in her deposition.

In her own deposition, Maxwell called the claim that Clinton had a meal on Epstein's island "100 percent false." While she admitted that she took a trip with Clinton, she said she couldn't remember where they stayed and that it was a "fast-paced trip."

Wednesday's release is only the first of what's expected to be several rounds of releases of documents and names included in the filings, but inclusion does not equate to accusations of any unlawful behavior. Epstein, who was indicted in 2019 on charges of operating a sex trafficking ring involving underage girls, killed himself in his jail cell while awaiting trial. Maxwell was found guilty in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.