Bill Clinton had Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell as wedding guests
by KATELYN CARALLE, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER · Mail OnlineBill Clinton asked Moroccan King Mohammed VI if he could bring an additional two plus-ones to his 2002 wedding – Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
The former president's aides were shocked by the push to bring the unrelated financier and his longtime girlfriend to the royal wedding.
The New York Post obtained a grainy, blurry image of a grinning Clinton with his arm around Maxwell in a group photo that also included Epstein, the former president's daughter Chelsea, former ambassador to the United Nations Abdeslam Jaidi and an unidentified man.
A person familiar with the wedding request confirmed Clinton 'brought them as guests to a king's wedding' even though 'it almost sounds made up. 'How many times in your life have you been invited as a guest of a guest at a wedding?' they questioned.
Another anonymous source told the Post that Clinton's staff 'insisted' and 'pushed' for the former president to bring Epstein and Maxwell.
Both sources said Clinton is dishonestly downplaying his links to Epstein and Maxwell and are confused why he was drawn to them.
Clinton, was famously impeached for his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. While both people who spoke with the Post think his relationship with Epstein reflects his poor judgement, neither believes that he was aware of Epstein's sex trafficking crimes.
The wedding guest debacle apparently remained a discussion in Democratic circles for more than two decades – and especially was topical after Epstein was charged, imprisoned and died in prison in August 2019 while awaiting federal trial for sex trafficking crimes.
Trickles of information about Epstein's high-profile political and business connections continue to leak through the cracks as the Department of Justice faces a Friday, December 19 deadline to release the entirety of the files related to the convicted child sex offender.
Clinton earned goodwill with Morocco royalty by three years prior, while still president, attending the funeral of the king's father Hassan II.
The request to bring two uninvited guests to the wedding was viewed by Clinton's team as rude.
The second NY Post source said that Hillary Clinton was in the Senate at the time, so she could not attend the wedding, but that the Clinton's daughter 'very much wanted to go,' as did the former president.
'The idea that they would take [Epstein] was a head-scratcher,' they added. 'But nonetheless, the Clinton office moved forward and made this request… and that's what happened.'
Clinton hopped on Epstein's private jet dubbed the 'Lolita Express' to travel with him and accomplice Maxwell to Morocco for the wedding. Chelsea Clinton was a student at Oxford University at the time and traveled independently to attend the Northern African royal nuptials.
Those familiar with the matter said they were shocked that it took this long for the ordeal to be reported, especially after it was made public the extent of the Clintons' many flights on Epstein's private jet.
The second Post source said: 'A lot of people around the Clintons had pushed young women on [Clinton].'
But they were not aware of Epstein doing so.
'The guy [Epstein] seemed like a total swindler and BS artist. It wasn't uncommon that Clinton and those people would be taken by him,' they added.
The Daily Mail has reached a spokesperson for the former president for comment.
The latest Clinton connection to Epstein comes after Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released another trove of images last week they obtained from the DOJ and Epstein's estate.
One included an image of a photograph signed by Clinton and showing the former president alongside Epstein and Maxwell as well as Jimmy Buffet and his wife Jane Slagsvol.