If the Epstein files were meant to deliver closure, they’ve instead reopened old grudges. As the Justice Department’s latest document dump reignited public outrage, former President Bill Clinton found himself once again at the centre of the storm — and he is not amused. In a sharply worded statement released Friday, Clinton accused the White House of using him as a scapegoat, arguing that the timing and substance of the release had less to do with transparency and more to do with deflection.
He issued a statement via his press secretary that read, “The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton.” The files, released on December 19-2025, included multiple images of Clinton. One was labelled “Bill Clinton in image from the Epstein Files released December 19-2025” and showed the former President with a young woman. The Department of Justice also released an image of Clinton with Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein, and another featuring Mick Jagger, Bill Clinton and an unidentified woman.A handout image provided by Genevieve de Manio showed Clinton walking Chelsea Clinton down the aisle during her wedding on July 31-2010 at the Astor Courts Estate in Rhinebeck, New York. Ghislaine Maxwell was also seen in attendance. No images of Donald Trump were included in the latest release despite his longstanding friendship with Epstein during the 1990s and 2000s.“This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever. So they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be,” the statement added.It continued, “Even Susie Wiles said Donald Trump was wrong about Bill Clinton.”“The statement also read, “There are two types of people here. The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships with him after. We’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that. Everyone, especially MAGA, expects answers, not scapegoats.”A report from Fox News Digital said that while many of the redactions were made to protect victims’ identities, “the same redaction standards were applied to politically exposed individuals and government officials.”Both Bill and Hillary Clinton have gone to great lengths to distance themselves from Epstein after maintaining a relationship with him during the 1990s and early 2000s, with Clinton reasserting in his Friday statement that he “cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light.” Epstein was convicted of procuring a child for prostitution in 2008 and Maxwell is serving 20 years in a federal prison on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.Clinton has never been formally accused of any wrongdoing in connection with his relationship with Epstein, which included taking multiple trips on the financier’s private jet.The Clintons were scheduled for depositions before the House Oversight Committee this week regarding their ties to Epstein, but their appearances have been rescheduled for January. Trump has not been called to testify about his own relationship with Epstein.The President faced increased scrutiny over delays in releasing the files but eventually signed legislation to force the DOJ to publish them. A survey conducted earlier this month found that 70 per cent of Americans believed the Trump administration was trying to conceal details of the case, including the identities of Epstein’s associates. Go to Source
