Latest / The Vault: The Epstein Files / Doug Band And His Epstein Related Congressional Transcript (Part 3) (7/23/26)

Transcript

Doug Band And His Epstein Related Congressional Transcript (Part 3) (7/23/26) · The Vault: The Epstein Files

• 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 picking up where he
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: left off with Doug Band and his interview with Congress. Question,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: just to touch quickly on the Vanity Fair article stated
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: that in January two thousand and three, President Clinton visited
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Epstein's private Caribbean island. Mister Band, did President Clinton ever
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: visit mister Epstein's private island? Answer? To the best of
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: my knowledge, I have no information that President Clinton visited
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: the island. Question. This interview was only six years ago.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Why did you say that at the time that he
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: did in fact visit the island. Answer? You know, as
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: I said, the conversation with a reporter took place over
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: an extended period of time. I don't remember the specifics
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: of those conversations. Question, you don't recall anything that made
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: you say that he did in fact go to the island. Answer.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: I don't recall the specifics of those conversations. As I
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: sit here today and again, I understand and appreciate your
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: mission and the ultimate trying to figure out out whether
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: or not he went to the island. I have no
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: information to that effect that he went to the Island.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Question were you concerned when the article was published? Answer?
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  Speaker 1: I don't remember how I reacted to it. Again, I
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: understand that it's still five to six years ago, so
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: it was some time ago. I don't remember how I
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  Speaker 1: reacted or didn't react. Question do you recall whether you
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  Speaker 1: ever sought to correct the representations made in the article? Answer?
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  Speaker 1: It's certainly possible that I did. I just don't recall
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: whether I did or didn't. Question jumping back towards President
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: Clinton's relationship with Miss Maxwell, how would you describe how
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: would you characterize the relationship? Answer to me, they seem
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: to be friends. Question do you have any knowledge of
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  Speaker 1: President Clinton meeting Maxwell prior to that two thousand and
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  Speaker 1: one dinner or early two thousands dinner? Answer? I don't
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  Speaker 1: personally have knowledge. I mean, obviously, I'm sorry, not obviously.
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  Speaker 1: I've seen press reports that they visited the White House,
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  Speaker 1: but I don't have any other knowledge or or anything
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: personally that I knew. Those were obviously things that I've
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  Speaker 1: seen in recent time. Questions, so to be clear, you
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  Speaker 1: have no recollection of ever knowing mister Epstein and Miss
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: Baxwell attending any White House function during your time in
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  Speaker 1: the White House, mister band Again based on public reporting,
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  Speaker 1: I was in college when that happened, so I don't
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  Speaker 1: know nothing that I knew about or was part of.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Question you were in college when they visited the White House? Answer?
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  Speaker 1: Based on public reporting of the dates of the time
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  Speaker 1: that they went. I believe that I was in college
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: at the time. Did you ever advise President Clinton to
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: end his relationship with Miss Maxwell? Answer? I don't recall
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  Speaker 1: whether I said to him to end it as I said.
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  Speaker 1: I recall I have an email that I sent in
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  Speaker 1: twenty eleven to remove her from all lists, which was
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: my attempt to do so. Question you never had a
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: conversation with President Clinton about ending his relationship, about cutting ties,
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: about what you had done to insulate them and the
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: foundation from Miss Maxwell? Answer it certainly posp that I did.
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  Speaker 1: I just don't recall. Question are you aware of any
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  Speaker 1: relationship between Secretary Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein? Answer? I don't
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  Speaker 1: have any information or know anything about a relationship between them.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: Question are you aware of any relationship between Secretary Clinton
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: and Glene Maxwell? Answer? I don't know if they had
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  Speaker 1: a relationship or not. I worked for President Clinton. Question
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  Speaker 1: did you ever work on Secretary Clinton's election or campaign
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  Speaker 1: efforts at any time? Answer no, sir, only to the
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: extent that I was staffing the president when he was
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: campaigning for But no, I was never a part of
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: the campaign. Question never helped out with any reelection or
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: election or campaign effort? Is that correct? Answer? That's correct.
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  Speaker 1: But again, I was staffing the president he was campaigning
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  Speaker 1: for or often obviously, so I was accompanying him as
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  Speaker 1: a staff member, But I don't recall, I mean, I
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  Speaker 1: was not part of his campaign in any way. Question
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  Speaker 1: was there ever any time where Secretary Clinton was in
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  Speaker 1: the same room or a president or socializing with mister
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  Speaker 1: Epstein or miss Maxwell. Answer I don't recall any specific
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  Speaker 1: events or being in the room. Obviously, it's been publicly
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: reported that she attended Chelsea's wedding, so by definition they
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: were in the same room, but I don't know or
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  Speaker 1: remember other instances. Question how would you describe your relationship
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  Speaker 1: with Chelsea Clinton? Answer? You know, I was very close
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  Speaker 1: to her father. He relied heavily on me. Chelsea and
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  Speaker 1: I had known her for a long time, long time
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  Speaker 1: since my time at the White House, and our relationship
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  Speaker 1: was complicated and complex, and you know then it grew
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  Speaker 1: to be somewhat contentious towards the end. Question and real quick,
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  Speaker 1: why did your relationship with Chelsea Clinton end? Answer? Well,
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  Speaker 1: I don't know it ended. It just grew contentious over time.
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  Speaker 1: She was getting more involved and I was doing other
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: things and trying to get on with my life and things.
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  Speaker 1: So I don't know if there was a specific instance
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  Speaker 1: or a specific thing that was the cause of it.
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  Speaker 1: I was close to her father, she was in school
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  Speaker 1: and then working and getting involved in the foundation and things,
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: and it was just the natural progression of things, I suppose.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: Question can you characterize the relationship between Maxwell and Chelsea Clinton? Answer?
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  Speaker 1: They seem to be friends. Question can you expand on that?
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  Speaker 1: How do you know that there were friends? Answer? Well,
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  Speaker 1: she was at her wedding, which would seem to indicate that.
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  Speaker 1: I just recall them spending time together being friends to
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  Speaker 1: the best of my recollection. Nothing specific or any instances.
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  Speaker 1: I just remember and just recall them being friends. Question
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  Speaker 1: do you know how often they would spend time together?
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  Speaker 1: You said they were friends. I just want an approximate answer. Sure,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know how often they were together.
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  Speaker 1: Chelsea's life was for the most part separate. Obviously, she
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: had her own life, her own family, so I don't
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  Speaker 1: know how much time they spent together. Question were you
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  Speaker 1: at Chelsea Clinton's wedding? Answer I was. Question do you
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  Speaker 1: recall any conversation between you and Miss Maxwell? Answer? I don't.
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: Question do you recall any conversation between you and mister Epstein? Answer?
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  Speaker 1: I don't recall them being at the wedding, so no. Question.
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  Speaker 1: Do you recall any conversation between miss Maxwell and President
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  Speaker 1: Clinton or Secretary Clinton mister Shapiro at the wedding harness
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  Speaker 1: at the wedding band? I don't. I mean, I think
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  Speaker 1: there was five hundred six hundred. The wedding was you
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  Speaker 1: know something, Chelsea. It was her thing. She organized it,
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  Speaker 1: she planned it, she ran it. I don't remember anything.
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  Speaker 1: Questions So no conversations at any of the wedding events
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  Speaker 1: between Clinton and Maxwell? Answer not that I could recall. Question.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: Just to touch again on this Vanity Fair article, it
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  Speaker 1: stated that you said Glaine had access to yachts and
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  Speaker 1: nice homes Chelsea needed that. Can you explain what you
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: meant by that answer? You know again, the Vanity Fair
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: article took place several years ago. I had extended conversations
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  Speaker 1: with them over a long period of time. I don't
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  Speaker 1: remember the specifics of the conversations. Question you don't recall
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  Speaker 1: making the quote. Answer, I don't recall. Question, you don't
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  Speaker 1: recall why you said it. Why was Chelsea needing Glaine's
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  Speaker 1: yachts nice homes? Answer? I don't recall. Question, mister band,
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: why did your relationship with President Clinton end? Answer? You know,
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: I appreciate the question and understand the nature of it.
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  Speaker 1: I spent, as I said, at that point, up to
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: that point, my entire adult life working for him and
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: his endeavors and things that he was trying to do.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: I at that point had started my own family. I
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  Speaker 1: was married, I had one child with another one on
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  Speaker 1: the way, and wanted to get on with my own life.
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  Speaker 1: Wanted to be an entrepreneur, wanted to build a business,
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  Speaker 1: wanted to see if I could do it on my
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  Speaker 1: own and could build something on my own. So it
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  Speaker 1: was just a natural progression. You know, it's very difficult
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  Speaker 1: in his world to be sort of half in, half out.
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  Speaker 1: It's a twenty four hour day, as I said, you
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  Speaker 1: know earlier, traveling in a excruciating amount, so it was
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  Speaker 1: just time. Question, just real quick. Did President Clinton never
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: visit any property owned or at least by Jeffrey Epstein? Answer?
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  Speaker 1: My only recollection of that would be him visiting the
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  Speaker 1: townhouse in New York City, Shapiro Epstein's townhouse. Band, sorry,
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  Speaker 1: Epstein's townhouse, as I know, nowhere else. Question do you
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  Speaker 1: recall if President Clinton was invited by mister Epstein to
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  Speaker 1: attend his other properties? Visit the other properties? Band? I
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  Speaker 1: don't recall. Question went did this visit to the town
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  Speaker 1: home take place? Band? You know again, I appreciate it.
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  Speaker 1: I'm trying to be responsive and helpful. I recall him
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  Speaker 1: going to meet with Epstein at the house, and I
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  Speaker 1: staffed him on that visit. I have a vague recollection
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  Speaker 1: of many years ago. Question what was the purpose of
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  Speaker 1: the visit? Answer? No idea. Mister Emmer, we've had another
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: member joined. Can he please announce himself for the record,
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  Speaker 1: Congressman Stephen Lynch from eighth Congressional District of Massachusetts. Mister Band,
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  Speaker 1: you were considered senior staff at President Clinton for Bill
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  Speaker 1: Clinton from two thousand to twenty eleven. Would you concur
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  Speaker 1: with that general assessment? Answer? Yes, Higgins, excuse me. In
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  Speaker 1: nineteen ninety nine, you were appointed as special assistant to
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  Speaker 1: the President and later Deputy Assistant to the President. In
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: two thousand and two to twenty eleven, you served as
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: Clinton's chief advisor and counselor to the President. You spearheaded
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: his post presidential operation and helped them launch the Clinton
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: Global Initiative. That's a top a senior advisor. We would
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  Speaker 1: consider that in Congress like chief of staff or a
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: legislative director level band, right, Higgins, the top couple of
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  Speaker 1: people in the office. Band. He had a relatively small
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  Speaker 1: office in the president's office. Higgins, question, were you at
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  Speaker 1: the top of the office Band? He had a chief
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  Speaker 1: of staff, which I was not, But yes, I would
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  Speaker 1: be considered in her circle, mister Band, Yes, sir, I
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  Speaker 1: think in terms. Higgins cuts them off. I'm not trying
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  Speaker 1: to split hairs. You're not a junior guy ten offices away.
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  Speaker 1: You were there because you said several times that you staffed.
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  Speaker 1: Did you staff effectively for President Clinton after the presidency?
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  Speaker 1: Were you an effective senior staff member? Band? Sorry, I
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: just want to go back. You had just said spearheaded
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  Speaker 1: the operation. President Clinton spearheaded it. He was elected twice. Higgins.
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  Speaker 1: I'm just clarifying. Band. I appreciate that, Higgins, and you
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  Speaker 1: were a senior advisor to the president. Band, Yes, sir,
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: question were you an effective advisor? Band I'd like to
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  Speaker 1: think so? Question? Okay, so clearly you're a sharp guy.
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  Speaker 1: Did you take notes during the hundreds of meetings that
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: you took notes? Or you didn't take notes? Band? Not
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: that I recall, Higgins, you said you don't recall. Were
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: you in the habit of not taking notes as a
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: senior advisor in meetings so that you could counsel Clinton
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: later for an after action review of any meeting. It's
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: common for senior staff to take notes so that we
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: can discuss a meeting later. Were you in the habit
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: of doing that or not? Answer no, sir, that I
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: was not in the habit of doing that, mister Higgins,
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: So you never took notes? Answer not that I recall,
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: Higgins You said you don't recall, But surely you recall
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: your work ethic and the means by which you achieved
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: the status as a senior staffer to the president. So
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: you took no notes, band, I don't recall ever taking
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: notes in meetings. Higgins. If you would have taken notes,
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: how would you have taken them? Did you ever take them? Banned?
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: I don't ever recall taking notes, Higgins, don't ever recall
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: taking notes? Band No, sir question. So moving to the point,
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: you were a senior advisor to the president for a
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: decade and never took notes. Okay. On the airplane you described,
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: the airplane is guests in the front, secret Service in
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  Speaker 1: the middle. You said Epstein had an office in the back.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: You just made that statement. Do you recall that banned? Yes,
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  Speaker 1: sir question. Okay. So when you say Epstein had an
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: office in the back, you were saying Epstein had like
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: a given location on Bill Clinton's plane. What plane are
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: you referencing here? Banned? I'm sorry, sir, his plane, Higgins?
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: When you say his Shapiro Epstein's banned Epstein's, Higgins, Epstein's plane.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: So the Secret Service was the detail for the president
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: and they would regularly fly on Epstein's plane according to
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: your description, banned. The Secret Service would always accompany President
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: Clinton no matter what. Higgins. Okay, So it was guests
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: in the front banned, Yes, sir, question, in secret service
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: and the hancho was in the back. Where were you
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: banned in the front? Question? You were in the front,
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: so the president didn't have was the chief of staff
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: in the back? Answer? I don't recall who was in
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: the back? I mean, sorry, who's chief of staff? Higgins?
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: You recall who was in the front or the back? Band,
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: the president's chief of staff? Higgins? Yes, Band, the chief
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: of staff didn't travel all the time. Sometimes she did, Higgins.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: Would that make you the senior guy if the chief
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: of staff was not there? Band? Well, there was a
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: directorial policy. There were other aids, other staffers, but for
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: the most part. Question. So you're saying you never flew
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: in the back of the plane. You were like a
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: guest like me or chairman Comer would sit in the front,
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: and then there would be secret service and you'd sit
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: up in the front with regular guests. Ban Yes, sir.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: To the best of my recollection, I never recall going
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: to the back of the plane ever. All right, folks,
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: we're gonna wrap up right here, and in the next
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: episode dealing with the topic, we're gonna pick up where
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: we left off. All the information that goes if this
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: episode can be found in the description box.