Fresh details have emerged about former US President Bill Clinton's persistent efforts to bring the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell as his personal guests to a royal wedding in Morocco over two decades ago.
A Shocking Request for 'Plus-Ones'
In 2002, Clinton asked King Mohammed VI of Morocco for permission to bring two additional, uninvited guests to the monarch's wedding: the now-convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. Sources familiar with the event have confirmed to The New York Post that Clinton's aides were stunned by the request, viewing it as a significant breach of protocol for a state occasion.
The push to include the pair, who had no official connection to the Moroccan royal family, was described by one insider as so unusual it "almost sounds made up." They questioned how often a guest is permitted to bring a "guest of a guest" to a wedding, let alone a head of state's nuptials.
The Wedding and the Aftermath
Clinton, who had built goodwill with the Moroccan monarchy by attending the funeral of the previous king, Hassan II, in 1999, attended the July 2002 wedding with his daughter Chelsea. According to reports, he travelled to the event in Rabat on Epstein's private jet, infamously nicknamed the 'Lolita Express', accompanied by Maxwell. Chelsea Clinton, then a student at Oxford University, travelled separately.
A grainy group photograph from the event, obtained by the Post, shows a smiling Clinton with his arm around Maxwell, alongside Epstein, Chelsea Clinton, former UN ambassador Abdeslam Jaidi, and another unidentified man. The incident reportedly became a topic of discussion in Democratic political circles for years, especially after Epstein was charged with sex trafficking in 2019.
Downplayed Links and Lasting Questions
Sources state that Clinton is dishonestly downplaying the extent of his former connections to Epstein and Maxwell. While those who spoke to the newspaper believe his association with the pair demonstrated profoundly poor judgement, they do not think he was aware of Epstein's sex trafficking crimes at the time.
One source noted that while "a lot of people around the Clintons had pushed young women" on the former president, they were not aware of Epstein being involved in that activity. They described Epstein as a "total swindler and BS artist" who managed to charm powerful circles.
This revelation follows the recent release of a trove of images by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, which included a signed photograph of Clinton with Epstein, Maxwell, and singer Jimmy Buffet and his wife. The details also emerge as the US Department of Justice faces ongoing pressure to release files related to the Epstein case, keeping the scrutiny on his high-profile associates firmly in place.
