One of Bill Clinton's top advisors has claimed the former US President visited Jeffrey Epstein's private island in the Caribbean, despite his repeated denials.
Doug Band started his career as an unpaid intern during Clinton's presidency, going on to become his personal aide and then a counsellor after he left the White House, Vanity Fair reported.
However, their relationship deteriorated in 2011 when Clinton's daughter Chelsea became involved in their family foundation. The two reportedly clashed because he thought she was unqualified and she was resentful of his relationship with her father.
Now Band has spoken out about his time with the family in an interview with Vanity Fair, claiming Clinton had visited the notorious private island of deceased billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, despite his advice.
"Band told me he had been trying to push Epstein out of Clinton's orbit ever since their much-discussed 2002 trip to Africa aboard Epstein's private 727, dubbed the 'Lolita Express'," journalist Gabriel Sherman reported for the news outlet.
"Band recalled that Epstein had made a bunch of ridiculous claims on the trip, like boasting that he invented the derivatives market. Band said he had no idea about Epstein's sex crimes back then but got enough bad vibes that he advised Clinton to end the relationship."
However Clinton reportedly continued to socialise with Epstein and take his money and in 2006, Epstein donated $25,000 to the Clinton Foundation, Band said.
"Clinton made more than two dozen trips on Epstein's jet around this time, Epstein's flight logs show. In January 2003, according to Band, Clinton visited Epstein's private Caribbean island, Little St James."
The island was known to be where Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on allegations of long-standing sexual abuse, would entertain famous friends and allegedly traffic underage girls for sex. It was nicknamed "Pedophile Island" by locals, the New York Times reported.
However, in a statement to Vanity Fair, a Clinton spokesperson said the former President had never been to the island and provided travel logs from the time which didn't show the island visit.
Clinton has long denied 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 after Epstein's death in 2019.
"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."
In the interview with Vanity Fair, Band also claims that Clinton's daughter Chelsea had ties with Epstein and his former girlfriend and longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
"Chelsea remained friends with Maxwell for years after the press revealed Maxwell was a close associate of Epstein's. For instance, Chelsea invited Maxwell to her 2010 wedding at the Brooke Astor estate in Rhinebeck, New York, after Epstein had pleaded guilty in Florida to procuring sex from a minor."
"Ghislaine had access to yachts and nice homes. Chelsea needed that," Band told Vanity Fair.
But a Clinton family spokesperson said Chelsea was on friendly terms with Maxwell due to a mutual friend and only took one trip with her in 2009, on a yacht.
"It wasn't until 2015 that Chelsea became aware of the horrific allegations against Ghislaine Maxwell and she hopes that all the victims find justice. Chelsea was friendly with her because of Maxwell's relationship with a dear friend. When that relationship ended, Chelsea's relationship with her ended as well."
