Did Bill Clinton Visit Jeffrey Epstein's Island? What We Know

A group of new documents is due to be released this week that could reveal new information about visitors to Epstein Island, the Caribbean retreat where the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein invited a bevy of wealthy and influential connections.

Names will be unsealed in a lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, an alleged trafficking victim, against Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Giuffre alleges that Maxwell arranged for the then 17-year-old to have sex with Epstein and other prominent men, including U.K. royal Prince Andrew. Other names, unconnected to these allegations, have been mentioned in the lawsuit, including former President Bill Clinton.

Ahead of the filings' release later this week, Newsweek looked at what existing information there is about Clinton's relationship with Epstein and whether he visited Epstein Island.

Did Bill Clinton Visit Epstein Island?

A spokesperson for the former president previously reiterated his July 2019 statement to Newsweek, stating "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."

The statement confirmed Clinton had flown on Epstein's plane with his staff and added, "He's not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade, and has never been to Little St. James island."

Newsweek has contacted the Clinton Foundation for further comment.

The Giuffre lawsuit, filed in 2015, centers on allegations that Epstein's jailed former girlfriend and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell arranged for her to have sex with Epstein and other prominent men, including the U.K.'s Prince Andrew.

Andrew settled Giuffre's lawsuit against him for an estimated $15.2 million, Sky News reported in March 2022. He did not admit wrongdoing.

Clinton is mentioned in the lawsuit and while there is no accusation of wrongdoing, Giuffre claims that she met Clinton on Epstein Island.

Although there are flight logs obtained from other lawsuits against Epstein showing that Clinton flew on Epstein's jet, they do not show that the former president flew to the island.

ABC News has identified Clinton as "Doe 36," who is mentioned in more than 50 of the redacted filings. Several of those documents relate to attempts by Giuffre's lawyers to subpoena Clinton about his relationship with Epstein.

Clinton's legal team, after reviewing excerpts for the documents due to be unsealed this week, did not lodge any objections to the publication of the documents, according to U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska's order.

Are There Other Allegations?

In 2020, a former associate of Clinton, Doug Band, told Vanity Fair that the former president visited Epstein Island. In a wide-ranging interview, Band claimed the trip took place in January 2003; he said he did not accompany Clinton on the alleged visit.

Much of the Vanity Fair article discusses Band's acrimonious fallout with the Clintons, a spokesperson for the family telling the magazine that "No staffer has ever used their role to serve their interests as much as Doug Band." A Clinton spokesperson also told Vanity Fair that the former president had never been to the island.

Misleading social media posts have propagated the unproven claim that Clinton visited Epstein Island. In 2020, Reuters investigated multiple posts that alleged Clinton had been photographed on the island. Reverse image searches of these photos showed they were taken at the Casa de Campo Resort, swimming at the Palmilla beach in the Dominican Republic.

The upcoming batch of documents will include names of additional Epstein associates, alleged perpetrators, and alleged co-conspirators.

Judge Preska held in December there was no legal justification for continuing to keep anonymous the 150 other "John and Jane Does" mentioned in the records. Preska ordered the unsealing of names to begin after January 1.