Jeffrey Epstein Associate Attended Clinton Global Initiative Conference in 2013 as an Advocate for Ocean Conservation
In 2013, four years after sexual abuse accusations against her first emerged, Ghislaine Maxwell was honored by the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). This occurred despite a recommendation two years earlier from former president Bill Clinton's staff to ban her from official events. Maxwell, who was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking and related crimes, attended the CGI conference as a special guest. She was praised for her work in ocean conservation alongside other "Commitment to Action" leaders.
Maxwell's complimentary access to the conference suggests her invitation was personally recommended by either Bill or Hillary Clinton. This is noteworthy because a top Clinton aide, Doug Band, had previously instructed CGI staff to "remove Ghislaine from all lists" for Clinton-related events. The conference invitation was extended four years after Jeffrey Epstein's accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, claimed in a 2009 lawsuit against Epstein that Maxwell had recruited and groomed her for, and participated in, her sexual abuse. These claims had already been reported in the press.
In the same year, as she was leaving a CGI event, Maxwell was served with a subpoena to testify in that lawsuit. A year later, in 2010, she attended the wedding of Chelsea Clinton.
A representative for Clinton stated that more than 600 complimentary tickets were approved for the 2013 CGI conference. They noted, "The decisions on those comps were made, as they have been historically, at the staff level, which included the office of President Clinton."
A spokesperson for the former president commented that Maxwell’s attendance at the event "is about someone working on ocean conservation attending a charitable conference 12 years ago, along with thousands of other people, and nothing more." The spokesperson added, "As we have consistently said, the Clintons know nothing about Jeffrey Epstein’s terrible crimes."
However, the report raises further questions about the Clinton family's continued association with Maxwell, even after she was accused of involvement in Epstein's sex-trafficking operation.
In an interview with the deputy attorney general, which the Trump Justice Department posted online, Maxwell claimed that Bill Clinton never visited Epstein's island. She described his trips on Epstein's plane as being connected to humanitarian projects. While flight logs show Clinton traveled on Epstein's plane 26 times, Maxwell characterized it as "one journey." She also stated that he never received a massage. "So they spent time on the plane together, and I don't believe there was ever a massage on the plane," she said. "So that would’ve been the only time that I think that President Clinton could have even received a massage. And he didn’t, because I was there."
Maxwell’s attendance at the 2013 event hints at underlying tension regarding her continued presence in the Clintons' social circle after the allegations against her became public. Doug Band, the Clinton aide, told Vanity Fair that Chelsea Clinton remained friends with Maxwell because "Ghislaine had access to yachts and nice homes. Chelsea needed that."
A Clinton spokesperson told CNN, "If Doug Band instructed anyone to bar Maxwell, he didn’t communicate it broadly and didn’t say why."
The report about Maxwell and the 2013 CGI conference was released as the Trump administration faced bipartisan criticism for its unfulfilled promises to release all federal government records on Epstein, who was friends with Trump before their falling out prior to Epstein's 2019 death.
Key Events and Timeline
The article highlights a series of significant events and a timeline that raises questions about the Clintons’ continued ties to Ghislaine Maxwell after allegations of her involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring became public. The timeline is as follows:
2009: Virginia Roberts Giuffre files a lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein, claiming Maxwell recruited, groomed, and participated in her abuse.
2009: Media reports about the allegations against Maxwell surface.
2009: Maxwell is served with a subpoena to testify in the lawsuit while leaving a CGI event.
2010: A top Clinton aide, Doug Band, recommends that Maxwell be "removed from all lists" for Clinton-related events.
2010: Maxwell attends the wedding of Chelsea Clinton.
2013: Maxwell attends the Clinton Global Initiative conference and is honored for her work in ocean conservation. Her complimentary access suggests a high-level recommendation for her invitation.
2022: Maxwell is sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking and related crimes.
The discrepancy between the official recommendation to bar Maxwell and her subsequent attendance at a major Clinton-led event is at the heart of the report's findings.
Competing Narratives and Unanswered Questions
The article presents conflicting accounts from those involved. On one hand, Bill Clinton's spokesperson states that Maxwell's attendance was simply about "someone working on ocean conservation attending a charitable conference" and that the Clintons "know nothing about Jeffrey Epstein’s terrible crimes." This suggests that her presence was an innocuous detail among thousands of other attendees and that any perceived connection is unfounded.
On the other hand, the article highlights the directive from Clinton's aide, Doug Band, to bar Maxwell from events. This directive, reportedly not "communicated broadly," suggests that some individuals within the Clinton inner circle were aware of the potential issues associated with Maxwell. Band's alleged comment to Vanity Fair about Chelsea Clinton needing access to "yachts and nice homes" that Ghislaine had provides another narrative, suggesting a social or financial motivation for the continued association despite the warnings.
Furthermore, Maxwell's own interview, where she downplays Bill Clinton's connections to Epstein's private jet and island, also adds to the complexity. Her characterization of 26 flights as "one journey" and her firm denial that Clinton ever received a massage on the plane, while she was present, is a highly specific and potentially self-serving defense of the former president. These statements, released by the Trump Justice Department, can be seen as an attempt to exonerate Clinton, but they also highlight the depth of the relationship that required such an explanation.
The article doesn't offer definitive answers but rather presents a collection of facts, statements, and accusations that collectively paint a picture of a relationship that continued for years after serious allegations against Maxwell had surfaced. It raises the question of whether the Clintons were truly unaware of the gravity of the accusations or whether the benefits of the association outweighed the risks, at least for a time. The report serves as a piece of a larger puzzle, hinting at the intricate and often murky social circles that connected powerful figures like Clinton and Trump to the now-convicted sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein, and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
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