Clinton and Trump Plead Ignorance as Epstein’s Old Friends Begin to Sweat

Bill Clinton once described Jeffrey Epstein as “both a highly successful financier and a committed philanthropist.” He provided “insights and generosity,” the former president told New York through a spokesperson in 2002, during a trip the two took aboard his private jet on a humanitarian tour of Africa that also included actors Chris Tucker and the now-disgraced Kevin Spacey. Clinton took several trips on Epstein’s private Boeing 727 jet, flight logs show. But after Epstein’s arrest on sex trafficking charges, the former president has drawn a line in the sand. “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,” a spokesperson said in a statement, downplaying Clinton’s interactions with Epstein and emphasizing that he was accompanied by staff and Secret Service on every leg of the trips.

These are anxious times for the rich, powerful figures who praised and hobnobbed with Epstein, who has pleaded not guilty, as well as officials like Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, who enabled the financier’s alleged crimes. Epstein’s indictment Monday brought with it the possibility that other notable figures could be enveloped in the case, as the Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown, whose reporting brought Epstein back into the spotlight, noted after his arrest. It also cast an unflattering light on his elite friends and associates, including the current president, who in that same New York magazine profile appeared to allude to Epstein’s proclivity for underage girls. “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” Donald Trump said in 2002. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

Trump, of course, is now doing his famous “I don’t know him” routine, despite his previous on-the-record comments. But Epstein was photographed at least twice with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort, in 1997 and 2000, and he had in his personal address book 14 phone numbers for Trump, Melania Trump, and their staffs, according to the Washington Post. (In his book Fire and Fury, journalist Michael Wolff reported that Trump and Epstein, along with private equity mogul Tom Barrack, were a “set of nightlife musketeers” together during the 1980s and ‘90s.) Trump was also directly accused of raping a 13-year-old at one of Epstein’s parties, but the 2016 lawsuit was later dropped; Trump vehemently denied the allegations as “categorically false” and “disgusting at the highest level and clearly framed to solicit media attention.” Other high profile figures have also been accused of abuse with Epstein, including Prince Andrew and famed attorney-turned-Trump defender Alan Dershowitz; each has denied the allegations.

While those in his social circle—including British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and Jean-Luc Brunel, Epstein’s partner in a modeling company—are likely sweating, the charges are also turning up the heat on those who allowed his alleged crimes to continue, including Acosta. As a United States attorney, the Labor secretary cut a 2007 plea deal with Epstein’s lawyers that let the hedge fund manager off extraordinarily easy on charges that he serially sexually abused underage girls, and gave immunity to his alleged co-conspirators. Epstein could have faced a life sentence for his crimes, but served only 13 months under the agreement arranged by Acosta. “[Acosta] must step down,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted Monday evening. “As U.S. Attorney, he engaged in an unconscionable agreement w/ Jeffrey Epstein kept secret from courageous, young victims preventing them from seeking justice. This was known by [Trump] when he appointed him to the cabinet.” “I want real justice for these underage survivors,” Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz added Monday. “And Acosta to finally answer for his weak plea agreement.”

The extent to which Epstein’s indictment ripples across the pools of power remains to be seen. While Democrats have mounted calls for Acosta’s resignation, Republicans have mostly stayed mum on the subject, seemingly waiting for Trump to make the first move. But given the extent of Epstein’s connections to the wealthy and powerful, it’s possible the case will lead to a reckoning for those who were complicit. As former federal prosecutor Jacob Frenkel suggested to Bloomberg Monday, the case could unfold like the recent college admissions scandal, in which high-profile figures are felled like dominoes. “Once the key witnesses flip, including the victims, the potential is there for other participants to be implicated directly,” Frenkel said. “That could be a veiled message in the U.S. attorney’s invitation to decide early whether to hunker down or come forward and get credit or acknowledgment for cooperation to avoid indictment.” That likely has high profile Epstein associates like Clinton, Trump, and others worried. “I would expect,” Miami Herald investigations editor Casey Frank told Democracy Now!, “that a lot of people who were friendly with Jeffrey Epstein, who visited his house, who received money, campaign contributions from Mr. Epstein, are going to be running in the opposite direction.”

More Great Stories from Vanity Fair

— Why the longest-shot Democratic candidates are running for president

— What Biden should learn from the Jon Stewart–Mitch McConnell showdown

— Can Democrats win back the internet in the age of Trump?

— Go behind the scenes of the fight over whether to launch an impeachment inquiry

— Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, and the making of a very Page Six Hamptons summer

Looking for more? Sign up for our daily Hive newsletter and never miss a story.