Days after billionaire Jeffrey Epstein was arrested for sex trafficking, former President Bill Clinton downplayed his ties to Epstein — but the flight logs tell a different story.
A spokesman for Clinton issued a statement Monday claiming that the former president knew nothing of Epstein’s “terrible crimes,” never visited the so-called “Orgy Island, and only traveled on Epstein’s plane four times. But flight logs obtained by Fox News reveal Clinton was on Epstein’s plane at least 26 times, sometimes without Secret Service.
Epstein faces new sex charges
Epstein, 66, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan on Monday to charges of sex trafficking and sex trafficking conspiracy for crimes allegedly committed between 2002 and 2005. Epstein “sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes” at his mansions in Manhattan, Palm Beach, Florida, and elsewhere, and paid underage girls to recruit more victims, according to the indictment.
Epstein’s arrest Saturday prompted immediate speculation about who would be exposed by the case. The billionaire’s connections are a who’s who of the international elite, including Hollywood actors, ultra-rich financiers, and powerful politicians.
Epstein had long evaded justice for the child molestation and sex trafficking alleged to have taken place on his various estates, especially on his private island, Little St. James, which has become notorious for the depravity that allegedly took place there.
In 2008, the billionaire got a slap on the wrist in a now-infamous plea deal for charges of sexually abusing and soliciting underage girls that could have sent him to prison for life. Instead, he was registered as a sex offender, paid restitution to victims, and served a mere 13 months in jail.
Clinton denies knowledge of Epstein’s “crimes”
Clinton issued a statement Monday claiming to know “nothing” of Epstein’s acts. Clinton denied ever visiting Epstein’s private island, and said that he had not spoken to Epstein in over 10 years.
“President 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,” the statement reads. “In 2002 and 2003, President Clinton took a total of 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,” the statement adds.
“Staff, supporters of the Foundation, and his Secret Service detail traveled on every leg of the trip,” the statement continues. “He had one meeting with Epstein in Harlem in 2002, and around the same time made one brief visit to Epstein’s New York apartment with a staff member and his security detail.”
“He’s not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade, and he has never been to Little St. James Island, Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico, or his residence in Florida.”
Statement on Jeffrey Epstein. pic.twitter.com/98ha9YYd1l
— Angel Ureña (@angelurena) July 8, 2019
According to flight logs from Epstein’s private jet, Clinton traveled on the so-called “Lolita Express” 26 times, Fox News reported in May 2016. Clinton traveled with Epstein and his associates on trips all around the world, including a five-leg Asia trip between May 22 and May 25, 2002, on which no Secret Service agents are listed.
Exploitation of minors
The corruption and filth of Epstein’s alleged acts is symbolic of what many have long imagined of the international elite in Hollywood and elsewhere. Epstein has long attracted the attention of so-called conspiracy theorists on the right, but little from the mass media — until now.
Epstein is alleged to have abused dozens of girls and to have had a “team of traffickers who procured girls as young as 12” for his friends to abuse. According to U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, nude photos of apparent underage girls were found in his New York mansion.
“We are asking anyone who may have been victimized by Jeffrey Epstein, or anyone who may have information about his alleged criminal behavior, to please call us,” FBI Assistant Director William Sweeney said in a statement Monday.
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