In a videotaped deposition to the House Oversight Committee, former President Bill Clinton said President Donald Trump once told him he and Jeffrey Epstein had enjoyed “great times” together before their relationship turned sour. Clinton said the remark came up at a golf tournament in 2002 or 2003, after Clinton left office and well before Trump became president. Clinton told lawmakers Trump seemed to know Clinton had flown on Epstein’s plane and commented that their falling out was tied to a real estate deal.
Trump has said his rift with Epstein began when Epstein hired young women who worked at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. Clinton said the brief exchange did not lead him to suspect Trump of involvement in any improper conduct with Epstein. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Both men socialized with Epstein prior to his 2008 guilty plea for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Each has denied knowledge of sex trafficking, and neither has been accused by authorities of criminal conduct related to Epstein. Epstein cultivated relationships with many business and political figures at properties in New York, Florida and the Caribbean. He was arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges in 2019 and died in jail that year; his death was ruled a suicide.
During the Trump administration, the Justice Department released millions of pages of documents from its Epstein investigations, including photos showing Clinton with women’s faces redacted. Clinton has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said he regrets having associated with Epstein.
Clinton said he was introduced to Epstein by former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who described Epstein as a donor willing to provide travel for Clinton and staff while setting up a charitable AIDS initiative. Clinton acknowledged flying on Epstein’s jet to Asia, Africa, Europe and once between Florida and New York, but said he moved on to other donors after about 2003. He characterized Epstein as “an interesting man” who he did not believe shared his priorities.
Clinton denied ever having sexual contact with anyone introduced by Epstein or by Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, though he acknowledged receiving a neck massage on a flight from a woman later identified as an Epstein abuse survivor. He said he was unaware that some of the masseuses Epstein recruited had been abused and treated the massage as a routine service he sometimes encountered while traveling.
He also told the committee he never visited Epstein’s Caribbean island and said he did not know Epstein had been to the White House 17 times during Clinton’s presidency from 1993 to 2001. The Republican-led panel has also subpoenaed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; she testified last week that she did not recall ever meeting Epstein.
