The Democratic Partyâs official social media account excluded former President Bill Clinton from two of its recent social media posts as of Monday after the high-profile release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Clinton previously had a friendship with Epstein and took flights on his jet, but he reportedly never visited Epsteinâs private island or several of his homes, his spokesperson said in December. Upon the release of the files by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Democrats included photographs of Democratic presidents spanning back to former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in its Valentineâs and Presidentâs Day posts, but did not include Clinton.
Clinton and former first lady Hillary Clinton agreed to testify in the House Oversight Committeeâs investigation into Epstein on Feb. 2 after having rejected several subpoenas by the committee, arguing that the demands were invalid and politically motivated. The committeeâs chairman, Republican Kentucky Rep. James Comer, criticized Clintonâs proposal to sit down for a four-hour interview and said his demands âfrustratesâ the public and undermines Americansâ demand for transparency.
The Clintons downplayed their ties to Epstein while the files gained widespread public attention. The former president was reportedly among several high-profile figures to send Epstein a birthday letter in 2003 that was later put into an album by Epsteinâs former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) first reported.
Trump had also been accused of sending Epstein a birthday letter that year which included a drawing of a naked woman, though Trump vehemently denied ever writing such a letter and sued the WSJ in July over the allegation.
Epstein was first indicted on prostitution charges in 2006 following an investigation that began in March 2005 into his inappropriate conduct with a teenage girl.
The DOJ released photographs of Clinton sitting shirtless in a hot tub and socializing with Epstein. More photos showed Clinton socializing with Maxwell and smiling with Epstein at what appeared to be a dinner party.
New documents released by the DOJ on Feb. 1 found that Maxwell played a major role in financially supporting the Clinton Global Initiative, Clintonâs major project after leaving the White House, according to The New York Times.
Clinton said he cut all contact with Epstein sometime before the 2006 indictment, according to the Times. Angel UreĂąa, a spokesperson for Clinton, said Clinton has called for the full release of the files and has ânothing to hide.â
âHe knew nothing about Epsteinâs crimes,â UreĂąa told the Times. âWhen it became clear Epstein had no genuine interest in lifesaving philanthropic work, there was no reason for further contact. The facts are the facts and the truth is the truth, and theyâre both on our side.â
The most recent release of the files showed that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick kept in contact with Epstein in 2011 and 2012, despite having told the New York Post in October that he vowed never to be in the same room as Epstein after witnessing a massage table in his home. The files also contained a photograph of former Prince Andrew kneeling on all fours over a woman and emails between Epstein and former White House strategist Steve Bannon from 2018 and 2019.
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