Charlamagne Tha God Asks Why 'Nobody's Talking About' Clinton and Epstein
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Charlamagne Tha God on Tuesday questioned why "nobody" in the media is focusing on former President Bill Clinton's relationship with the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Newsweek has reached out to Clinton's office for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Clinton is one of several high-profile people whose name has appeared in court filings related to Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019. The former president has not been accused of a crime in connection to Epstein and being named in the documents does not imply criminal activity.
The Epstein case has been a hot topic in Washington for weeks since the Department of Justice put out a memo concluding that the financier died by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell and that the government is not in possession of an "incriminating" list of his clients.
The memo has upset a number of people who had sought to have such a list revealed, including a number of conspiracy theorists—many of which were amplified by Trump administration DOJ and FBI officials—that have suggested Epstein was killed as part of a government cover-up.
Former President Bill Clinton discusses his book "The First Gentlemen" in New York City on June 11, 2025.
Former President Bill Clinton discusses his book "The First Gentlemen" in New York City on June 11, 2025.
Greg Allen/Invision/AP
What To Know
Charlamagne, a popular well known media posronality, referenced Clinton's connections to Epstein during Tuesday's episode of "The Breakfast Club" radio show.
"It's just funny how the news works," Charlamagne said. "Because Bill Clinton wrote a letter to Jeffrey Epstein as well for his birthday—but nobody's talking about that."
The rapper was referring to a Wall Street Journal report last week that said Clinton was one of several noteworthy and wealthy people who wrote a note for Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003.
The report came a week after President Donald Trump faced public scrutiny following a WSJ report that he also penned a letter to Epstein for the financier's 50th birthday. The president has faced pressure from a number of voters in his base and other Republican politicians to release more information relating to the Epstein case.
According to the Journal, Clinton's note to Epstein was written in the former president's "distinctive scrawl."
"It's reassuring isn't it, to have lasted as long, across all the years of learning and knowing, adventures and [illegible word], and also to have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference and the solace of friends," the note said, according to the report.
A spokesperson for the former president declined to comment on the birthday message to the Journal and referred the outlet to a previous statement saying Clinton had cut off ties with Epstein more than a decade before he was arrested and was unaware of his crimes.
In May 2016, one of Epstein's alleged victims, Johanna Sjoberg, was asked about Clinton in a deposition. Sjoberg has said that she was in Epstein's circle from 2001 to 2006.
"[Epstein] said one time that Clinton likes them young, referring to girls," Sjoberg testified during the deposition.
Charlamagne continued discussing Clinton and Epstein on Tuesday, saying: "Jeffrey Epstein had a picture of Bill Clinton in a dress, in high heels, you know, in his New York mansion, but nobody's talking about that."
The rapper was referring to a painting of Clinton in a blue dress that Epstein had at his New York City home, which was first reported by the Daily Mail and later by New York Magazine.
Charlamagne said that talk should be about everyone on the list.
"My thing is this, I don't care who is on the list. Everybody gotta go," Charlamagne said. "Burn it all down. It's as simple as that. Mutually assured destruction. Whoever is on that list needs to go. Nobody needs to be protecting pedophiles. I don't care what party they are."
Co-host Morgyn Wood pushed back and said that if Clinton were president, he would be facing the same level of scrutiny as Trump.
"No, he wouldn't because liberal media wouldn't push the issue," Charlamagne replied.
The Journal reported that Trump's note featured typewritten text surrounded by the outline of a naked woman, complete with Trump's signature below the woman's waist, which appeared to mimic pubic hair.
"Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret," the note concluded, per the Journal. Trump denied the Journal's reporting, calling its story "fake" and subsequently sued the paper and its owner, conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch, for $10 billion.
The paper said Trump and Clinton's notes were part of a trove of birthday letters that Epstein's longtime associate and former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, compiled in a leather-bound album that she gave to Epstein as a gift for his 50th birthday.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of sex trafficking and other crimes related to her relationship with Epstein. She's appealing the sentence to the Supreme Court and met twice last week with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in connection to the Epstein case, which legal experts have said was highly unusual for the DOJ to agree to.
What People Are Saying
Trump has repeatedly been asked about his interactions with Epstein while on a foreign trip this week and said he kicked the disgraced sex offender out of Mar-a-Lago because Epstein poached his employees: "People were taken out of the spa, hired by Epstein...I told him we don't want you taking our people, whether it's spa or not spa. He did it again, I said out of here."
Clinton's office said in a statement in July 2019, less than a month before Epstein died in his jail cell: "President Clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York. In 2002 and 2003, President Clinton took a total of four trips on Jeffrey Epstein's airplane: one to Europe, one to Asia, and two to Africa, which included stops in connection with the work of the Clinton Foundation. Staff, supporters of the Foundation, and his Secret Service detail traveled on every leg of every trip."
His office told the Journal in response to its story about Clinton's birthday letter to Epstein: "It's been 20 years since President Clinton last had contact with Epstein, well before any of his crimes came to light. President Clinton has never been accused of any wrongdoing. Furthermore, when asked about the release of documents last year by the court, we did not, and do not, object to the unsealing."
What Happens Next
Maxwell was recently subpoenaed to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which her lawyer said she would do if granted immunity. The panel quickly denied Maxwell's request and it remains to be seen how her team will respond.
Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly castigated the media for asking about his ties to Epstein, saying the public should move on from the story.
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