Former President Bill Clinton tried to distance himself Monday from convicted billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, insisting that he only took “four trips” on the financier’s “Lolita Express” private airplane.
However, flight manifests obtained by the Washington Examiner prove that Clinton took a total of six separate journeys aboard the infamous party jet, ditching his Secret Service detail and joining flights said to be constantly filled with “young girls.”
Bald-faced lie
Angel Ureña, Clinton’s press secretary, responded to pressure from the media to explain the former commander in chief’s ties to Epstein, who was arrested Saturday on charges of conspiracy and child sex trafficking. The communications director scrambled to release a statement distancing Clinton from the pedophile’s scandalous past.
Statement on Jeffrey Epstein. pic.twitter.com/98ha9YYd1l
— Angel Ureña (@angelurena) July 8, 2019
Clinton’s attempt to save face backfired, however, after reporters took a second look at court records which showed flight manifests from the time of his journeys. During a trip to Asia in 2002 that Clinton failed to mention, the ex-president visited Japan, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, and Brunei — all without his personal security detachment in tow.
In November 2003, Clinton joined Epstein on an excursion to Europe and Asia that he also refused to disclose. This time, the pair visited Norway, Siberia, Hong Kong, and China — although Clinton elected to take his Secret Service detail with him this time.
Each of the six trips Clinton enjoyed with his pedophile friend included multiple individual flights to different destinations. Manifest records reviewed by the Washington Examiner indicate that Clinton flew on at least 27 separate flights aboard Epstein’s plane.
Ditching the detail
Although he disclosed a pair of Africa trips, Clinton’s spokesperson failed to mention that the former president’s security detail remained at home for the journey. Fox News obtained the same flight records in 2016, and despite issuing Freedom of Information Act requests, could not independently confirm that Secret Service agents were present on the flights.
During his first trip to Asia with Epstein, the pair were accompanied by longtime Clinton aide Doug Band, wealthy socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, former Epstein assistant Sarah Kellen, and women identified only by names like “Janice” and “Jessica.”
Maxwell, who was Epstein’s girlfriend at one time, “has been described as using recruiters positioned throughout the world to lure women by promising them modeling assignments, educational opportunities, and fashion careers” according to court records. Ultimately, “the pitch was really a ruse to groom them into sex trafficking.”
Epstein agreed to a “sweetheart deal” in 2008 that allowed him to serve just 13 months of an 18 month sentence after being accused of sexually abusing up to 30 minors as young as 14. Former FBI Director and Special Counsel Robert Mueller played a decisive role in the decision to let Epstein avoid a 10-year sentence in exchange for his cooperation in a financial crimes investigation.
Entourage
In late September and early October 2002, a cadre of celebrity entertainers and high-profile businessmen joined Clinton and Epstein on their voyage to Africa. Although the former president’s Secret Service detachment stayed home, actor Kevin Spacey and comedian Chris Tucker were present.
In addition, entertainment agent Casey Wasserman, Clinton supporter and future Barack Obama National Security Council member Gayle Smith, and billionaire businessman Ron Burkle were also on board for the trip.
Epstein’s personal masseuse, Chauntae Davies, acted as the plane’s lead flight attendant. She told Inside Edition this week “on almost every trip that I did go on, there were young girls around.”
Whatever the purpose of the Africa trip, Clinton would later describe his time with Epstein as a humanitarian mission. “Jeffrey is both a highly successful financier and a committed philanthropist with a keen sense of global markets and an in-depth knowledge of twenty-first-century science,” Clinton said through a spokesperson in 2002. “I especially appreciated his insights and generosity during the recent trip to Africa to work on democratization, empowering the poor, citizen service, and combating HIV/AIDS.”
Clinton’s press secretary has so far refused to explain the discrepancy in the number of flights to inquiring media outlets.
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