Clinton confidant who called Maxwell his ‘lover’ grilled by Congress over Epstein ties

Former Bill Clinton aide Doug Band is set to face a grilling by congressional investigators after his name was referenced dozens of times in the Epstein files.

Band will testify voluntarily before the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday in a transcribed interview as part of the bipartisan panel’s probe into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted on federal sex-trafficking and conspiracy charges.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., invited Band to testify about his interactions with Epstein and Maxwell while serving as a top aide to Clinton during the early years of his post-presidency. 

Band attended a 2003 dinner at Epstein’s Manhattan town house and corresponded with Maxwell between 2002 and 2006, according to files released by the Justice Department.

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In a 2006 email, Band, who is a University of Florida alumnus, asked to use Maxwell’s plane to attend the NCAA men’s basketball finals to watch the Florida Gators play. In other correspondence published by the DOJ, he called Maxwell his “lover” and “social matchmaker,” among other flirtatious messages.

The pair were photographed together at a Valentine’s Day tea party at a members-only club in New York City in 2007.

Band has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and his interactions with the couple appeared to largely predate Epstein’s conviction of soliciting a minor in 2008.

The ex-Clinton advisor is likely to be peppered with questions about the former president’s ties to the disgraced financier.

Band, who initially served as Clinton’s personal aide and ultimately became a member of his inner circle, helped establish the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative during Clinton’s post-presidency. He later cut ties with the Clintons during a public falling out in the early 2010s.

In a 2020 tell-all interview with Vanity Fair, Band said he grew to dislike Epstein during a 2002 trip aboard Epstein’s private jet with Clinton to Africa and advised the former president to end his relationship with him. 

Also in the interview, Band said Clinton in 2003 traveled to Epstein’s private Caribbean island, Little St. James. Band said he declined to attend over his objections to Epstein.

Band’s account conflicts with Clinton’s repeated assertion that he never visited. Clinton, who has denied any wrongdoing, has pointed to travel logs that do not show such a trip.

Band told Vanity Fair he sought to bar Maxwell from Clinton-related events amid his broader rupture with the Clinton family. Maxwell was notably close to Chelsea Clinton and was invited to her wedding in 2010.

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The House Oversight interview will take place behind closed doors, but a transcript is expected to be published at a later date.

Tuesday’s testimony comes after Bill and Hillary Clinton testified to congressional investigators in March about their interactions with Epstein under the threat of civil contempt charges. Lawmakers threatened to criminally refer the couple to the Justice Department for contempt charges if they refused.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has also interviewed former Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as part of the committee’s probe.

Comer’s panel in July is expected to interview former Goldman Sachs attorney and Obama counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, Harvard law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz and former JPMorgan Chase executive and ex-Barclays CEO Jes Staley.

All three knew Epstein personally and were among the high-profile figures whose names appear in recently released Epstein-related files, though none has been charged with wrongdoing.