A spokesperson for former US president Bill Clinton has accused the White House of using him as a scapegoat after a release of government files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein included photographs of the Democrat. Angel Ureña said in a statement on X that the administration had not been hiding the files for months only to release them late on a Friday to protect Mr Clinton.
The photographs released on Friday show Mr Clinton in an underground swimming pool with Ghislaine Maxwell and a woman whose facial features have been redacted, as well as at a dinner with Mick Jagger, Epstein and others. The image of Mr Clinton in the pool was later posted on X by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt with the caption “Oh my!” and a red-faced emoji.
Mr Clinton has long maintained he cut ties with Epstein around 2005, before the financier pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor. Epstein visited the White House at least 17 times during the early years of Mr Clinton’s presidency, according to visitor records. Both Mr Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, are scheduled to give depositions to the House oversight committee on 13 and 14 January, after having been postponed from earlier dates.
