The Jeffrey Epstein scandal just won’t end — and frankly it shouldn’t. Not until everyone who took part in, turned a blind eye to, or helped cover it up gets brought to justice.
Once again this time we’re talking about Bill Clinton‘s ties to the convicted pedophile and accused sex trafficker.
We already know that along with Donald Trump, Clinton is one of two American presidents who were good buddies with the sex criminal. Utterly shameful. The former POTUS admits to flying to Africa and elsewhere on Epstein’s private jet, often called the “Lolita Express,” in the early 2000s. But he has always flatly denied ever setting foot on the billionaire’s private island, Little St. James.
Related: More On The Ties Between Epstein, Clinton, & Trump
However, a longtime aide is now calling BS on that denial. Doug Band worked with Clinton for nearly 20 years, first as an intern and eventually as a “counselor.” He was there in 2002 for the flights with Epstein.
As he recalls in a new interview with Vanity Fair, the billionaire was sketchy as hell, making wild claims like he invented the derivatives market. Band says he didn’t know about the sex crimes at the time — certainly the general public didn’t yet as he wouldn’t be prosecuted (and given his disgusting “sweetheart deal”) until 2007. However, the former aide says he knew enough even then to try to get Clinton to stop associating with the man. But his boss refused. According to Band, it was because the money was just too good; as late as 2006, the Clintons were still taking it — Epstein donated $25k to the Clinton Foundation that year.
Importantly Band now claims Clinton is lying about never having visited Little St. James, the Caribbean isle dubbed “Pedophile Island.” He says in January 2003 his former boss did indeed take a trip there, one which he chose to skip.
Clinton has long denied this and provided proof in the form of flight logs from the time which do not include a trip to the island.
Related: Epstein Accusers Speak Out
But Virginia Giuffre, who has famously claimed Epstein gave her to Prince Andrew to have sex with when she was just 17, says different. She claimed in a deposition unsealed this Summer that she saw Clinton on the island with Epstein, his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and “two young girls.” She told lawyers on the record:
“You know, I remember asking Jeffrey, ‘What’s Bill Clinton doing here?’ kind of thing, and he laughed it off and said, ‘Well, he owes me a favor.’ He never told me what favors they were. I never knew. I didn’t know if he was serious. It was just a joke.”
Giuffre’s word has long been denied by many, including Andrew in that disastrous BBC interview. But now for the first time we have corroboration from someone in Clinton’s orbit. That does not look good.
Speaking of Maxwell, Band also points out Bill’s daughter Chelsea Clinton‘s long association with the socialite turned alleged sex trafficking co-conspirator. Band jabs:
“Ghislaine had access to yachts and nice homes. Chelsea needed that.”
The apparent friendship between Chelsea and Ghislaine lasted until well after Epstein’s first conviction, in which he pleaded guilty to procuring sex from a 14-year-old but was accused of much, much worse.
Related: Maxwell Allegedly Tried To Recruit Young Paris Hilton
The former First Daughter invited Maxwell to her wedding in 2010, three years after Epstein’s activities had become public. A Clinton spokesperson defended the acquaintance, saying:
“It wasn’t until 2015 that Chelsea became aware of the horrific allegations against Ghislaine Maxwell and she hopes that all the victims find justice. Chelsea was friendly with her because of Maxwell’s relationship with a dear friend. When that relationship ended, Chelsea’s relationship with her ended as well.”
Hmm… Band says in October 2011 he told Bill Clinton’s office to ban Maxwell from any Clintonworld events, even though he knew it would cause problems:
“I knew in telling everyone to stop including Ghislaine that Chelsea and her father would be very angry. It made it harder for them to justify being close to her.”
To justify being close to her? Are we the only ones who read that as implying there was a more sinister motive for wanting to associate with her?
In fairness, we should point out Band is no longer in good standing with the Clintons after a massive falling out in late 2011, just after the Maxwell business. But it wasn’t just about that. A spokesperson for the famous family told VF:
“No staffer has ever used their role to serve their interests as much as Doug Band. For many years he was a valuable member of President Clinton’s team and supportive of Clinton Foundation programs. Until he wasn’t. He put the foundation at risk by leveraging a world-class philanthropy for his own financial gain. It’s as disappointing a story as it is a sad one and ultimately why Doug Band and the Clintons parted ways.”
The fight between Band and the Clintons — mostly with Chelsea actually — is a long story with multiple sides, and we couldn’t even begin to determine who, if anyone, is telling the whole story. You can read more about it HERE.
What we will point out is that Band did indeed make millions of dollars from his association with the Clinton family. Hundreds of million actually. He created his own “global consulting” firm called Teneo which reportedly sold a majority stake in 2019 for $700 million. He also went on to seek more work in the political sphere, secretly meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about getting a job in the Trump administration. In 2019. Long after we all knew what Trump was capable of.
But Band isn’t ashamed. The once unpaid intern says he learned a lot about raising money and shaking hands with the devil from the Clintons in a very shady comment:
“When you are trying to raise large sums of money to do great, big, and helpful things for the world, you have to make choices. There are lines people draw, and sometimes they get close to them or go over.”
While he now says he still has “enormous personal affinity” for his former boss — and “no negative feelings or anger towards him” — his final words about the Clinton family are anything but complimentary. He says:
“It’s like a cult, that world. It’s hard to get yourself out and difficult to see outside of it. And it’s even harder to understand that when you’re inside.”
What do YOU think, Perezcious readers? Is Band making himself look a little too good in all these stories? Or does everyone come off looking disgusting here??
[Image via WENN/Instar/Florida Department of Law Enforcement.]
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