Jeffrey Epstein files released: A timeline of Bill Clinton's association with the convicted sex offender
Bill Clinton’s association with Epstein and Maxwell in the late 1990s and early 2000s has been well documented. Clinton, now 79, has previously acknowledged travelling on Epstein’s private jet but has said through a spokesperson that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
Former US President Bill Clinton had a long and well-documented association with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, spanning from the early 1990s into the early 2000s, a period during which Epstein moved easily among political, philanthropic and celebrity circles. The relationship has resurfaced in renewed scrutiny following the US Justice Department’s release of thousands of Epstein-related files, including photographs showing Clinton in social settings linked to Epstein and his close associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Clinton is among several high-profile figures known to have associated with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Clinton was photographed with Epstein multiple times in the 1990s and early 2000s and moved in social and philanthropic circles during that period.
Early photos and campaign donations
According to BBC Verify, photographs place Clinton with Epstein as early as the early 1990s. In September 1993, Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were photographed speaking with Clinton following an event for donors to a White House restoration project.
Public records reviewed by the investigative report also show Epstein made two $1,000 donations to Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
Public comments and social ties
By the early 2000s, Clinton and Epstein continued to have contact, the report stated. In a 2002 New York Magazine article cited by BBC Verify, Clinton’s spokesperson described Epstein as “both a highly successful financier and a committed philanthropist.”
Around the same time, Clinton travelled on Epstein’s private jet, trips that later became part of public scrutiny.
Private jet trips and meetings
After Epstein’s arrest on sex trafficking charges in July 2019, Clinton’s spokesperson said the former president took four trips on Epstein’s jet between 2002 and 2003, including stops connected to the work of the Clinton Foundation. As reported by BBC Verify, the statement also confirmed a meeting at Epstein’s Harlem office in 2002 and a brief visit to his New York apartment. An archived Vanity Fair article shows a photograph of Clinton and Epstein together in Brunei in 2002.
Epstein’s 50th birthday book
Both Clinton and several dozen other prominent figures were alleged to have contributed messages to Epstein’s 50th birthday book in 2003. BBC Verify notes that Clinton’s name appeared next to a message praising Epstein’s “curiosity” and “drive to make a difference.” Clinton has not commented publicly on the alleged message.
End of the relationship
Clinton’s relationship with Epstein appears to have ended by the mid-2000s. In a 2019 statement cited by the report, his spokesperson said Clinton had “not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade.” Writing in his memoir, Clinton said he had “no inkling” of Epstein’s crimes and had stopped contact by the time Epstein was first arrested in 2005.
Multiple photographs show Bill Clinton
The US Department of Justice on Friday released thousands of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a disclosure long sought by politicians and the public for what it might reveal about Epstein’s connections to powerful figures. The material — dominated by photographs but also including call logs, court records and other documents — was published under what the department described as “DOJ Disclosures,” with many files heavily redacted.
Among the most widely discussed materials are several photographs showing Clinton. The images include photos of Clinton on a private plane, including one where a woman with a redacted face is seated next to him with her arm around him. Another photo shows Clinton in a pool with Epstein’s longtime associate, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, alongside another person whose face has also been redacted.
Additional images show Clinton in a hot tub with a woman whose face is redacted. The files do not specify when or where the photographs were taken, and the Justice Department did not provide context explaining how the images relate to the broader criminal investigation.
No allegations of wrongdoing
Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein’s abuse and has denied knowledge of Epstein’s sex offending.
Epstein was first convicted of sex offences in 2008 and died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.