Years after she was publicly accused in civil lawsuits and the press of helping Jeffrey Epstein groom and sexually abuse minors, Ghislaine Maxwell was an honored guest at the prestigious Clinton Global Initiative conference in September 2013, according to newly uncovered photos, video and documents reviewed by CNN.
Footage discovered by CNN’s KFile shows Maxwell rising to applause during a CGI luncheon on ocean conservation, recognized alongside other “Commitment to Action” leaders.
Previously unreported information reviewed by CNN lists Maxwell among those recommended for complimentary access to the conference — a list that, according to a source familiar with it, indicates her access was personally recommended by either Bill or Hillary Clinton.
Maxwell was at the CGI conference representing the now-defunct TerraMar Project, an ocean conservation non-profit she founded in 2012. An online agenda from CGI lists the organization as having pledged that year to rally international support for including oceans in the United Nations’ global priorities.
Maxwell honored at Clinton event
By the time Maxwell was honored at the 2013 CGI conference, the allegations that she had recruited girls for Epstein and even participated in their abuse had been covered in major British and American outlets, and had prompted Clinton staff to bar her from official events by 2011 — making her public recognition at CGI two years later all the more striking.
Being named a “Commitment to Action” partner at CGI was widely regarded as a prestigious affiliation. And it was one that lent Maxwell and her organization public credibility by placing them alongside major global figures in philanthropy and policy, at a time when her public reputation had been damaged by links to allegations of sexual abuse by Epstein.
A representative with the Clinton Foundation told CNN, “There were more than 600 comps approved at CGI in 2013. The decisions on those comps were made, as they have been historically, at the staff level, which included the office of President Clinton.”
A spokesperson for former President Bill Clinton added, “This is about someone working on ocean conservation attending a charitable conference 12 years ago, along with thousands of other people, and nothing more. As we have consistently said, the Clintons know nothing about Jeffrey Epstein’s terrible crimes.”
“The TerraMar Project, along with a dozen more organizations, made Commitments to Action to protect the oceans announced in 2013 at a CGI meeting. These were part of more than 4,000 commitments made since 2005,” the Clinton Foundation person added.
Allegations against Maxwell first surfaced in May 2009, when Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, in a Florida civil lawsuit against Epstein, claimed Maxwell recruited her as a teenager, groomed her for sexual abuse, participated in that abuse, and arranged sexual encounters with Epstein.
The following month, the Palm Beach Post covered the lawsuit on its front page, reporting Giuffre’s allegation that Maxwell had recruited her for Epstein. That September, while Maxwell was at the Clinton Global Initiative session in New York, she was served with a subpoena in the case — an incident that was covered by the New York Post’s Page Six. CNN has reviewed archival footage confirming her attendance at the event that year.
“To say she was upset about being publicly served at this function is an understatement,” Bradley Edwards, an attorney for Giuffre and other Epstein accusers would write in his 2020 book, “Relentless Pursuit.” Maxwell was never deposed as part of that lawsuit, and Giuffre settled with Epstein in December 2009.
The allegations against Maxwell drew limited public attention until a February 2011 story on Prince Andrew, in which Giuffre gave an interview to the Daily Mail claiming that Maxwell had recruited her as a teenager for Epstein and had once told her that Epstein wanted her to have his child.
A few days later, the Daily Mail ran a story focused solely on Maxwell, noting: “Damningly, several of the girls alleged that Ghislaine Maxwell had procured them, and one of the girls — who has since settled her civil case out of court with Epstein — even alleged that Ghislaine had taken part in the sexual abuse herself.”
In another interview two days later in the Daily Mail, Giuffre dove deeper into allegations against Maxwell. “She told me to take off my clothes. He had sex with me,” she said, referring to Epstein.
Maxwell publicly denied the allegations. She threatened legal actions against the papers, which she never took.
But the interview and article would also prompt expanded coverage in the British media of Giuffre’s legal claims and her allegations about Epstein and Maxwell, including that Maxwell participated in Giuffre’s abuse. The coverage also included a high-profile Vanity Fair story on Prince Andrew that reported Giuffre’s claim that Maxwell had recruited her as Epstein’s “sex slave” when she was 15 years old. Prince Andrew settled with Giuffre in 2022 and has denied any wrongdoing. Giuffre died by suicide in April.
That renewed scrutiny spurred top Clinton aide Doug Band to instruct an aide in an October 2011 internal email to “remove Ghislaine, from all lists” for Clinton-related events, according to information seen by CNN and past reporting in Vanity Fair and The Spectator.
The person at the Clinton Foundation familiar with CGI told CNN, “If Doug Band instructed anyone to bar Maxwell, he didn’t communicate it broadly and didn’t say why.”
Bill Clinton and Epstein had been friendly in the early 2000s, with the former president appearing on Epstein’s private jet logs at least 16 times between 2002 and 2003 for trips he said were related to Clinton Foundation work. Clinton would later write that his relationship with Epstein had ended by 2003 before he was aware of the financier’s crimes.
Clinton has never been accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
But Maxwell, Epstein’s closest associate, was and remained in the Clintons’ orbit for years — continuing to appear at CGI events, co-hosting fundraisers for Hillary Clinton in 2007 and the Clinton Presidential Library in 2003, and maintaining social ties with the family.
“Dear Ghislaine, Thank you for hosting such a terrific event for Hillary. I had a great time at Capitale, and I appreciate everything you did to make the fundraiser such an unqualified success. It wouldn’t have been possible without your efforts,” read a 2007 letter reviewed by CNN drafted for Bill Clinton to send to Maxwell, thanking her for co-hosting a major fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign — part of a batch of thank-you notes prepared for event hosts. “I’m grateful for your friendship.”
It is unclear from the draft whether it was ultimately sent.
Later, Maxwell vacationed with the Clintons’ daughter, Chelsea Clinton, in 2009 and attended her wedding in 2010.
A Clinton family spokesperson told Vanity Fair in 2019 that Chelsea was “friendly” with Maxwell because of a mutual friend. “When that relationship ended, Chelsea’s relationship with her ended as well,” the spokesperson said. “It wasn’t until 2015 that Chelsea became aware of the horrific allegations against Ghislaine Maxwell and she hopes that all the victims find justice.”
The new details come amid renewed attention to Epstein and Maxwell. The Trump administration’s refusal to release files and documents related to Epstein as promised has caused a political firestorm for President Donald Trump. The House Oversight Committee has also subpoenaed both Bill and Hillary Clinton as part of its ongoing investigation into Epstein’s network, with depositions scheduled for October.
Maxwell has found herself at the center of new scrutiny. Following hourslong interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche over two days last month, she was transferred from a prison in Florida to a minimum‑security federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas. The move is highly unusual for a convicted sex offender and has prompted sharp criticism and Congress to demand explanations from Justice Department officials.
Transcripts and audio of those interviews were released by the Justice Department on Friday.
In her interview, Maxwell insisted that Bill Clinton never went to Epstein’s island and described his trips on Epstein’s plane as strictly connected to humanitarian projects. She also portrayed herself as a behind-the-scenes supporter in Clinton’s post-presidency, claiming she helped conceive of the Clinton Global Initiative.
She told investigators that she had visited the Clintons’ house in Chappaqua, New York, “a few times” as an invited guest and described the former president as a friend.
Maxwell claimed that she was the one who introduced Clinton to Epstein and suggested that Epstein make his private plane available for Clinton’s travel. “They met because of me, and the plane was because of me.”
By 2012, Band, Clinton’s right-hand aide, had left the former president’s orbit after co-founding the consulting firm Teneo. And in 2013, Maxwell was back at CGI.
During the 2013 luncheon session focusing on oceans, Maxwell was among a group whose commitment to work with CGI was honored during comments by José María Figueres, the former president of Costa Rica and co-chair of the Global Ocean Commission.
Figueres invited those making commitments to rise, saying, “Can we have all of you we are honoring today please stand up so you can be recognized?”
Maxwell, representing the TerraMar Project, rose to applause alongside other ocean initiative leaders, according to archival video and photos of the segment.
“It was rare, prestigious and an honor to be acknowledged the way Ghislaine was at the CGI annual meeting,” a source familiar with the inner workings of CGI told CNN.
An archived copy of TerraMar’s “commitment to action” pledge on the Clinton Foundation’s website notes, “leading the public facing side is Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell, TM’s founder and director.” Being named a “Commitment to Action” partner at CGI was widely regarded as a prestigious affiliation and one that lent credibility to Maxwell and her organization by placing them alongside major global players in philanthropy and policy.
TerraMar would come to be widely seen as Maxwell’s attempt to rehabilitate her image after her ties to Epstein came under scrutiny.
Maxwell promoted the project on high-profile stages in 2013 and 2014 — giving TED Talks, speaking at the United Nations and Council on Foreign Relations, writing blog posts for the Huffington Post, and appearing on outlets such as Bloomberg and CNN International.
Critics noted the organization produced little tangible conservation work, and its publicly available paperwork shows it gave out no large charitable grants.
As late as March 2015, according to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, the Clinton Foundation was giving updates on TerraMar’s commitment.
The TerraMar Project shut down in 2019, shortly after Epstein’s arrest on federal sex-trafficking charges.
After Maxwell was found guilty of sex-trafficking charges in 2021, her lawyers cited her ocean nonprofit work, and alleged she “help[ed] launch the Clinton Global Initiative” in support of a less severe sentence.
She was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Maxwell’s ties to the Clintons extended well beyond CGI events. As far back as 1993, photos show Epstein and Maxwell visiting then-President Clinton at the White House.
The New York Post in 2001 reported Maxwell attended a dinner with Bill Clinton at a fancy Manhattan restaurant. In February 2002, Maxwell and Clinton reportedly were seated together at a charity gala. In September 2002, Maxwell accompanied the former president and Epstein on an overseas trip tied to Clinton’s charitable work and was photographed with Clinton outside Epstein’s private plane.
In July 2003, she was listed on the host committee for a Clinton Library fundraiser in New York, according to an archived copy reviewed by CNN and New York Post coverage at the time. The Mail on Sunday reported at the time her “likely date” for the event was Epstein.
In 2007, Maxwell was listed as co-host for a major fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign that occurred at the Capitale event space in New York City, according to information reviewed by CNN. Other reported hosts for the event included Harvey Weinstein, according to the New York Times. Christina Aguilera performed.
Maxwell donated the maximum $2,300 allowed by law at the time to Clinton’s campaign that year.
She also attended a February 2014 small, personal dinner with Bill Clinton in Los Angeles, according to Daily Beast reporting in 2020.
Speaking with the Justice Department this summer, Maxwell could not provide a clear memory of the last time met with Clinton, offering only a broad, uncertain range of years and circumstances.
“It was in — was late ’18 — 2000 and, I don’t know, ’16, ’17, ’18, something ’19 in – it was in Los Angeles,” she said. “I think he was hosting something or he was at an event and I was in LA and I had dinner with him.”
CNN’s Em Steck contributed to this story.
