Clinton was scandalized during his presidency by the disclosure of his sexual affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Recently, Clinton was alleged in a lawsuit to have visited a private island owned by late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein with “two young girls.”
CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski tweeted on Tuesday, “How is Bill Clinton still getting prime time speaking spots post Me Too era?” Kaczynski’s tweet was retweeted by CNN host Jake Tapper, commentator Chris Cillizza and CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins.
In a tweet sent to Newsweek Tuesday, the Clinton Foundation pointed to a recent poll which indicated that “nearly 60 percent of Democrats wanted to hear [Bill Clinton] speak.”
Located in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Epstein was the owner of Little St. James, a 75-acre island. Visitors to the island with Epstein allegedly included Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Victoria’s Secret founder Les Wexner, President Donald Trump and President Clinton.
Clinton has denied visiting Epstein’s island. In a July statement to Newsweek, Clinton spokesperson Angel Urena said that at the time of Epstein’s arrest, Clinton had “not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade. Well before his terrible crimes came to light.”
On Tuesday, allegations surfaced that Clinton had received a neck massage from Epstein’s personal masseuse Chauntae Davies in 2002 during a stop in Portugal. Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly encouraged Clinton to accept the massage after complaining of a stiff neck, according to reporting from The Daily Mail.
Davies told the Daily Mail that Clinton never approached her sexually, stating that “President Clinton was a perfect gentleman during the trip and I saw absolutely no foul play involving him.”
In court documents unsealed in July, Maxwell and Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre said that she had seen Clinton on the island with two young girls.
Giuffre claimed that Epstein said Clinton owed him “favors.”
“He never told me what the favors were,” Giuffre told attorney Jack Scarola. “I never knew. I didn’t know if he was serious. He told me a long time ago that everyone owes him favors. They’re all in each other’s pockets.”
In 1988, the U.S. House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against Clinton, finding him guilty of obstructing justice and lying under oath to a federal grand jury. During the investigation, evidence of Clinton’s affair with Lewinsky was uncovered.
During a televised admission of the affair in 1998, Clinton said his relationship with Lewinsky was “not appropriate.”
“In fact, it was wrong,” Clinton continued. “It constituted a critical lapse in judgment and a personal failure on my part for which I am solely and completely responsible.”
Clinton’s comments at the DNC are expected to show support for presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
“Our party is united in offering you a very different choice: a go-to-work president,” Clinton said in remarks released Tuesday by the DNC. “A down-to-earth, get-the-job-done guy. A man with a mission: to take responsibility, not shift the blame; concentrate, not distract; unite, not divide. Our choice is Joe Biden.”
Updated 8:11 p.m. EST 8/18/2020: This story has been updated with a statement from the Clinton Foundation.