Former President Bill Clinton’s spokesperson issued a statement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, after thousands of emails from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate sparked renewed scrutiny of Clinton’s past association with the convicted sex offender. The statement came as President Donald Trump directed the Department of Justice to investigate Epstein’s ties to prominent Democrats.
Angel Ureña, Clinton’s spokesperson, posted on X that the emails prove Clinton “did nothing and knew nothing.” He characterized the focus on Clinton as noise meant to distract from election losses, backfiring shutdowns, and other issues.
The statement followed Trump’s announcement Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, that he would ask Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice to investigate Epstein’s involvement and relationship with Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and financial institutions JPMorgan and Chase. Trump’s directive came after the House Oversight Committee released approximately 20,000 emails from Epstein’s estate on Nov. 12, 2025.
Hours after Trump’s post on Truth Social, Bondi announced she had assigned Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to lead the investigation. She stated the Department would pursue the matter with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people.
The controversy intensified after Mark Epstein, Jeffrey’s brother, spoke with NewsNation on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. He apologized to Clinton for the confusion surrounding an email exchange from 2018 in which Mark referenced Trump blowing Bubba. Many online speculated Bubba referred to Clinton, a nickname the former president has carried for years.
“I like Bill Clinton and I’m sorry for him that he has to go through that,” Mark Epstein told NewsNation. He insisted the email had nothing to do with Clinton, explaining that people got crazy about the reference. His spokesperson later clarified that Bubba is a private individual who is not a public figure.
Among the thousands of emails released by the House Oversight Committee, one from January 2015 referenced Clinton directly. Epstein wrote to journalist Michael Wolff that Clinton was never ever on his private island. This statement came as Trump repeatedly suggested Clinton had spent significant time on the island.
Flight records indicate Clinton traveled on Epstein’s private jet during 2002 to 2003, with reports indicating around 20 flights. The trips occurred after Clinton left office in 2001 and involved international travel for Clinton Foundation initiatives. None of the released documents or flight logs confirm that Clinton visited Epstein’s island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
No Epstein survivor has publicly accused Clinton of inappropriate behavior in connection to Epstein’s crimes. The former president has acknowledged knowing Epstein as a well-connected wealth manager who visited the White House multiple times during Clinton’s presidency.
The email release also revealed correspondence mentioning Trump, including a 2011 email from Epstein to Ghislaine Maxwell referencing an alleged victim spending hours at Epstein’s house with Trump. Another email from 2019 suggested Trump knew about the girls, though the context remained unclear.
Trump characterized Democratic focus on the emails as a hoax designed to deflect from political failures. He claimed in his Truth Social post that records show Democrats spent large portions of their life with Epstein, and on his Island. The president has maintained he did nothing wrong and had no involvement in Epstein’s criminal activities.
The investigation comes amid bipartisan pressure for complete release of all Epstein-related files. A discharge petition gained enough signatures to force a House vote on compelling the Justice Department to release remaining documents. The effort has support from members of both parties, though Trump has criticized Republicans who backed the petition as weak and foolish.
Financial institutions named in Trump’s directive have also faced scrutiny over their ties to Epstein. JPMorgan Chase settled two lawsuits related to Epstein in 2023, paying $290 million to victims and $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands government. The settlements included no admission of wrongdoing.
Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His case has continued to generate controversy, with numerous high-profile individuals from both political parties having had past associations with him during his years as a prominent financial advisor.