File 022684
BuzzFeed News Analysis of Clinton-Epstein Connection Without Hard Evidence (File 022684)
A BuzzFeed News article by Ken Bensinger examining claims about Bill Clinton's association with Jeffrey Epstein, concluding that despite widespread innuendo, court documents provide little factual foundation for allegations of Clinton's complicity in Epstein's crimes.
Summary
This document is a forwarded BuzzFeed News article from January 28, 2015, analyzing the Clinton-Epstein connection that had gained media attention. The article reviews over 2,000 pages of court documents and concludes that while Epstein and Clinton were friendly and traveled together, the documents do not substantiate claims of Clinton's involvement in wrongdoing. The piece discusses Epstein's background as a billionaire financier, his documented history of sexually abusing underage girls, and the media's amplification of unverified allegations, noting that lawyers involved in litigation against Epstein have been vague about providing concrete evidence.
From:Sent:To:Subject:Attachments:Kathy Ruemmler1/30/2015 7:05:49 PMjeffrey E. [jeeyacation@gmail.com]Re:image010.jpg; image006.png; image002.jpg; image008.png; image009.png; image007.png; image004.jpg;image005.jpg; image003.jpg; image001.jpgImportance: HighOn Jan 30, 2015 2:04 PM, "jeffrey E." <jeevacation@gmail.com> wrote:number?On Fri, Jan 30, 2015 at 1:26 PM, Kathy RuemmlerDid you see this? [ Privileged - Redacted_----------Forwarded message----------From: ____________________________Date: Jan 30, 2015 12:25 PMSubject:To: <Cc: _________________________________> wrote:Plenty Of Innuendo, But No Hard Evidence Of New ClintonSex ScandalMuch-discussed documents in Jeffrey Epstein affair don't live up to the hype.Iposted on Jan. 28, 2015, at 10:53 p.m.Ken BensingerBuzzFeed News ReporterShareITweetIShareShareIShareShareHOUSE OVERSIGHT 022684TweetShareShareTweetShareShareShareShareBookmark itView this imageCarlo Allegri / ReutersOver roughly the past month, coverage of Bill Clinton's travels with financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have madetheir way from a thick stack of court documents into something approaching political mythology, propelled by a string of innuendo-HOUSE OVERSIGHT 022685laced reports hinting that the former president must have been in some way complicit when he voyaged with a billionaire known forpreying on underage girls.It's a story with plenty to gape at, from horrific and excruciatingly detailed allegations against Epstein to the frequent presence of aformer president who was, after all, nearly chased from office for a (consensual) affair with an intern.But sometimes stories that seem too good to be true —just might be. A detailed review by a team of BuzzFeed News reporters ofmore than 2,000 pages of pleadings, depositions, affidavits, police reports, flight logs, and other documents filed in state and federalcourt found that many of the most provocative allegations about Clinton have little to no factual foundation and are exaggerated atbest; that the documents — which appear to be the source for nearly all current reporting on this subject — themselves neversuggest that Clinton was doing more than using his wealthy friend as a kind of global taxi service; and that many of the most luridinsinuations have been floated without any visible support from verifiable information.While it's still possible that some Rosetta stone of Clintonian depravity will surface from a pair of ongoing lawsuits involving Epstein,the fact that nothing even close to that has been dug up over the course of a half-dozen years of heated litigation should not beencouraging for Republican operatives and other Clinton critics hotly anticipating the very worst.One sign that the connection is a bit weak: The lawyers who have used the Clinton link to help publicize their cases have beenmarkedly vague on details.When asked to present actual proof, Jack Scarola, the Florida attorney responsible for filing some of the most attention-grabbingdocuments that have come to light in recent weeks, warned darkly in an email of "extortionate threats, power, wealth or politicalpressure.""The time will come when all your questions will be answered," said Scarola, who represents another trial attorney suing Epstein inPalm Beach County Court. "But that time is not now."Unwilling to wait, perhaps, publications on both sides of the Atlantic have gleefully dipped into those documents to publishbreathless descriptions of Epstein's "black book," which contains a host of Clinton phone numbers (along with just about every otherpowerful figure in the Western world); dissections of handwritten flight logs for the financier's private 727 aircraft that frequentlycapture Bubba at 30,000 feet; and extensive allegations from a woman, Virginia Roberts, who claims she was Epstein's sex slave asa teenager and whose recollection places the former commander-in-chief on "Orgy Island" in 2002 to participate in a sexual romp,possibly with women who were not yet of age.HOUSE OVERSIGHT 022686YORK & 'ORGY ISLAND,' SAYS TEEN SEX SLAVEView this image >National EnquirerTellingly, many of those articles — which have notably increased in tempo in recent weeks following Roberts' late Decemberaccusation that noted attorney Alan Dershowitz was one of the men she was forced to have sex with — contain languageunderscoring the fact that none of this proves anything. "It should at this stage be stressed that the Mail has no evidence tocorroborate this and other claims made by Virginia Roberts," the Daily Mailwrote in April. "Though her LinkedIn page claims acertificate in Swedish massage, there is no evidence that she ever actually treated Epstein to one," Gawker (in the moststraightforward and clearest reporting on the documents to date) wrote last week. And the National Enquirer did not appear to relyon the court record for its conclusions, instead to the interpretation of an unnamed source who noted that "Bill's name is all over thelegal papers, which are chock-full of sordid claims."Clinton's discretion on matters of sexual restraint has attained permanent notoriety, so maybe it's natural to assume that particularleopard doesn't change his spots. But at this point, there is simply nothing to back those sordid claims up.Here's what we do know:Jeffrey Epstein is a secretive billionaire financier and Democratic donor who says he never attended college but whose "backgroundis in physics." He owns properties in New York, Florida, New Mexico, London, and Paris and also owns an island in the U.S. VirginIslands. He has at least two private jets, including the 727.He has known Bill Clinton since about 1995, and his relationship with him grew stronger after he left office. There is no question theywere friendly. Epstein's so-called "black book," which is less like something out of the Heidi Fleiss affair and more what most peoplewould call a "phone directory," contains 21 numbers for getting in touch with Clinton, as well as emails and addresses.But that 92-page directory also contains exactly the range of eye-poppingly famous and powerful contacts one might expect of anincredibly rich, connected person who owns Manhattan's largest private residence, from Tony Blair to Elie Wiesel to Courtney Love.Epstein was long rumored to be a sexual libertine; "It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do," real estatepersonality Donald Trump of his old friend. "And many of them are on the younger side."HOUSE OVERSIGHT 0226871Florida Dept of Law EnforcementHOUSE OVERSIGHT 022688IMPORTANT MESSAGEroe trfs,„DATE 61 /19 nmE ff.OE '1:-:le "'47 -- ZtiCOF=3 INLEEI CKeg VC;t7TELEPHONED -a---, KEASE CALLCue TO SEE YOU WILL CALL AGAINWANTS TO SEE YOU RUSHRETURNED YOUR CAII --We :SPECIAL ATTENTIONI.4 ho... cL le (407e,you A4t.) -ilea cv.,hohi A., -s_Fecut hi tall.SAGX iS Zic a" ye wfs oteirie . --3_scA•zs ci-eeeelefa/c.i., (ry au,r.Palm Beach County CourtEpstein, in his Florida sex offender photo; at right, a phone message to Epstein from a modeling agent offering Russian lessons froma "2x8" year old girl.In 2006, that reputation caught up with him, when he was arrested by the Palm Beach Police on charges of sexually molestingnumerous underage girls. Police reports in the court record show that detectives found Epstein regularly paid very young women togive him massages that he turned into sexual encounters. He allegedly had a preference for very young women, whom he carefullygroomed into increasingly extreme situations, including what some, including Roberts, allege to be sexual slavery.In total, 40 women were identified as possible victims of sexual abuse by Epstein, many of them teenagers at the time, includingsome younger than 14 years old. Epstein was originally charged with a variety of crimes, including sexual assault, rape, and witnesstampering.He avoided most of those charges as well as federal prosecution in late 2007 by agreeing to plead guilty in Florida court, a deal thatDershowitz, who was one of Epstein's lawyers, helped negotiate along with an all-star legal lineup that interestingly also includedfamed Clinton-hunter Ken Starr.In the end, Epstein got 18 months in prison for a single count of soliciting an underage prostitute, of which he served 13 months. Heis now a registered sex offender who lists his primary residence as the U.S. Virgin Islands.In a pleading late last month in federal court, attorneys for Roberts allege that "Dershowitz helped negotiate an agreement with aprovision that provided protection for himself against criminal prosecution." Dershowitz has denied these charges vigorously, callingthem "salacious and false" and, possibly more importantly, "completely irrelevant"HOUSE OVERSIGHT 022689Despite what some called among the most exhaustive investigations in Palm Beach Police history — which dug up such evidence asan Amazon receipt for Epstein's purchase of titles including "Training With Miss Abernathy: A Workbook for Exotic Slaves and TheirOwners" — there is nothing in the police record suggesting any other men were involved in Epstein's predatory behavior.F- pillins Addrew- 'Jiiirei, Epstein i I358 El IlltipaPala Bea 33‘40;l;i_al ..,.i, • *4-\.... • -'.4,,,,-,,,..:v•-...:. ,i,•••4- - •.4!/77414/-3.Inext/2434,123 SORTEAtFatiTraeYour order of- bet. 0,2005 (Order ID 103-1737010-4505648)City liantIN THI5 SH1FMkNT 'A" tt. .-4.‘'...711.1.* i'S ' .:' -,.. -1 SM 101: AjtealIstIc Introduction ' I>. ;•••••-'• • •:',,,....Wisernan. Jay -Td4eperbodt ' , r.,.s.- ' *-C-r) 1166397,838ftft.tv -.-...1.,,.....: 7 . -.4- •:.' ,11:i244;,-3. :- • • - .• ''' :,,, - .• Roadinco,_*!.,.r?tit Spvitude;--Pripciples, Skills and.Topls ,.- -4P',"':. 1.' . •. '-).*I. • IlLt • ...,:i,, ..:4.• ..t.i...., - - •jth,Miss Abesity: A Workbook for Erotic Slivis and Theikt-Shipping A.:Wiese:hefty _Epstein3S8 El Mao WaySAPaLT. Beach. Flonda 13410• AbernitttplChtisttrta - Paptiback •tli." 8901 • 4. . ••:`*z.05•,-frti": •View this imagePalm Beach County CourtSubtotal1180.. • Peke • Total. •V1•95 • ,,ST115_,'•,••.!The criminal case provoked numerous lawsuits from women alleging they were victims of Epstein's proclivities, followed bysettlements with more than two dozen of them. One firm bringing some of those cases employed a young lawyer named BradleyEdwards, who managed some of the cases. In 2009, a founding partner at the firm, Scott Rothstein, fled the country beforeultimately returning to plead guilty of running a built around recruiting investors to buy stakes in litigationsettlements that turned out to be phony.As details of the fraud emerged, Epstein sued Rothstein and Edwards in Palm Beach County Cour, for racketeering, alleging, amongother things, that they dangled Bill Clinton's association with Epstein as a lure to investors, implying that settlements would be fastand sizable. Epstein ultimately dropped his suit in 2012, but by that time, Edwards had countersued for malicious prosecution andabuse of process.That cast, along with a claim by Virginia Roberts against the federal government over the 2007 prosecution deal in district court(which she filed as a "Jane Doe" in 2008), are still pending and are the source of most of the scant information about Clinton thathas appeared. Scarola, who in the past over payments to violent leftist Colombian rebels and wonv( over Morgan Stanley (that was later overturned), is the lawyer bringing the suit in county court in West Palm Beach, whilePaul Cassell, a former federal judge known for his critical take on mandatory-minimum sentences, mans the federal case four blocksaway.Neither Cassell nor Edwards responded to requests for comment.It is primarily from pleadings in those cases that the press has been getting a glimpse inside the lifestyle of Epstein, and, byextension, Clinton. "Edwards had sound legal basis for believing former President Clinton had relevant and discoverable information,"HOUSE OVERSIGHT 022690part of one pleading reads. Roberts, in her case, alleges that Epstein forced her "to be sexually exploited by Defendant's adult malepeers, including royalty, politicians, academicians, businessmen, and/or other professional and personal acquaintances," which,Edwards elsewhere claims, are "categories Clinton and acquaintances of Clinton fall into."Police reports entered into the record go into stomach-wrenching detail about Epstein's alleged exploits with the girls and women herecruited and paid for massages that became sexual acts, and mention other women participating as well. Epstein's longtime friend,the socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, is accused of taking part, while his personal assistant, Sarah Kellen, is described procuring youngwoman for him.But neither of those women has ever said a word about Clinton being involved. Maxwell, for her part, has never been deposed. Shecanceled a deposition in 2010, claiming she had to return to England indefinitely due to family illness, but was soon thereafterphotographed by Us Weekly at Chelsea Clinton's wedding in Rhinebeck, New York.The father ofthe bride "wasnodding his headat guests, butyou could tell he From the bling to biwas nervous,"says a source._____ part was preppedIL!lite KlineFive hundred guests conveniWhite—designed, century-olmansion in Rhinebeck for thAwaiting out-of-towners?full of goodies including Cher•View this imageUs WeeklyFor her part, Kellen, who won immunity from prosecution along with Epstein in 2007, did sit for a deposition, but repeatedly pleadedthe Fifth, refusing to even say if she'd ever even met the former president.Epstein's much-discussed flight logs show fairly conclusively that she has.A review of the handwritten documents shows Clinton taking 13 trips in Epstein's specially outfitted Boeing 727, including a much-discussed trip to Africa with Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker. In every single instance, the logs show, Kellen was also on the plane, aswas Epstein. That may sound suspicious, except for the fact that Kellen has been described as Epstein's right hand, profoundlyinvolved in his professional activities as well as personal ones. Indeed, Doug Band, Clinton's personal aide, was on of theflights the former president took on Epstein's jet.HOUSE OVERSIGHT 022691NT-•••• Iez-v1211A VA* 1Ysq ON) )4 2_6-sz.2G S2 ''SSView this imagePalm Beach County CourtTel(rfrA,Sr. (IfteStorAicV144..4.t.r..Nso•:_____(11wtvgia, 0 I.7 NA' ),Jr.r..<0 12:5 S el)Sovue ‘11064e Ftir.$Sov4v.s nrs rtianw3'rcA%J.,446Among the other people who most frequently flew with Clinton are Maxwell and Adriana Ross (formerly Adriana Mucinska), anotherEpstein assistant and a former model. The logs also show him flying with former advisor Ira Magaziner, ex-Transportation SecretaryRodney Slater, and fashion model Naomi CampbellThe pilots' documents also leave numerous and — understandably — intriguing questions unanswered: Clinton was on four flightswith women identified as only "Janice" and "Jessica," who have not been identified; he once flew with a person identified only as"one female" and also, during part of the trip throughout Africa, a young woman named Chauntae Davies, who appears in Epstein'sphone directly under the massage category and whose expertise in Swedish massage was described in Gawkey's story mentioningher last week. And because the entries are hand-written in a very cramped log form, it's impossible to know if important namesended up illegible or left out altogether, nor if there are other logs that have not been revealed.But based on what's in the court files, there are no further clues about those flights, other than the testimony and public statementsof Roberts, who has described the airplane as a kind of high-altitude Gomorrah. What is on the record is a deposition of LarryVisoski, one of Epstein's former pilots, who having Clinton on his plane as many as 20 times. When asked, "Do you rememberhim being on the airplane with younger girls?" Visoski replies, simply, "No."Clinton flew literally around the world with Epstein, traveling from New York to London, to Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand,Morocco, Portugal, Russia, and throughout Africa. In almost every case, according to cross-referenced information on his speakingengagements, Clinton was apparently traveling for professional reasons, and, according to the logs, he never flew with his wealthyfriend anywhere near the U.S. Virgin Islands.That does little to bolster statements by Roberts, who in a 2011 conversation with her lawyers (which both New York Post's Page Sixand described as an "interview") claimed Clinton traveled to Epstein's infamous retreat on Little St. James Island in2002.Earlier this month, it was reported that Roberts is writing a "tell-all" memoir about her experiences. In a sworn affidavit filed in courtlast week, she claimed to have had sex with Epstein, Dershowitz, England's Prince Andrew, and several other men on numerousoccasions, and portrayed a three-year period ending in 2002 when Epstein passed her off to his friends continually. But, she added,"I have never had sexual relations with Clinton, nor have I claimed to have had such relations. I have never seen him have sexualrelations with anyone."HOUSE OVERSIGHT 022692I un mu II um autPut cvurytrung CIVUAUSC mai Win imp prevcni IMAM ZiMUNI dULM.C...51. I have seen repoM saying or implying that I had sex with former President BillClinton on Little Saint James Island. Former President Rill Clinton was present on the Island ata time when I was also present on the island, but I have never had sexual relations with Clinton,nor have ever claimed to have had such relations. have never seen him have sexual relationswith anyone.lumrlarrivi.rnril +kn.* r.m.r.1-..;.• • I..,View this image >http://U.S. District CourtIntensive coverage prompted by the court filings has hinted that Clinton abruptly ceased his flying with Epstein in 2005, not terriblylong before he was arrested, "perhaps because of events related to Epstein's sexual abuse of children." The implication is thatClinton may have known trouble of the worst kind was coming and decided to get out while he could. In fact, the logs show all ofClinton's flights came in 2002 and 2003, with not a single appearance aloft recorded in 2004 or 2005.The closest potential link to Clinton in the period closer to Epstein's fall, the public record suggests, comes from one of his longtimeconfidants, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.The flight logs indicate Summers flew on Epstein's jet as far back as 1998, but also on April 15, 2004, September 14, 2005, andDecember 21, 2005. The final trip came 10 days after Summers got married, and the log for the flight — from Bedford,Massachusetts, to the Virgin Islands — shows what appears to be his new bride on board, as well as Ghislaine Maxwell, but notEpstein.ZI Tcs eco Itra , —rJc101-cc: GM _______________V2.1 I, li 644) T )6T *il&M, tixtrw 44.140. 0wAsLVTT---1. ISC--1, it).4 Z?=-1 N M L V*cl_View this image >Palm Beach County CourtEpstein was a significant donor to Harvard University, of which Summers was president at the time. According to a spokesperson forSummers, on a few occasions when Epstein was flying to where Summers was also traveling, he accepted rides on the billionaire'sjet.Attorneys in the two cases have attempted to get the court to permit discovery from Clinton himself, but have been stymied bymotions from Epstein's lawyers. Court records show they have also tried unsuccessfully to depose Donald Trump, former New MexicoGov. Bill Richardson, former Sony Music head Tommy Mottola, and magician David Copperfield. Notably, a list of 73 proposedwitnesses in Roberts' trial does not include Clinton.The tale of Epstein and his sexual activities is undoubtedly a fascinating, and harrowing, one. But with the star witness in one caseswearing under oath that she has no such evidence, and everyone else in a position to know keeping their mouths firmly shut, it is atthis point extremely difficult to draw even a hazy, crooked, dotted line between Epstein's depredations, in the bedroom or aloft, andWilliam Jefferson Clinton.BuzzFeed News reporters Alex Campbell, Kyle Blaine, and Megan Apper contributed to this report.HOUSE OVERSIGHT 022693Kathryn H. RuemmlerLATHAM & WATKINS LLP555 Eleventh Street, NWSuite 1000Washington D.C. 20004-1304Direct Dial:Fax: _____________________Email:http://www.lw.comThis email may contain material that is confidential, privileged and/or attorney work product for the sole use of theintended recipient. Any review, reliance or distribution by others or forwarding without express permission is strictlyprohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and delete all copies.Latham & Watkins LLP-please noteThe information contained in this communication isconfidential, may be attorney-client privileged, mayconstitute inside information, and is intended only forthe use of the addressee. It is the property ofJEEUnauthorized use, disclosure or copying of thiscommunication or any part thereof is strictly prohibitedand may be unlawful. If you have received thiscommunication in error, please notify us immediately byreturn e-mail or by e-mail to jeevacation@gmail.com, anddestroy this communication and all copies thereof,including all attachments. copyright -all rights reservedHOUSE OVERSIGHT 022694