After the Department of Justice released a new batch of documents and photos tied to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein on Dec. 19, a top aide from Bill Clinton’s era in the White House responded publicly.
Clinton appears in several of the images made public under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Nov. 19. In a statement shared on X, Clinton’s former deputy chief of staff, Angel Ureña, criticized the timing and framing of the release and argued it was not intended to shield Clinton.
“The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton,” Ureña wrote, pointing to the fact that Trump also appears in images from the same release. Ureña claimed the release was meant to “shield themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever,” adding that publishing “grainy, 20-plus-year-old photos” does not change what he called the central issue.
Ureña also referenced recent comments from White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who said there is “no evidence” that Clinton made numerous trips to Epstein’s private island, Little St. James.
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“There are two types of people here,” Ureña continued. “The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships with him after. We’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that.”
He ended by saying, “Everyone, especially MAGA, expects answers, not scapegoats.”
The Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the government to release “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in DOJ’s possession that relate to the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein,” according to an official House summary.
Among the images released on Friday is a photograph that appears to show Clinton in a pool with Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and a woman whose face is obscured. In another, Clinton stands between Epstein and another man, smiling with his arms around both. A third image appears to show a woman with her face obscured seated near Clinton’s lap on what looks like the seat of a private jet.
Clinton has repeatedly denied any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s crimes.
In a statement issued in July 2019, Ureña said: “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.”
That statement also said Clinton flew on Epstein’s jet four times and visited Epstein’s Harlem office once, each time accompanied by Secret Service. It added that Clinton had not spoken to Epstein in more than a decade and had never been to Little St. James, Epstein’s New Mexico ranch, or his Florida residence.
