Bill Clinton Claims He 'Knows Nothing' of Epstein's Child Sex Trafficking
Former president issues statement on billionaire friend's arrest for 'terrible crimes'
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Bill Clinton has broken his silence on the arrest of his longtime associate Jeffrey Epstein, claiming he "knows nothing" of the child sex trafficking charges the billionaire sex offender was arrested for on Saturday.
The Democratic former president issued a statement Monday in which he denies any knowledge of the "terrible crimes" the major Clinton donor is accused of.
Wealthy financier Epstein was arrested Saturday and charged with sex trafficking minors between 2002 and 2005.
He was previously jailed in 2008 after pleading guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution and is a registered sex offender in Florida.
“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.
Anyone with a memory span longer than that of a goldfish would be right to be suspicious of Bill's denials, however.
In 1992, Clinton denied having an affair with Gennifer Flowers, only to later admit that he had, in fact, had sex with her when he was deposed about Jones’s accusations in 1998.
Also, during the deposition about Jones, Clinton lied about his affair with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Clinton only came clean after being presented with incontrovertible DNA evidence that he had, in fact, had also sex with Lewinsky.
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Bill Clinton has been forced to respond due to growing questions about the flights he took on Epstein's private jet, also known as the "Lolita Express."
Underage victims have alleged the plane was set up with a bed that was used by Epstein and his guests to rape young girls.
"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," Clinton's statement continues.
"Staff, supporters of the Foundation, and his Secret Service detail traveled on every leg of every trip.
"He had one meeting with Epstein in his Harlem office 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 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 the Daily Mail, in September 2002, Clinton flew with Epstein on a week-long tour through Africa that included stops in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, and Mozambique.
Actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker were reported to have also been on the trip.
An indictment unsealed in federal court in Manhattan on Monday accused Epstein, 66, of arranging for girls to perform nude "massages" and other sex acts, and paying some girls to recruit others, from at least 2002 to 2005.
"The alleged behavior shocks the conscience, and while the charged conduct is from a number of years ago, it is still profoundly important to the many alleged victims, now young women," U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said at a press conference.
"They deserve their day in court."
Epstein faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
According to the indictment, the former hedge fund manager "intentionally sought out minors and knew that many of his victims were in fact under the age of 18, including because, in some instances, minor victims expressly told him their age."
In 2016, it was reported that Clinton spent enough time aboard Epstein's "Lolita Express" airplane that he should be eligible for frequent flyer miles.
Flight logs reviewed by Fox News show that Clinton took 26 trips aboard Epstein's Boeing 727 jet, more than double the 11 flights previously known.
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Epstein's jet was reportedly set up with a bed where guests had group sex with underage girls.
One of them, Virginia Giuffre, has claimed she was lured into joining Epstein's harem when she was just 15-years-old - then known as Virginia Roberts - and was used as a sex slave by Epstein and his guests.
Roberts, 35, claimed she saw Clinton in 2002 on an Epstein junket to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
But according to Fox, flight logs don't show the former president aboard a flight headed there. St. Thomas has a landing strip long enough to accommodate the jet.
The logs do show the former president jetting to such exotic locales as Brunei, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, the Azores, Africa, Belgium, China, New York, and Belgium – all on Epstein's plane.
Traveling with Epstein was New York socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, whom Roberts has accused of pimping her out.
If nothing else, Clinton brought protection.
Flight logs filed with the Federal Aviation Administration show Clinton brought as many as 10 U.S. Secret Service agents along with him on some trips.
But a journey to Asia in 2002 didn't list any Secret Service protection.
As a former president, Clinton still gets a taxpayer-funded security detail for life.
The cable network reported that Clinton would have been required to file an official form to leave his protective forces behind, although the Secret Service hasn't responded to formal document requests.
Billionaire convicted sex offender #JeffreyEpstein was arrested in New Jersey Saturday and hit with several federal child sex trafficking charges, according to reports.
— Neon Nettle (@NeonNettle) July 9, 2019
READ MORE: https://t.co/kr8TC1Tu51#BillClinton #LolitaExpress
In 2015, the now-defunct news site Gawker reported that Clinton flew at least 11 times on Epstein's plane between 2002 and 2003.
According to the site, Clinton was accompanied on those trips by Maxwell and Epstein's former assistant Sarah Kellen.
Both Maxwell and Kellen "have been repeatedly accused in court filings of acting as pimps for [Epstein], recruiting and grooming young girls into their network of child sex workers, and frequently participating in sex acts with them," according to Gawker.
Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008 and served just 18 months in jail for the offense despite outrage from victims advocates.
Epstein, who registered as a sex offender under a 2008 plea deal in Florida, has said in earlier court filings that his encounters with alleged victims were consensual and that he believed they were 18 when they occurred.
Epstein will remain in jail until at least July 15, when a judge has scheduled a bail hearing.
Prosecutors have said Epstein should be denied bail, arguing he poses an "extraordinary risk of flight" because of his wealth, private planes and significant international ties.
