Former President Bill Clinton has long been one of the high-profile names fueling curiosity about Jeffrey Epstein's criminal case files.

"The American people want to know what went on at Epstein island ... we know that Bill Clinton went there many times," House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, told Newsmax in August. Epstein owned a small private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where sex trafficking of young girls allegedly occurred. "We just want to ask him what he saw when he was there and who all was involved."

President Donald Trump also implied that Clinton went to the island in a Nov. 14 Truth Social post, saying Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, J.P. Morgan, Chase and Clinton, "spent large portions of their life with Epstein, and on his 'Island.'" He also said he would ask the Department of Justice to investigate the Democrats linked to the late financier and sex offender.

But Epstein said in an email, part of thousands of documents released by the Committee on Nov. 12, that Clinton never went to the island.

"Clinton was NEVER EVER there, never," Epstein wrote.

Here is what to know:

Clinton has flown on Epstein's plane

In 2019, the year Epstein was indicted in New York on sex trafficking charges, Clinton confirmed he flew on Epstein's plane on multiple occasions in the early 2000s, but has denied going to the island Epstein owned.

The late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre has said she saw Clinton there, but never saw him doing anything illegal.

In a January 2015 email to author Michael Wolff where Epstein denies Clinton visited the island, he says someone else, whose name is redacted, had falsely claimed to see Clinton at the island.

"[Redacted] the storyteller, crafted much of it out of whole cloth," he wrote, and argued it undercut other allegations.

USA TODAY reached out to Clinton's representatives for this story.

Where is Epstein's island? What happened there?

The island Epstein owned was in the U.S Virgin Islands.

Epstein also owned property in New York and Palm Beach, Florida, where federal U.S. prosecutors alleged sex trafficking occurred.

In January 2020, prosecutors with the U.S. Virgin Islands filed a lawsuit against Epstein's estate, alleging a criminal enterprise took place on his property there involving the sexual abuse of young girls.

"Epstein owned and arranged for private planes, helicopters, boat and automobiles to transport victims to, from and within the Virgin Islands, and provided money to pay these young women and underage girls," the lawsuit stated.

Numerous girls forced into his scheme were 12 to 17 years old, the lawsuit alleged, stating local authorities last observed related events happening in 2018.

A web of companies owned by Epstein, dubbed the "Epstein Enterprise" by prosecutors, "deceptively lured underage girls and women into its sex trafficking ring with money and promises of employment, career opportunities and school assistance."

One 15-year-old girl tried to escape by swimming, the lawsuit states.

The estate settled the case with the U.S. Virgin Islands for $105 million in December 2022.

Did Trump ever go to Epstein's island?

Trump previously denied ever visiting late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's private island in one of his "very good moments."

Trump was in Scotland answering questions from reporters on July 28 as the controversy continued to plague his administration for weeks.

“I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down, but a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island," Trump said. “In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn't want to go to his island.”

What do the Epstein emails say about Trump?

The House Oversight Committee released thousands of pages of documents from the Epstein estate on Nov. 12. The House Democrats started the day pointing to emails from Epstein where he alleges Trump "knew about the girls," and another saying Trump spent hours with one of the victims.

The release came as Congress reconvened to reopen the government, and a bipartisan effort to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files gained enough signatures.

"These emails prove absolutely nothing other than that President Trump did nothing wrong,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a Nov. 12 press briefing. Trump also took to Truth Social to call the controversy, as he has before, a hoax.

“The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects,” Trump said. “Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.”

(Michael Wolff was a freelance USA TODAY contributor from 2012 to early 2017. USA TODAY had no knowledge of any relationship between him and Jeffrey Epstein, nor any actions beyond his submissions for publication. We are committed to integrity and transparency, as we uphold our editorial standards and maintain the trust of our readers.)

Contributing: Holly Baltz, Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY Network

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Bluesky and TikTok.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Epstein's email says Bill Clinton 'NEVER EVER' went to his island. Trump says otherwise.

Reporting by Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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