Former president Bill Clinton is under renewed and intense scrutiny. This followed the release of new photographs that tie him to his former close association with Jeffrey Epstein as it were. The former president has long been under scrutiny for his deep ties to the disgraced financier. Such claims have become especially pronounced in the years since his presidency, which ended in 2001. These explosive revelations come as a direct result of the release of government files required by an act of Congress.
Clinton’s seen here traveling on Epstein’s private jet after leaving office. These trips were allegedly tied to his efforts on behalf of the Clinton Global Initiative. Government records indicate that Clinton visited Epstein in the White House. He took at least 17 trips in the first few years of his presidency. Even so, he has never been held formally accountable for any malfeasance related to Epstein.
The former president insists that he severed his relationship with Epstein about 2005. This was before Epstein pled guilty to solicitation to a minor in Florida. Clinton’s spokesperson, Angel Ureña, emphasized that there are two types of individuals regarding their ties to Epstein: those who cut him off early and those who continued relationships even after Epstein’s criminal actions became public.
Ureña said, “There are two types of people here. The first—the group that we’re in—knew nothing and stopped working with Epstein before learning of his abuses. The second group decided to maintain their relationships with him after. No amount of delaying by the people in this second group is going to erase that.”
The release of photographs has intensified public interest, including images of Clinton with Ghislaine Maxwell and an unidentified young woman in a pool. These four images are the ones that Congress released, redacted as part of their Congressional Record. These are photos of Clinton with big time luminaries like Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Mick Jagger and Jeffrey Epstein at a dinner.
Ureña took to social media to address the controversy, saying the timing and manner of the release should get people questioning it. He argues that they reveal the administration’s hidden agenda. As he put it, “The White House has not been sitting on these documents for months. They sure as hell wouldn’t announce it late on a Friday to spare Bill Clinton’s blushes either. He claimed that this proposal mainly serves to shield the present administration from oversight. He thinks it takes the heat off Clinton for her ties to Goldman in the past.
Reactions on social media have been equally important in shaping this backlash to I-976. Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, posted a picture of Clinton in a swimming pool, captioning it with “Little did he know…” This has led to a lot of speculation about the purpose of this post.
Bill Clinton’s depositions on this issue were originally scheduled for last week. Now, they’ve been pushed again, this time to January 13 and 14. Clinton maintains that he cut ties with Epstein years before the more serious allegations came to light. He still plays catch-up to everyday chatter about their deepening rapport.