❓WHAT HAPPENED: Ghislaine Maxwell was honored at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) conference in 2013, despite accusations of sexual abuse against her surfacing years earlier.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Ghislaine Maxwell, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, and Clinton aide Doug Band.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The 2013 Clinton Global Initiative conference, four years after sexual abuse claims against Maxwell became public.
🎯IMPACT: The report raises further questions about the Clintons’ ties to Maxwell.
Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, was honored in 2013 at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) conference for her work in ocean conservation, despite sexual abuse allegations against her already being public at the time. Maxwell received a complimentary invitation to the event, which reportedly required approval from either Bill or Hillary Clinton. This occurred four years after Virginia Roberts Giuffre publicly accused Maxwell of recruiting and grooming her for abuse by Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell had also been subpoenaed in 2009 as she left a previous CGI event, and attended Chelsea Clinton’s 2010 wedding.
A Clinton spokesman said that Maxwell’s invitation was one of over 600 complimentary tickets approved at the staff level for that year’s CGI. “As we have consistently said, the Clintons know nothing about Jeffrey Epstein’s terrible crimes,” the spokesman claimed. Despite this, internal communications reveal that longtime Clinton aide Doug Band had previously directed staff to bar Maxwell from all Clinton-related events, suggesting personal intervention by the Clintons to honor her in 2013.
Band also said that Chelsea Clinton maintained a relationship with Maxwell because of her “access to yachts and homes.”
Maxwell has long defended Bill Clinton’s ties to Epstein, claiming his travel on Epstein’s private plane was related to humanitarian work. Flight logs show Clinton flew with Epstein 26 times, but Maxwell described it as “one journey.” She also denied that Clinton ever received massages during those trips.
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice released transcripts and audio recordings from a two-day interview with Maxwell, conducted under limited immunity. Following the interview, she was transferred to a minimum-security facility in Texas. During the sessions, Maxwell addressed her interactions with President Donald J. Trump, stating, “I never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way. The President was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects.”
She said Trump and Epstein were “friendly, like people are in social settings,” adding, “I don’t think they were close friends.”
Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.