Editing Bill Clinton (section)

=== Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein ===
[[File:Maxwell Epstein Clinton 1993 2.jpg|thumb|Clinton with Epstein at an event for donors to the White House restoration project, September 1993]]

According to [[Jeffrey Epstein]]'s attorney [[Gerald B. Lefcourt]], Epstein was "part of the original group that conceived of the [[Clinton Global Initiative]]".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hill|first1=James|first2=Matthew|last2=Mosk|date=February 11, 2016|title=Victims: Feds Hid 'Sweetheart' Deal for Sex Offender With Deep Political Ties|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/victims-feds-hid-sweetheart-deal-sex-offender-deep/story?id=36843144|work=ABC|access-date=July 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720073439/https://abcnews.go.com/US/victims-feds-hid-sweetheart-deal-sex-offender-deep/story?id=36843144|archive-date=July 20, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2002, a spokesperson for Clinton described Epstein as "both a highly successful financier and a committed philanthropist" who "provided 'insights and generosity'".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=July 9, 2019 |title=Clinton and Trump Plead Ignorance as Epstein's Old Friends Begin to Sweat |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/07/clinton-trump-plead-ignorance-as-jeffrey-epstein-friends-begin-to-sweat |access-date=October 20, 2022 |magazine=Vanity Fair }}</ref> While Clinton was president, Epstein visited the White House at least 17 times between 1993 and 1995; logs show that Clinton was not at the White House for some of the visits.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=December 3, 2021 |title=Jeffrey Epstein Visited Bill Clinton's White House at Least 17 Times From 1993 to 1995, Visitor Logs Show |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-visited-bill-clintons-white-house-at-least-17-times-from-1993-to-1995-visitor-logs-show/ |access-date=October 20, 2022 |magazine=National Review }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ruhalter |first=Kana |date=December 2, 2021 |title=White House Visitor Logs Show Just How Friendly Epstein and President Clinton Were |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epstein-visited-president-bill-clinton-17-times-white-house-visitor-logs-show |access-date=October 20, 2022 |website=The Daily Beast}}</ref> Clinton's office released a statement in 2019 saying that 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. In 2002 and 2003, President Clinton took four trips on Jeffrey Epstein's airplane: one to Europe, one to Asia, and two to Africa, which included stops in connection with the work of the Clinton Foundation. Staff, supporters of the Foundation, and his Secret Service detail traveled on every leg of every trip. [...] He's not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade."<ref name="McDonald">{{cite news |last1=McDonald |first1=Scott |date=July 8, 2019 |title=Bill Clinton says he didn't know about Jeffrey Epstein's alleged sex trafficking crimes |work=[[Newsweek]] |url=https://www.newsweek.com/bill-clinton-says-he-didnt-know-about-jeffrey-epsteins-alleged-sex-trafficking-crimes-1448171 |access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Gold |first1=Michael |date=July 9, 2019 |title=Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein: How Are They Connected? |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/nyregion/bill-clinton-jeffrey-epstein.html |access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref>

In 1995 the ''Palm Beach Post'' reported that Clinton had attended a fundraising dinner for the Democratic National Committee hosted by [[Ron Perelman]] at his Palm Beach home for 14 invited guests. The guests included Epstein, singer [[Jimmy Buffett]], actor [[Don Johnson]], Deandra Douglas (wife of actor [[Michael Douglas]]), and others, and each guest donated $100,000.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Melendez |first=Pilar |date=July 11, 2019 |title=Bill Clinton Failed to Mention His Intimate 1995 Dinner With Epstein |website=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/bill-clinton-failed-to-mention-his-intimate-1995-dinner-with-epstein |access-date=October 22, 2022}}</ref>

Unverified reports alleged that Clinton flew to [[Little St. James Island]], Epstein's Caribbean island, on Epstein's private jet between January 2001 and 2003.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Matzy |first1=Max |last2=Debusmann |first2=Bernd Jr. |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67865190|title=Jeffrey Epstein: Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton named in court files |date=January 4, 2024 |work=[[BBC]]}}</ref> [[Virginia Roberts Giuffre|Virginia Roberts]], later known as Virginia Giuffre, said in a lawsuit against [[Prince Andrew]], which was settled in 2017, that Clinton had traveled to 
Little St. James in 2002.<ref name="Buzzfeed"/> A [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] request for [[United States Secret Service]] records of visits Clinton may have made to Little St. James produced no such evidence.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/04/jeffrey-epstein-trump-lawsuit-sex-trafficking-237983 |title=The one weird court case linking Trump, Clinton, and a billionaire pedophile |first=Josh |last=Gerstein |work=[[Politico]] |date=May 4, 2017 }}</ref> Epstein's flight logs do not report Clinton flying near the U.S. Virgin Islands.<ref name="Buzzfeed">{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kenbensinger/clinton-epstein-innuendo|title=Plenty Of Innuendo, But No Hard Evidence Of New Clinton Sex Scandal|website=BuzzFeed News|date=January 28, 2015}}</ref> In July 2019, a Clinton spokesperson issued a statement saying Clinton never visited the island.<ref name="APnews">{{cite news |last=Coto |first= Dánica |url=https://www.apnews.com/cd794044e8be4e619093582d6d3355d2 |title=Whispers, suspicion about Epstein on Caribbean island |work=[[Associated Press]] |date=July 11, 2019 |access-date=August 13, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813012919/https://www.apnews.com/cd794044e8be4e619093582d6d3355d2 |archive-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Kate|last=Sullivan|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/08/politics/bill-clinton-jeffrey-epstein/index.html|title=Bill Clinton 'knows nothing' about Epstein's 'terrible crimes,' spokesman says|website=[[CNN]]|date=July 8, 2019}}</ref> When he was asked by a journalist about his ties with Epstein in a rally in [[Laredo, Texas]] in November 2022, Clinton said "I think the evidence is clear."<ref>{{cite news |last=Mayer |first=Chloe |title=Video of Bill Clinton Grilled About Jeffrey Epstein Ties Viewed 1M Times |url=https://www.newsweek.com/bill-clinton-jeffrey-epstein-viral-video-1757925 |work=[[Newsweek]] |date=8 November 2022}}</ref>