Latest / The Epstein Chronicles / Mega Edition: Doug Band And His Epstein Related Congressional Transcript (Part 1-3) (10/3/26)

Transcript

Mega Edition: Doug Band And His Epstein Related Congressional Transcript (Part 1-3) (10/3/26) · The Epstein Chronicles

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to start taking
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: a look at Doug Band's testimony that he gave to
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Congress in regards to his relationship, or what he knows,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: about Jeffrey Epstein. And instead of starting with them swearing
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: him in and everybody announcing themselves, we're just going to
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: jump right down to him giving his opening statement. Mr. Band, yes,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: thank you. Good morning, Chairman Comer, committee staff. My name
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: is Doug Band, and I worked for President Clinton for
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: the entire first half of my adult life. First as
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: his aide and traveling assistant during his presidency, helping him
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: stay on schedule and manage daily administrative tasks, and then
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: continuing in that role as he transitioned to post-presidential life.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: During his post-presidency period, I supported the president across various endeavors,
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: and I was responsible for the conception of what became
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: the Clinton Global Initiative, an effort to bring people together
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: from around the world to make concrete commitments to action
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: on important global issues. Since its founding in 2005, the
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Clinton Global Initiative has launched more than 4,300 projects and
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: has reached over 500 people worldwide. It was in the
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: course of my work for President Clinton that I came
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: into limited contact with Jeffrey Epstein. My interaction with Epstein's
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: were infrequent and incidental to my duties. I did not
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: know him well at all, and I rarely interacted with him.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: I also met Ghislaine Maxwell in the course of my
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: duties with President Clinton, and over time we developed a friendship. However,
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: that friendship ended well over a decade ago. As I
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: sit here today, I recall that in roughly 2011, I
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: started hearing rumors and reading reports about her potential involvement
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: in troubling activities. Given these concerns... I took the step
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: to insulate the president from further interactions and issued an
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: instruction to remove her from all contact lists, which was
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: an attempt to sever her ties with President Clinton's world.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: I want to state clearly and unequivocally, I had no
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: knowledge at the time of any criminal or improper conduct
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: by Jeffrey Epstein or Glenn Maxwell. Today, we all have
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: a much fuller picture of the evil activities that they
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: were involved in, but back then I did not. I
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: never visited Epstein's Island as Palm Beach home or as ranch.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: I also want to be clear that I do not
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: have any information that President Clinton ever went to Epstein's Island.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: I'm here today voluntarily to provide this committee with my
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: best and most accurate recollection of events of over two
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: decades ago. I have great respect for this nation, for
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: our incredibly loyal public servants, for this committee, and for
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: the seriousness of the issues you're investigating. Thank you, and
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: I look forward to assisting the committee in its important work. Mr. Emmer,
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: we've had more members of Congress join. Can they please
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: identify themselves for the record? Nancy Mace, South Carolina. Mr. Submaranium, Virginia.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: We've also had additional staff members join. Can they please
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: identify themselves? Ashley Vineyard, Deputy Staff, Director, Chairman Comer. Mr. Emmer,
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: thank you. Mr. Harness. The time reads 10.08, and the
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: majority will begin now. Question, Mr. Bandt. I want to
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: thank you for your years of public service and for
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: coming here voluntarily to answer our questions today. Let's start
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: by briefly running through your background. Where did you attend
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: undergraduate school? Answer, the University of Florida. Question, and when
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: did you graduate? Answer, 1995. Question, and with what degree? Answer,
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: I had a major in English and a minor in ethics. Question,
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: have you received any other graduate degrees since then? Answer,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: I have. I went to graduate school at Georgetown University
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: at night for a master's in liberal studies, and then
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: I went to law school at Georgetown, also at night,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: receiving a law degree. Question, and can you briefly walk
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: us through your background? I know that you started as
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: an intern for the White House, but can you briefly
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: walk us through your career? Answer, of course. Upon leaving college,
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: my first internship was actually for Republican Congressman Dan Miller
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: from Sarasota, which is my hometown, where I was born
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: and raised in Florida. After that, I was going to
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: night school at Georgetown for again two years in a
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: master's program and then four years in law school. So
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: six years of part-time school. I interned at the White
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: House in the White House Counsel's Office and later was
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: hired as a staff assistant in the White House Counsel's
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: Office and sometime in 96 where I worked until the
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: end of Clinton's presidency. I had various jobs within the
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: White House in the White House Advance Office and then
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: went into the President's Office as a president's aide. I
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: then was leaving the White House to go take a
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: job on Wall Street. President Clinton asked me to stay
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: and work for him, which I happily did. And I
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: stayed with him for his post-presidency. Question, and what did
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: you do in this post-presidency? What did he ask you?
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: What was your role in 2001? Answer, my role immediately
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: after 2001 was effectively a continuation of what I was
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: doing for him when he was president, which I described
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: in my statement as I was his assistant. I traveled
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: with him. I kept him on time. I provided his
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: briefing papers. I just served as his managing or managing
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: his schedule, you know, those sorts of things. Mr. Emmer,
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: we've had another member of Congress join. Can he please
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: announce himself for the record? Clay Higgins, Louisiana. Mr. Emmer,
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: thank you. Question, and just finally, what's your current job,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: if any? Answer, my current job is father of four children.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: I have spent part-time at a venture firm. as well,
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: and managed our own family office. Question. Thank you, Mr. Band.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: When did you first meet Jeffrey Epstein? Answer. I have
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: a vague recollection of first meeting him when I was
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: staffing the president, who was having a meal with him. Question.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: And when was this? Answer. I don't know specifically. I
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: don't recall specifically when that was. It was a long
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: time ago. Question. Was it while President Clinton was still
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: in office or was it after? Answer, no, it was
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: after he left office. Question, and could you approximate what
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: year this was? Early 2000s? Answer, oh yeah, no, I
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: think it was, I think it was 2001, 2002, to
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: the best of my recollection, but again, it was 25
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: years ago. Question, you just said it was dinner. Can
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: you describe the circumstances under which you met him at
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: this dinner? Answer, again, I have a vague recollection of
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: him having dinner with Mr. Epstein at the Carnegie Deli.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: And I was staffing President Clinton and attended. Sat at
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: the table with him. Again, I don't remember much about it. Question,
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: do you remember who else was there? Answer, I vaguely
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: remember that Ghislaine Maxwell attended with him. But again, it
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: was a long time ago. And I don't have a
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: great recollection of it. Question, was this in New York? Answer,
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: it was, to the best of my recollection. Question, and
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: you don't remember anybody else besides Ms. Maxwell being present?
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: Answer again, I have a vague recollection of it happening
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: at all. and I don't remember exactly who was there. Question,
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: do you remember the nature of your conversations at the time? Answer,
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: I don't recall any conversation. My recollection is President Clinton
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: was having conversations with Mr. Epstein, but I don't remember
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: the conversation. Question, and was this the first time that
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: you met Ms. Maxwell? Answer, I believe so if she
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: was there. Again, I don't recall specifically. Question, but you
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: did say that you remember her being there. You just
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: don't know if this was the first time that you
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: had met her? Answer, I think she was there. I
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: believe that was the first time that I met her,
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: but again, I don't recall. I don't know. Question, did
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: anyone introduce you to Mr. Epstein while at this dinner? Answer,
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: I don't recall. Question, did you know anything about Mr.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: Epstein prior to meeting him? Answer, I don't recall knowing
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: anything about him prior to meeting him, no. Question, so
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: when you said that you'd be a body man of
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: sorts of President Clinton, did you know who would be
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: in these meetings prior to staffing President Clinton? Answer, you
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: know that's a good question. Sometimes I did, sure, and
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: sometimes I didn't. Question, just on your day-to-day role in
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: the post-presidency with President Clinton, what was your day-to-day? Were
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: you with him every day? Answer, not every day, but
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: a majority of the time. Question, did you know Mr.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: Epstein when you were working at the White House? Answer, no. Question,
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: so you have no recollection of Mr. Epstein or Ms.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: Maxwell ever attending a White House event of any kind? Answer, no,
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: I do not. Question, after this initial meeting with Mr. Epstein,
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: and you recall Ms. Maxwell, did you raise any concerns
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: for you about Mr. Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell? Answer, not
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: that I recall. Question, after the meeting, what were your
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: first impressions of Mr. Epstein? Answer, I don't recall having
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: any impressions. I barely remember even going. I mean, President
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: Clinton went to multiple dinners a night for the 17
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: years that I worked for him. So hundreds and thousands
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: of dinners over that period of time. Question, but you
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: don't remember Mr. Epstein personally at all? Did he seem outgoing?
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: Did he seem well-connected? Answer, I don't recall anything about
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: his personality. Question, can you just briefly characterize the nature
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: of your relationship with Mr. Epstein? Answer, sure. I really
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: barely knew him. I spent very little time with him.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: And my contact with him was with President Clinton as
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: a staff member to President Clinton. Question, so after that
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: initial meeting in early 2000s, how many times did you
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: interact with Mr. Epstein? Answer, I don't really recall interacting
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: with him much at all. I don't recall any interactions
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: with him really. Question, socializing with Mr. Epstein? Do you
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: recall any events that you were at with Mr. Epstein present? Answer,
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: I do not recall socializing with Mr. Epstein. I mean,
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: I just don't. I don't remember any events with him.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: I remember vaguely there was a dinner at his home
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: that President Clinton was going to attend and I was
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: staffing President Clinton at the dinner. And at the last minute,
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: I remember President Clinton not going and I ended up
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: attending the dinner with dozens and dozens of people. But
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: I don't have any recollection of who was there. Question,
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: when was that dinner? Answer, I have no idea. It
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: was a long time ago. Question, we'll come back to that.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: But I just want to know or work through your
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: relationship with Mr. Epstein. Answer, sure. Question, when did you
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: first meet Ghislaine Maxwell? Answer, I don't recall specifically. I
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: think potentially it could have been the same night that
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: President Clinton was having dinner with Jeffrey Epstein. Question, you
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: said this was a private dinner between you, President Clinton, Mr. Epstein,
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: and Ms. Maxwell. Do you know who organized the dinner? Answer,
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: I don't recall. It was a private dinner between President
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein. I was staffing him that night. Mr. Emmer,
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: you said you're not sure whether you met Ms. Maxwell
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: at this dinner. What's your first memory of interacting with Ms. Maxwell? Answer,
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: you know, unfortunately it was a long time ago, so
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: I'm doing my best to recall the memories. I don't
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: remember what the first instance of meeting her was. I
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: believe that it was at a dinner, but I'm not
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: entirely sure. Question by Mr. Harness. After that dinner, did
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: you communicate frequently with Ms. Maxwell? Answer. I don't recall
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: communicating with her frequently. Obviously, in retrospect, I've seen email
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: traffic between us. Sure. Question. So could you approximate how
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: much you did communicate with Ms. Maxwell during the years
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: that you knew her? Answer. I don't remember how much
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: I communicated with her. Question. How many instances have you
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: spent time in person with Ms. Maxwell? Answer. I don't remember. Question.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: Could you approximate? Answer, I have no idea. We were
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: friends socially, I don't know. Question, did you attend parties
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: together with Ms. Maxwell? Answer, I don't recall specifically attending
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: parties with her. Question, did you ever have, outside the
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: initial dinner, did you ever have dinners with Ms. Maxwell? Answer,
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: I mean, I don't recall having any. I don't recall
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: having anything specific, but again, in retrospect, seeing the emails
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: and things, you know, obviously, it seems like I did,
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: but I just don't remember them, sorry. Question, did you
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: ever have alone time with Ms. Maxwell where it was
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: only the two of you? Answer, I don't recall having
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: alone time with her. Question, so you said that you
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: were friends with Ms. Maxwell, is that correct? Answer, yes. Question,
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: so what was your understanding of what Ms. Maxwell did
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: for a living? Answer, you know, I don't know that
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: I ever, I don't recall ever discussing with her. I
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: don't ever recall knowing specifically what she did. She was
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: from obviously a prominent family and she knew a lot
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: of very important people. but I don't know what she
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: did or who paid her or anything like that. Question,
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: so you said she knew a lot of very important people.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: What do you mean by that? Answer, she just seemed
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: to know a lot of prominent people. I don't mean
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: anything specific about it. Her world was trafficking and, you know,
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: spending time with people that were important. Question, so during
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: the years of knowing her, how would you characterize your
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: relationship outside of friends? So you said that you had
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: no private dinners whatsoever with Ms. Maxwell? Answer, I said
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: I don't recall having private dinners with her. We were
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: friends socially, friends. Question, did you ever have a romantic
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: relationship with Ms. Maxwell? Answer, no, absolutely not, never. Question,
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: did you ever have sexual relationship with Ms. Maxwell? Answer, no,
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: absolutely not, never. Question, so you never had sexual contact
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: of any kind with Ms. Maxwell? Answer, absolutely not, no.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: All right, folks, we're going to wrap up the first
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: episode here. And in the next episode dealing with the
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: topic we're going to pick up where we left off.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: All the information that goes with this episode can be
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: found in the description box. What's up everyone and welcome
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. In this episode
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: we're picking up where we left off with the Doug
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: Band interview with Congress. Mr. Emmer. And you mentioned that Ms.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: Maxwell seemed to surround herself with important people. Are there
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: certain individuals that you can think of of note? Answer,
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: I don't remember anybody specifically. That was just my, you're
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: asking me to recall, that's just my general recollection. Question,
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: when was the last time you had any communication whatsoever
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: with Ms. Maxwell? Answer, you know, I don't recall specifically.
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: It was certainly over a decade ago, probably closer to
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: 15 years ago. Question, so around the 2010s, 2000s, early
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: 2010 you would say? Answer, well in 2011. I issued
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: that I thought was an effective order of removing her
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: from all lists. So it was potentially then or thereafter.
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: I don't recall specifically. Question. And is that when your
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: relationship with Ms. Maxwell officially ended in 2011? Answer again.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: I don't remember. It's possible that I stayed in touch.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: I just don't know. Question. You said you mentioned that
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: you issued an order to preclude her from events. Is
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: that right? Answer. I issued a directive to remove her
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: from all contact lists in President Clinton's world, yes. Question,
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: did you communicate that directly to her or just individuals
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: in the Clinton Foundation? Answer, I sent an email to
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: senior staff members in the Clinton office. I don't recall
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: whether I did or didn't discuss it with her. Question,
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: has Ms. Maxwell, after that time that you ended your relationship,
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: has she ever attempted to contact you in any way? Answer,
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: not that I know of, no. Not that I recall,
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: I don't know. Question, when did you find out that Ms.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: Maxwell was an alleged conspirator of Mr. Epstein? Answer, I
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: don't recall specifically when I found out. Question, Mr. Band,
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: you stated that you had no romantic relationship, no sexual contact,
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: but I'm just interested to know just exactly how close
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: a relationship you did have with Ms. Maxwell. I will
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: admit to you that there are several messages between you
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: and Ms. Maxwell that with somewhat odd language, some nicknames, lovey-dovey,
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: you know, baby cakes. Can you explain your communication back
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: and forth with Ms. Maxwell? How do you respond to that? Answer, sure,
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: I appreciate the question. As I said, we were socially friends.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: You know, those emails were silly. They're obviously not something
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: that I wrote at the time that I expected to
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: be read publicly, and certainly not in front of Congress
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: 25 years later. That's somewhat embarrassing. But they were just silly,
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: flirtatious banter, and my poor attempts at humor. Question, is
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: that how she would communicate to other people, to your knowledge? Answer,
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: I have no idea how she communicated with other people. Question,
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: were you aware that Mr. Epstein regularly entertained young women
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: at his residences? Answer, no. Question, how did Mr. Epstein
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: act toward the young women or girls that were around him? Answer,
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: I spent very little time with Mr. Epstein, so I
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: have no idea. Question, so you were never around Mr. Epstein?
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: Where there were any young girls present? Answer, I don't
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: recall ever being around them. When there? Gets cut off
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: by the person asking the questions. Did you ever witness Mr.
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: Epstein engage in sexual conduct? Answer, no. Question, did you
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: ever witness Mr. Epstein have sexual contact of any kind
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: with young women or girls? Answer, no. Question, did Mr.
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: Epstein ever discuss sexual acts of any kind with you? Answer, no. Question,
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: did Mr. Epstein ever discuss any kind of sexual acts
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: with you? Answer, no. Did Ms. Maxwell ever discuss sexual
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: acts with you? Answer, no, not that I can recall. Question,
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: was it common for Mr. Epstein or Ms. Maxwell to
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: bring young women or girls to any place where the
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: two of you would meet? Answer, sorry, who's the two
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: of us? Question, be you or Ms. Maxwell or Mr. Epstein,
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: so one of those two. Answer, not that I recall,
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: but again, as I said, I have a very limited
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: interaction with them. Question, did Mr. Epstein or Ms. Maxwell
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: ever ask you if you wanted them to bring women
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: or girls to you? Answer, no, not that I recall, no. Question,
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: did you ever have any sexual contact with young women
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: or girls in the presence of Mr. Epstein or Ms. Maxwell? Answer, no. Question,
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: did you ever have any sexual contact with any young
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: woman or girl introduced to you by Mr. Epstein or Ms. Maxwell? Answer, no. Question,
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: did you ever witness Mr. Epstein receive a massage from
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: a young woman or a girl? Answer, no. Question, did
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: you ever receive a massage from any young woman or
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: girls brought to you by or introduced to you by Mr.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: Epstein or Ms. Maxwell? Answer, no. Question, did you ever
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: hear about Mr. Epstein receiving massages? Answer, not that I recall. Question,
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: did you ever hear about Ms. Maxwell receiving massages or
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: giving massages? Answer, not that I recall. Question, so you
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: never had a discussion with Mr. Epstein or Ms. Maxwell
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: about the topic of massages? Answer, no, not that I recall. Mr. Emmer,
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: you mentioned in your opening statement that you started hearing
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: rumors in 2011. Can you elaborate on what those rumors were? Banned. Answers,
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: you know, there was, again, I apologize. I'm doing my
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: best to remember back then. I don't recall specifically what
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: they were. There was an article at some point in 2011.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: That potentially implicated her, and I had heard some, I
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: recall hearing some things. I don't remember what they specifically were,
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: but just the inkling of her potential involvement in those
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: activities was enough for me to take action to remove
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: her from Clinton's world. Question. Do you recall whether anyone
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: involved in the Clinton Foundation had similar concerns related to Ms.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: Maxwell or Mr. Epstein around the time? Banned. That's a
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: good question. I don't know. Question. We have an additional
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: member of Congress join. Can they please announce themselves for
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: the record? James Walkinshaw, Virginia, 11th District. Redacted Staff Director
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: Ranking Member, Garcia. Question by Mr. Harness. Mr. Band, you've
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: been quoted as saying Bill Clinton was in my life
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: for almost 20 years. Can you just explain what that means? Answer, well,
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: I think I said in my opening statement, the entire
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: first half of my life, I spent working for him. Question, Mr. Band,
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: when did President Clinton first meet Jeffrey Epstein? Answer, I
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: don't know. Question, so based on your experiences and observations,
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: how would you describe the nature of President Clinton's relationship
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: with Mr. Epstein? Answer, to me, they appeared to be friends. Question,
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: and to your knowledge, that 2001 dinner that I keep
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: going back to, was that the first time that President
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: Clinton had met Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell? Answer again,
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: I'm not exactly sure whether it was 2001 or 2002.
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure of the distinction. I don't know. I'm sorry.
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: Could you restate the question? Answer, yeah. So I just
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: asked you how you would describe the nature of President
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: Clinton's relationship with Mr. Epstein going back to that dinner
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: in 2001. Was that the first time that the president
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: had met Jeffrey Epstein or Glenn Maxwell? I know you
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: were present there. But can you just expand on President
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: Clinton's relationship? Answer, you know, as I said, I don't
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: know whether or not that was the first time that
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: he met him or not. And I was a staff
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: member staffing him at the dinner. So it was the
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: first time that I did as I, again, have a
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: vague recollection of. Question, can you explain what you meant
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: by you thought that President Clinton and Mr. Epstein were friends? Answer, well,
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: you asked me to describe their relationship. They appeared to
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: be friends to me. I mean, Jeffrey Epstein had an
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: airplane and things that were important to the President and
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: the potential of being a supporter of his and friend
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: of his, so that's what it seemed to be to me. Question,
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: so they had, to your knowledge, friendly conversations any time
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: that you were present around President Clinton and Mr. Epstein? Answer,
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: I don't recall ever being present for any of their conversations. Again,
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: as I said, I have a vague recollection of being
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: at the dinner, but I was staffing the dinner, so
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: I wasn't incredibly involved in it, and I don't recall
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: any other conversation that I was part of with the
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: two of them. Question, well, what about the trips with Mr.
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: Epstein that you took on his private plane? Were you
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: present on the private plane trips that Mr. Clinton would take? Answer,
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: I was, and I don't ever recall engaging with Mr.
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: Epstein on those trips. Question, but you never saw President
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: Clinton speaking with or conversing with Mr. Epstein? Answer, well,
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: the way that, again, this is the best of my recollection,
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: because it's been some time. The way that this large
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: airplane was set up is the guests were seated in
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: the front, the Secret Service sat in the middle, and
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: then Jeffrey Epstein was in the back, and he had
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: an office in the back of the plane. I don't
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: ever recall him coming to the front of the plane.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: The President, when he would visit with them, would do
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: it privately in the back of the plane. But during
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: those trips, question, when you would make stops, you had
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: certain events that you were attending, is that correct? Answer,
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: there were certain events that President Clinton was attending, and
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: I was staffing him, yes. Question, and in any of
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: those events, on any of those trips, you never saw
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: a conversation between President Clinton or Mr. Epstein? Answer, I
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: don't recall being part of any conversation. Question, did the
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: President ever raise concerns to you about Mr. Epstein? Answer,
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: not that I recall. Question, did you ever express concerns
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: about Mr. Epstein to President Clinton? Answer, I didn't really
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: know him, so I didn't spend time with him and
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: didn't really have a view on expressing those concerns. Question,
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: did you ever advise President Clinton to end his relationship
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: with Mr. Epstein? Answer, I don't recall whether I did
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: or didn't advise him on that. Question, we'll say in
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: the 2020 Vanity Fair interview of your states that you
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: did advise President Clinton to end his relationship with Mr. Epstein.
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: Is that true? Mr. Shapiro, is it true that it
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: says that or is it true that he did it? Question,
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: is it true that you did it? Answer, sorry, could
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: you repeat the question? I'm sorry. Question, yeah, this is
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: the 2020 Vanity Fair article to which you were interviewed.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: In there, it states that you had advised Clinton to
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: end the relationship after the 2002 trip to Africa. Is
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: that true? Answer, you know, the Vanity Fair article was
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: several years ago. I spent a long period of time
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: engaging with them and I don't recall the specific conversations
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: I had. or didn't have with him. Question, so when
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: you stated that you were insulating the president from Ghislaine
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: Maxwell and Mr. Epstein, it was not after the 2002
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: Africa trip? It was not directly after that? Answer, as
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: I said, the email was sent, removing her from instructing
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: staff to remove her from all of this was 2011.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: I had very little interaction or anything to do with
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein. Question, the article then states that you recall
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: Epstein made a bunch of ridiculous claims, like boasting that
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: he invented... The derivatives market said that you had bad
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: vibes from Mr. Epstein. Can you explain anything about the
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: 2002 Africa trip and why you would have these bad vibes? Answer,
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: as it relates to the trip, you know, as I
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: said earlier, he went on an incredible amount of humanitarian missions,
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: you know, after the earthquakes in Gujarat, after an earthquake
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: in India, after the tsunamis in Southeast Asia, he went
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: on a few trips with President Bush 41. So he
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: went to Africa, to the best of my recollection. many,
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: many times over his post-presidential life, and I staffed him
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: on those trips, traveling 250 to 300 days a year.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: I just don't remember specifically that trip. Sorry. What was
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: the second part of the question? Question just to explain
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: the bad vibes that you got from Mr. Epstein on
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: the trip. Answer, you know, as I said earlier, I
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: had a lot of conversations over a long period of
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: time with Vanity Fair, and I don't remember the specifics
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: of those conversations. I don't remember or recall having good
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: or bad vibes or anything. Question. Did Vanity Fair reach
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: out to you for the interview? Answer. I don't remember
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: the specifics of it. Question. Why do you think they
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: would write that you had bad vibes? Answer. As I said,
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't remember the specifics of those conversations.
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: It was several years ago and it took over a
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: long period of time. Question. I'm sure you know that
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: we'll have other questions related to the Vanity Fair article
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: but do you feel that the Vanity Fair misrepresented your
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: discussions with them in this article? Answer, you know, as
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: I said, the Vanity Fair piece was several years ago.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: Sometimes reporters get things right. Sometimes they get them wrong,
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: as you certainly know. I just don't recall the specifics
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: of those conversations that I had with Vanity Fair over
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: a long period of time. Question, you said your conversations
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: with Vanity Fair were over a long period of time,
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: three months, six months, a year. Do you recall how
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: long you were talking to Vanity Fair? Leading up to
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: the article, Mr. Band, I'm sorry, I just don't recall specifically.
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: I just remember it being a long time. All right, folks,
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: we're going to wrap up right here. And in the
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: next episode dealing with the topic, we're going to pick
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: up where we left off. All the information that goes
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: with this episode can be found in the description box.
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're picking up where we
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: left off with Doug Band and his interview with Congress. Question,
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: just to touch quickly on the Vanity Fair article, stated
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: that in January 2003, President Clinton visited Epstein's private Caribbean island. Mr. Band,
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: did President Clinton ever visit Mr. Epstein's private island? Answer,
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: to the best of my knowledge, I have no information
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: that President Clinton visited the island. Question, this interview was
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: only six years ago. Why did you say that at
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: the time that he did in fact visit the island? Answer,
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: you know, as I said, the conversation with the reporter
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: took place over an extended period of time. I don't
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: remember the specifics of those conversations. Question, you don't recall
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: anything that made you say that he did, in fact,
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: go to the island? Answer, I don't recall the specifics
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: of those conversations as I sit here today. And again,
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: I understand and appreciate your mission and the ultimate trying
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: to figure out whether or not he went to the island.
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: I have no information to that effect that he went
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: to the island. Question, were you concerned when the article
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: was published? Answer, I don't remember how I reacted to it. Again,
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: I understand that. It's still five to six years ago,
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: so it was some time ago. I don't remember how
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: I reacted or didn't react. Question, do you recall whether
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: you ever sought to correct the representations made in the article? Answer,
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: it's certainly possible that I did. I just don't recall
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: whether I did or didn't. Question, jumping back towards President
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: Clinton's relationship with Ms. Maxwell. How would you describe, how
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: would you characterize their relationship? Answer, to me, they seem
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: to be friends. Question, do you have any knowledge of
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: President Clinton meeting Maxwell prior to that 2001 dinner or
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: early 2000s dinner? Answer, I don't personally have knowledge. I mean, obviously,
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, not obviously, I've seen press reports that they
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: visited the White House, but I don't have any other
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: knowledge or anything personally that I knew. Those were obviously
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: things that I've seen in recent time. question, so to
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: be clear, you have no recollection of ever knowing Mr.
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: Epstein and Ms. Maxwell attending any White House function during
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: your time in the White House? Mr. Band, again, based
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: on public reporting, I was in college when that happened,
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: so I don't know. Nothing that I knew about or
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: was part of. Question, you were in college when they
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: visited the White House? Answer, based on public reporting of
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: the dates at the time that they went, I believe
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: that I was in college at the time. Question, did
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: you ever advise President Clinton to end his relationship with Ms. Maxwell? Answer,
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: I don't recall whether I said to him to end it.
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: As I said, I recall I have an email that
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: I sent in 2011 to remove her from all lists,
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: which was my attempt to do so. Question, you never
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: had a conversation with President Clinton about ending his relationship,
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: about cutting ties, about what you had done to insulate
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: him and the foundation from Ms. Maxwell? Answer, it's certainly
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: possible that I did. I just don't recall. Question, are
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: you aware of any relationship between Secretary Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein? Answer,
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: I don't have any information. or know anything about a
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: relationship between them. Question, are you aware of any relationship
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: between Secretary Clinton and Ghislaine Maxwell? Answer, I don't know
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: if they had a relationship or not. I worked for
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: President Clinton. Question, did you ever work on Secretary Clinton's
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: election or campaign efforts at any time? Answer, no sir.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: Only to the extent that I was staffing the President
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: when he was campaigning for her. But no, I was
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: never a part of the campaign. Question, never helped out?
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: With any re-election or election or campaign effort, is that correct? Answer,
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: that's correct. But again, I was staffing the president. He
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: was campaigning for her often, obviously, so I was accompanying
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: him as a staff member. But I don't recall. I mean,
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: I was not part of his campaign in any way. Question,
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: was there ever any time where Secretary Clinton was in
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: the same room or present or socializing with Mr. Epstein
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: or Ms. Maxwell? Answer, I don't recall any specific events
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: or being in the room. Obviously, it's been publicly reported
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: that she attended Chelsea's wedding, so by definition, they were
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: in the same room, but I don't know or remember
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: other instances. Question, how would you describe your relationship with
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: Chelsea Clinton? Answer, you know, I was very close to
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: her father. He relied heavily on me. Chelsea and I
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: had known her for a long time, long time since
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: my time at the White House, and our relationship was
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: complicated and complex, and you know, then it grew to
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: be somewhat contentious towards the end. Question and real quick,
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: why did your relationship with Chelsea Clinton end? Answer, well,
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: I don't know. It ended. It just grew contentious over time.
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: She was getting more involved and I was doing other
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: things and trying to get on with my life and things.
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: So I don't know if there was a specific instance
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: or a specific thing that was the cause of it.
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: I was close to her father. She was in school
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: and then working and getting involved in the foundation and things.
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: And it was just the natural progression of things, I suppose. Question,
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: can you characterize the relationship between Maxwell and Chelsea Clinton? Answer,
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: they seem to be friends. Question, can you expand on that?
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: How do you know that they were friends? Answer, well,
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: she was at her wedding, which would seem to indicate that.
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: I just recall them spending time together, being friends. To
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: the best of my recollection, nothing specific or any instances.
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: I just remember and just recall them being friends. Question,
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: do you know how often they would spend time together?
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: You said they were friends. I just want an approximate. Answer, sure.
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know how often they were together.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: Chelsea's life was, for the most part, separate, obviously. She
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: had her own life, her own family. So, I don't
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: know how much time they spent together. Question, were you
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: at Chelsea Clinton's wedding? Answer, I was. Question, do you
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: recall any conversation between you and Ms. Maxwell? Answer, I don't. Question,
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: do you recall any conversation between you and Mr. Epstein? Answer,
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: I don't recall him being at the wedding, so no. Question,
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: do you recall any conversation between Ms. Maxwell and President
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: Clinton or Secretary Clinton? Mr. Shapiro at the wedding? Harness
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: at the wedding? Banned? I don't. I mean, I think
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: there was 500, 600. The wedding was, you know, something Chelsea.
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: It was her thing. She organized it. She planned it.
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: She ran it. I don't remember anything. Question, so no
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: conversations at any of the wedding events between Clinton and Maxwell? Answer,
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: not that I recall. Question, just to touch again on
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: this Vanity Fair article, it stated that you said Ghislaine
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: had access to yachts and nice homes. Chelsea needed that.
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: Can you explain what you meant by that? Answer, you know, again,
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: the Vanity Fair article took place several years ago. I
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: had extended conversations with them over a long period of time.
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: I don't remember the specifics of the conversations. Question, you
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: don't recall making the quote? Answer, I don't recall. Question,
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: you don't recall why you said it? Why was Chelsea
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: needing Ghislaine's yachts, nice homes? Answer, I don't recall. Question, Mr. Band,
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: why did your relationship with President Clinton end? Answer, you know,
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: I appreciate the question and understand the nature of it.
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: I spent, as I said, at that point up to
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: that point, my entire adult life working for him and
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: his endeavors and things that he was trying to do. I,
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: at that point, had started my own family. I was married.
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: I had one child with another one on the way
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: and wanted to get on with my own life. wanted
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: to be an entrepreneur, wanted to build a business, wanted
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: to see if I could do it on my own
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: and could build something on my own. So it was
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: just a natural progression. You know, it's very difficult in
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: his world to be sort of half in, half out.
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: It's a 24-hour day. As I said, you know, earlier
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: traveling in an excruciating amount. So it was just time. Question,
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: just real quick. Did President Clinton ever visit any property
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: owned or leased by Jeffrey Epstein? Answer, my only recollection
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: of that would be him visiting the townhouse in New
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: York City. Shapiro, Epstein's townhouse? Band, sorry, Epstein's townhouse. As
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: far as I know, nowhere else. Question, do you recall
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: if President Clinton was invited by Mr. Epstein to attend
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: his other properties, visit the other properties? Band, I don't recall. Question,
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: when did this visit to the townhome take place? Band,
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: you know, again, I appreciate it. I'm trying to be
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: responsive and helpful. I recall him going to meet with
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: Epstein at the house. and I staffed him on that visit.
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: I have a vague recollection of many years ago. Question,
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: what was the purpose of the visit? Answer, no idea. Mr. Emmer,
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: we've had another member join. Can he please announce himself
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: for the record? Congressman Stephen Lynch from 8th Congressional District
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: of Massachusetts. Mr. Band, you were considered senior staff of
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: President Clinton for Bill Clinton from 2000 to 2011. Would
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: you concur with that general assessment? Answer, yes. Higgins, excuse me,
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: in 1999 you were appointed as special assistant to the
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: president and later deputy assistant to the president. In 2002
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: to 2011, you served as Clinton's chief advisor and counselor
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: to the president. You spearheaded his post-presidential operation and helped
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: him launch the Clinton Global Initiative. That's a top, a
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: senior advisor. We would consider that in Congress like chief
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: of staff or a legislative director level. Band, right? Higgins,
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: the top Couple of people in the office. Banned. He
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: had a relatively small office in the president's office. Higgins. Question.
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: Were you at the top of the office? Banned. He
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: had a chief of staff, which I was not, but yes,
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: I would be considered. Inner circle. Mr. Banned. Yes, sir.
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: I think in terms. Higgins cuts him off. I'm not
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: trying to split hairs. You're not a junior guy. Ten
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: offices away. You were there. Because you said several times
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: that you staffed. Did you staff effectively for President Clinton
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: after the presidency? Were you an effective senior staff member? Banned. Sorry,
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: I just want to go back. You had just said
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: spearheaded the operation. President Clinton spearheaded it. He was elected twice. Higgins,
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: I'm just clarifying. Banned. I appreciate that. Higgins, and you
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: were senior advisor to the president. Banned. Yes, sir. Question.
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: Were you an effective advisor? Banned. I'd like to think so. Question. Okay,
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: so clearly you're a sharp guy. Did you take notes
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: during the hundreds of meetings that you took notes or
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: you didn't take notes? Ban, not that I recall. Higgins,
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: you said you don't recall. Were you in the habit
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: of not taking notes as a senior advisor in meetings
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: so that you could counsel Clinton later for an after-action
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: review of any meeting? It's common for senior staff to
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: take notes so that we can discuss a meeting later.
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: Were you in the habit of doing that or not? Answer, no, sir.
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: I was not in the habit of doing that. Mr. Higgins,
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: so you never took notes? Answer, not that I recall. Higgins,
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: you said you don't recall, but surely you recall your
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: work ethic and the means by which you achieved a
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: status as a senior staffer to the president, so you
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: took no notes? Banned. I don't recall ever taking notes
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: in meetings. Higgins, if you would have taken notes, how
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: would you have taken them? Did you ever take them? Banned.
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: I don't ever recall taking notes. Higgins, don't ever recall
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: taking notes. Banned. No, sir. Question, so moving to the point.
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: You were senior advisor to the president for a decade
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: and never took notes. Okay. On the airplane you described,
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: the airplane is guests in the front, Secret Service in
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: the middle. You said Epstein had an office in the back.
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: You just made that statement. Do you recall that? Banned. Yes, sir. Question. Okay.
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: So when you say Epstein had an office in the back,
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: you're saying Epstein had like a given location on Bill
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: Clinton's plane. What plane are you referencing here? Banned. I'm sorry, sir.
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: His plane. Higgins. When you say his. Shapiro Epstein's? Banned Epstein's. Higgins?
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: Epstein's plane. So the Secret Service was the detail for
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: the President, and they would regularly fly on Epstein's plane,
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: according to your description? Banned the Secret Service would always
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: accompany President Clinton, no matter what. Higgins, okay, so it
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: was guests in the front? Banned, yes sir. Question in
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: Secret Service, and the honcho is in the back. Where
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: were you? Banned in the front. Question, you were in
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: the front. So the President didn't have... Was the Chief
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: of Staff in the back? Answer, I don't recall who
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: was in the back. I mean, sorry. Who was chief
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: of staff? Higgins, do you recall who was in the
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: front or the back? Banned, the president's chief of staff? Higgins, yes. Banned,
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: the chief of staff didn't travel all the time. Sometimes
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: she did. Higgins, would that make you the senior guy
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: if the chief of staff was not there? Banned, well,
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: there was a director of policy, there were other aides,
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: other staffers, but for the most part. Question, so you're
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: saying you never flew in the back of the plane?
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: You were like a guest, like me or Chairman Comer
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: would sit in the front, and then there would be
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: Secret Service, and you'd sit up in the front with
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: regular guests. Banned, yes sir, to the best of my recollection,
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: I never recall going to the back of the plane ever.
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: Alright folks, we're going to wrap up right here, and
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: in the next episode dealing with the topic we're going
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: to pick up where we left off. All the information
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: that goes with this episode is can be found in
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: the description box.