Bill Clinton: How Ghislaine Maxwell brought bill clinton into Epstein's orbit

Newly released Department of Justice images and emails show how Ghislaine Maxwell worked to nurture a connection between Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein. The material is likely to play a central part in the tough questioning the former president is undergoing by a Republican-led congressional committee.

Bill Clinton and the images

Among the material is a photo showing Bill Clinton taking a night-time swim alongside Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite now convicted of sex trafficking. A second image captures him smiling backstage at a Rolling Stones concert in Hong Kong with Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and now globally notorious sex offender. A third undated snap shows the former US president reclining in a hot tub beside someone whose face is blacked out to protect their identity.

Photographs and their content

The files do not implicate Clinton in any wrongdoing; he has not been accused of misconduct by Epstein's victims who have come forward so far, and there is no proof he knew of Epstein's crimes. Clinton's spokesperson has said the photos are decades old and that Clinton had stopped associating with Epstein before his crimes came to light.

Maxwell and Doug Band emails

There are no direct messages between Clinton and Epstein in the emails reviewed, but the two men are the subject of much correspondence between Maxwell and Clinton's top aide, Doug Band. Band called Maxwell his "social matchmaker" and the exchanged emails, between 2002 and 2004, reveal a cosy relationship rife with flattery and sexual innuendo: he called her his "social matchmaker" and "lover, " and she complimented his social and physical prowess. The documents offer an explanation for bill clinton's proximity to Epstein and show how keen people working on behalf of both men were to maintain that connection. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Band.

Flights, flight logs and trips

Maxwell and Band set up meetings for the Clinton Global Initiative and were involved in arranging Clinton's flights on Epstein's private jet, the documents indicate. The flight logs show he flew on the plane at least 24 times. Clinton's spokesperson said the former president took trips on the plane including "stops in connection with the work of the Clinton Foundation. " Those flight logs, documents and correspondence corroborate the former president's assertions that he cut off contact with Epstein well before the disgraced financier was indicted in 2006, and before pleading guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. Hillary Clinton, then a US senator from New York, did not accompany her husband on trips with Epstein.

Department of Justice releases files

The images and emails were released by the Department of Justice and reveal the work going on behind the scenes by Maxwell to nurture the connection between the two men. The newly released material is likely to play a central part in the questioning the former Democratic president is undergoing as the testimony on Friday makes Clinton the latest powerful figure to face scrutiny for their association with the late disgraced financier.

Calls for Trump to testify

Separately, Congressman Robert Garcia reiterated calls for President Trump to testify under oath before the Department of Justice committee as part of its investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The files and testimony are focused on relationships and arrangements from the early 2000s, a period when the former president was redefining himself as an ex-president on a philanthropic mission and was seeking wealthy donors for the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative. The material details how Epstein, then a money manager and jet-setting financier who, with his girlfriend Maxwell, moved in elite circles from Buckingham Palace to Palm Beach, collected powerful friends, and intersected with that philanthropic world.

All of the newly released documents and images are now part of the record being used in congressional questioning and broader scrutiny tied to the Epstein investigation.