Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed she “never met” Jeffrey Epstein and was friendly with his convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell during “a few occasions.”
But photographs, court documents, and newly released DOJ files prove the deep Clintons’ ties to Epstein’s inner circle.
Maxwell attended her daughter Chelsea Clinton’s 2010 wedding as a guest of honor, and photographs show her in the audience as former President Bill Clinton walked Chelsea down the aisle.
Take a look –
2026 Hillary Clinton: “I never met Jeffrey Epstein…and I only took a few photos with Ghislane Maxwell…”
2010 Hillary Clinton: Photo shows that Ghislane Maxwell is in official photos of her daughter Chelsea’s Wedding. pic.twitter.com/LVMJn6kGXw
— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) February 17, 2026
“We have no links,” Hillary Clinton told the BBC in an interview published Monday. “I don’t recall ever meeting him.”
When asked about Maxwell, Clinton downplayed their relationship.
“I did, on a few occasions,” she said. “Thousands of people go to the Clinton Global Initiative. To me, it’s not something that is really at the heart of what this matter is about.”
But a CNN report in 2025 showed Maxwell was “recommended for complimentary access” to the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative conference as an honored guest — years after she was known to have helped Epstein traffic and sexually abuse minors.
“Maxwell did not just go to CGI, Maxwell and her charity partnered with CGI and Maxwell was an honored guest in 2013 there for her ocean charity making commitments at CGI. We saw that she had complementary access,” CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski said.
Maxwell herself told DOJ investigators in 2025 that she was “very central” to the startup of the Clinton Global Initiative and that Epstein had been “very enthusiastic” about her involvement. Maxwell took part in budget discussions for the first CGI conference in 2004 and arranged to wire $1 million to pay the production company working on “the Clinton project.”
The connection between Chelsea Clinton and Maxwell went beyond a single wedding invitation. The two women vacationed together on a yacht in 2009, the year before the wedding, along with their then-boyfriends. Chelsea was dating Marc Mezvinsky, whom she later married, and Maxwell was with tech billionaire Ted Waitt, a major Clinton Foundation donor.
“Ghislaine was the contact between Epstein and Clinton,” a source told Politico. “She ended up being close to the family because she and Chelsea ended up becoming close.”
Maxwell remained in the Clinton orbit long after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution. Besides the 2013 CGI conference, she told DOJ investigators she last saw Bill Clinton sometime between 2016 and 2018, when they had dinner together in Los Angeles.
“President Clinton was my friend, not Epstein’s friend,” Maxwell told the Justice Department.
Bill Clinton’s name appeared in the “Lolita Express” flight logs at least 16 times between 2002 and 2003, documenting his travel with Epstein on his infamous private jet to Thailand, Portugal, Ghana, Russia, and China.
Still, Hillary Clinton accused the Trump administration of orchestrating a “cover-up” over the Epstein files during her BBC interview.
“Get the files out. They are slow-walking it,” she said. “They are redacting the names of men who are in it. They are stonewalling legitimate requests from members of Congress.”
“We have nothing to hide,” Clinton said. “We have called for the full release of these files repeatedly.”
Both Clintons are scheduled to testify under oath before the House Oversight Committee later this month as part of the panel’s Epstein investigation. Hillary Clinton will appear February 26, followed by Bill Clinton on February 27.
Maxwell was convicted in December 2021 on five counts, including sex trafficking of a minor, and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Epstein died under mysterious circumstances while in federal custody in 2019.