Ghislaine Maxwell was honored guest at posh Clinton Global Initiative event despite sex allegations

A new report highlights Ghislaine Maxwell’s attendance, seemingly as an “honored guest” of the Clintons, at an event years AFTER widespread knowledge of sexual abuse allegations.

Heading into the weekend, aims at transparency found the Department of Justice releasing the transcript of its interview with the convicted child sex trafficker, redacting only the names of victims. Meanwhile, a report from CNN’s KFile suggested a lack of forthrightness on the part of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as records, including photos and video, showed Maxwell being recognized for her nonprofit work at the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative conference.

“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,” read the report based on documents, photos, and videos reviewed by CNN.

CNN’s senior politics reporter, Andrew Kaczynski, highlighted a number of details on X, including a circled image of Maxwell appearing to be recognized at the event as a “Commitment to Action” leader for her role in the 2012 founding of an ocean sustainability nonprofit that was known as the TerraMar Project. That nonprofit went defunct in 2019, shortly after convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges — the charges he was being held on when he reportedly committed suicide in his cell.

NEW: Ghislaine Maxwell was an honored guest at a prestigious Clinton event in 2013 – years after abuse allegations against her were publicly known. Information we reviewed showed her on a list recommended for free access by either Bill or Hillary Clinton, per a source familiar. pic.twitter.com/vNsIpUokrG

— Andrew Kaczynski (@KFILE) August 24, 2025

A source familiar with the list of those awarded complimentary access contended Maxwell’s inclusion “indicates her access was personally recommended by either Bill or Hillary Clinton,” as a Clinton Foundation representative offered a statement that read, “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.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the former president said, “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.”

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…

— Andrew Kaczynski (@KFILE) August 24, 2025

Another key detail from the report made note of a 2011 email from top aide Doug Band that purported to bar Maxwell from Clinton events, a directive disputed by a Clinton Foundation spokesperson. Kaczynski indicated that the same aide was no longer with the former president prior to the 2013 event.

Prior to that supposed ban, Maxwell vacationed with the Clintons’ daughter, Chelsea, the same year sexual abuse allegations had been made. The following year, the associate of Epstein was a guest at the younger Clinton’s New York wedding to Marc Mezvinsky.

Of note, in addition to Maxwell telling the Justice Department that President Donald Trump was “a gentleman in all respects” and that she “never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way,” she also expressed her belief that former President Clinton hadn’t received a massage while traveling on Epstein’s plane.