- Ghislaine Maxwell called former Clinton aide Doug Band a friend during her deposition.
- Band testified he has no evidence Clinton visited Epstein's island and cannot recall his own prior claim.
- Band could not remember emails to Maxwell using pet names or conversations with Epstein on flights.
- Band admitted controlling a WJC email address and said he insulated Clinton from Maxwell.
- Band is the 17th witness in a probe that has questioned Clinton, Gates, and other powerful figures.
The tangle of elite connections surrounding the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein took another odd turn this week when a former top aide to Bill Clinton sat down with congressional investigators and could not remember why he had once claimed the ex-president visited Epstein's private island.
Doug Band, who served as one of Clinton's closest advisers during his post-presidency, testified behind closed doors Tuesday before the House Oversight Committee. Band told lawmakers he had no evidence Clinton ever traveled to Little St. James, the Caribbean compound at the center of Epstein's sex-trafficking operation, and said he could not recall why he told Vanity Fair in 2020 that such a trip took place.
A striking reversal under oath
The account is a sharp break from Band's earlier statements. In that 2020 interview, he said Clinton visited the island in 2003 and that he himself had declined to go over his objections to Epstein. Testifying voluntarily this week, Band said he has nothing to back the claim up. His 2020 remarks had been cited by those questioning Clinton's insistence that he never set foot on the island.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who attended the session, was blunt about Band's performance, telling CNN he was "the worst witness we've ever had" and accusing him of stonewalling. "He just said, 'I do not recall' on damn near every answer and he contradicted himself multiple times," Mace said. She has asked committee Chairman James Comer to subpoena Band.
A convenient pattern of forgetfulness
Band's memory lapses extended well beyond the island. He said he could not remember sending emails to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's convicted associate, even though released files show he addressed her with pet names like "boo-boo" and "baby-cakes" and, in other messages, called her his "lover" and "social matchmaker." He said he did not recall speaking with Epstein on any of the flights he and Clinton took aboard Epstein's private jet, nor any conversation with him elsewhere.
Band did acknowledge that he fully controlled a "WJC" email address that sent messages found in the files, and said he "took steps to insulate Clinton" from Maxwell as allegations mounted. He denied any sexual contact with Maxwell — with whom he was photographed at a 2007 Valentine's tea party in New York — and said he did not remember her introducing him to any women or girls.
Clinton's ties remain under the microscope
Clinton has consistently denied wrongdoing, framing his dealings with Epstein as tied to his charitable work, and has never been charged. Testifying in February, he denied visiting Little St. James, knowing of Epstein's crimes, or recognizing a woman photographed with him in a hot tub. Records show he flew on Epstein's jet on more than two dozen legs in the early 2000s, though none of those flights landed on the island. Epstein nonetheless bankrolled part of the Clinton Global Initiative, wiring $1 million through Maxwell to a publicity firm for its 2005 launch.
Band is the 17th witness in the committee's sprawling probe, which has also questioned Bill and Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, former Attorney General Pam Bondi and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The investigation picked up steam after the Justice Department released thousands of case files earlier this year.
Yet the pattern is wearily familiar: the powerful men in Epstein's orbit suffer sudden, total amnesia the moment they're under oath, no client list ever surfaces, and no major associate ever sees a courtroom. A trafficker of children counted a former president among his passengers and his charity among his beneficiaries — and the best his inner circle can offer is that they don't recall. The public was promised accountability. What it got was a memory-holing operation, and it deserves to know who is being protected.
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