Epstein’s donations, connections heavily favored Democrats, Clintons

FPI / August 14, 2019

From 1990-2018, Jeffrey Epstein donated $147,426 to Democratic candidates. In the same time period, he donated $18,250 to Republicans.

Epstein last donated to a GOP candidate in 2000. He never contributed to the 2016 Trump presidential campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

“Judging from the media focus, however, viewers would be forgiven for assuming that Epstein was a regular at Make America Great Again rallies,” Valerie Richardson noted in an Aug. 13 report for The Washington Times.

Observers say the corporate media are doing all they can to whitewash the close Democrats-Epstein connection while stretching to tie Trump with the convicted sex offender. A Google photo search for Epstein returns no photos of Bill Clinton, but several rare shots of Trump with Epstein.

“I know they keep trying to tie Trump to this, but Trump is the only person who is ever named in the Jeffrey Epstein debacle who stood up to Epstein and said that he was a dirtbag and a bad guy and banned him from his club,” said conservative talk-show host Buck Sexton on his podcast.

“The media, they always say, ‘Trump and Clinton, Trump and Clinton,’ ” Sexton said. “Well, Clinton is the one who was flying on his jet all the time.”

The picture that is emerging, Richardson noted, is one which reveals Epstein as “an A-lister who hobnobbed with liberal celebrities and gave generously to Democrats. A host of Democrats, celebrities and media figures have sought to distance themselves from Epstein since his arrest a month ago on child sex-trafficking charges in which he was accused of exploiting dozens of teenage girls as young as 14.

Epstein reportedly hanged himself with a bedsheet in his cell at the Metropolitan Correction Center in New York City.

In court documents released on Aug. 9, Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre said she was directed as a teen to have sex with a host of prominent business and political leaders, including former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, both Democrats.

Richardson and Mitchell have denied the allegations, which appeared as part of a 2015 lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s alleged madam.

Bill Clinton spokesperson Angel Urena said in a statement last month that the former president knew nothing about Epstein’s “terrible crimes,” and that Clinton took four trips accompanied by Secret Service and staff on Epstein’s private plane in 2002 and 2003.

However in 2016, Fox News reported that Bill Clinton flew on the plane known as the “Lolita Express” on at least 26 occasions, citing flight logs, although it’s possible that the four trips cited in the Clinton statement could have had several legs.

Even after Epstein’s 2008 conviction on soliciting an underage girl for sex in Florida, the billionaire still “moved freely in Hollywood circles,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

He attended the 2016 premiere of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” in New York City. A 2010 party at his Manhattan mansion in honor of Prince Andrew featured Woody Allen, Katie Couric, Charlie Rose, Chelsea Handler and George Stephanopoulos, as reported by the New York Post.

Epstein’s political donations were made mostly before his 2008 conviction. He contributed to the Senate campaigns of Democrats Hillary Clinton of New York and John Kerry of Massachusetts, as well as Republicans Bob Dole and Phil Gramm.

In the 2016 and 2018 cycles, however, Epstein donated $8,100 to Democratic Del. Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands. She has since said she will donate the contributions to local organizations working with women and children.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee returned a $10,000 donation from Epstein in 2018.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who collected about $22,000 from 1992-99 in donations to his own campaigns and joint fundraising efforts, has said he will donate that amount to groups fighting sex trafficking and violence against women.

Trump and Epstein socialized at parties and gatherings in Palm Beach, Florida, as shown in photos and videos. In 2002, Trump was quoted calling Epstein a “terrific guy,” but later allegedly barred him from Mar-A-Lago over “assaulting a girl at the club,” according to the New York Post, quoting a 2011 court document.

“I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him. People in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach,” Trump told reporters at the White House last month. “I had a falling out a long time ago. I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn’t a fan.”

Free Press International