Donald Trump is spreading a conspiracy theory suggesting former President Bill Clinton had disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein murdered.
Epstein, 66, was found dead on Saturday (US time) after an apparent suicide in his New York jail cell. He was facing charges of sex trafficking, involving dozens of underage girls as young as 14. Over the years, he counted many powerful men as friends - including both Trump and Clinton.
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The current US President retweeted a message by actor and comedian Terrence K Williams, who asked people to reshare his post if they thought Clinton had Epstein killed.
"#JefferyEpstein had information on Bill Clinton & now he's dead," Williams wrote. "I see #TrumpBodyCount trending but we know who did this! [Retweet] if you're not surprised."
His tweet included the #ClintonBodyCount hashtag, a reference to a long-running right-wing conspiracy theory that numerous people close to the Clinton family have died under suspicious circumstances.
"Word on the street is the Clintons did it," Williams says in a video posted to Twitter.
Williams alleged that for Epstein to die by suicide "somebody not doing their job, or somebody got paid not to do - not to do their job, so somebody can get knocked off, so information don't come out".
Last month, Epstein was found unconscious on the floor of his jail cell with marks on his neck, according to media reports, and officials were investigating that incident as a possible suicide or assault.
Despite that, Epstein had been taken off suicide watch - a special set of procedures for inmates deemed in danger of taking their own life - a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
"For some odd reason, people that have information on the Clintons end up dead and they usually die from suicide. Come on now, come on now, now how do everybody die from suicide that have information on you?" Williams said in his video.
"I don't want to know nothing about the Clintons, don't tell me nothing. I'm not trying to end up dead. I don't even want to know if Hillary was digging in her nose."
The conspiracy theory has been spread both through members of the public and members of Trump's administration. Lynne Patton, current official for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, shared a screenshot to her Instagram account of a Daily Mail article about Epstein's suicide with the caption "Hillary'd!!".
She then made a reference to the death of Vince Foster, Bill Clinton's deputy White House counsel, who also died by suicide.
"#VinceFosterPartTwo," she wrote.
Clinton has denied any knowledge of Epstein's alleged activities.
"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," Clinton spokesman Angel Urena said last month.
"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."
Reuters / Newshub.
