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Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Clinton and Ghislaine Maxwell.
In September 2002, former US president Bill Clinton returned to Ghana for a second visit.
He had visited Ghana as the first sitting US president in March 1998 – making history. He was welcomed to Ghana by then President Jerry John Rawlings, and he addressed a massive crowd at the Independence Square in Accra.
President John Kufour received him on his second visit as a former president in 2002.
FBI reports found in the Epstein files, do not show that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein whose death in prison was attributed to suicide was not on that first trip in 1998.
However, during his second visit in September 2002 Epstein and his longtime companion Ghislaine Maxwell joined the former president, and they flew on Epstein’s private jet.
The 10-day trip to Africa included trips out of JFK Airport in New York to seven countries including Ghana, Nigeria, and Rwanda, where they were met by an official delegation. They attended official dinners, and Clinton gave multiple speeches for HIV research to raise more funding and raise awareness of HIV.
“Epstein followed the president around, attending meetings with him,” the reports said, adding that Doug Bland, one of Clinton’s staff had worked out an agreement with Epstein, without stating what the agreement was about.
The FBI report further noted that Ghislaine Maxwell, described in that report as Epstein’s former girlfriend was on the plane and about four other young women aged 20 to 22 years old – the names are redacted in the report.
Greg Bledsoe, an emergency physician on the flight, told the FBI that to his knowledge, one of the young women was a masseuse, another a model and one of the other young women described herself as a ballerina.
“The reason for the trip was HIV research. They spent ten days flying to seven different countries,” the report said.
The report stated that Bledsoe later flew back commercial from Mozambique when he was told his services were no longer needed.
But when Bledsoe returned from the trip, he thought of how weird Epstein was as he was quiet and super wealthy of which no one knew how he had earned his money. Bledsoe thought it weird that Epstein flew with his former girlfriend, Maxwell, and four other women that no one knew why they were there as everyone else had a purpose. Bledsoe had also asked what Epstein did for a living and the response he got was “no one really knows”.
In the report Bledsoe was cited describing the jet with the cockpit up front. He mentioned a seating area where Clinton and his staff sat, a kitchenette, back seating area with couches, and a bedroom in the far back with a sliding wooden door.
According to Bledsoe, someone, name redacted saw him sitting on the couch between the sliding door and the bedroom; she shut the door to the bedroom abruptly, he said.
“It was very obvious to Bledsoe that the person did not want him to see or hear what was going on in that bedroom. Bledsoe witnessed Epstein grab and rub buttocks,” the report said.
In one of the emails Ghislaine wrote to her mother, she informed her that she was travelling to Africa. “I do not leave for Africa until the 20th when I will be going to Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda and Mozambique,” she wrote. Telling her mother she was still on the island, very likely Epstein’s island, she mentioning a 12-year-old girl and asked for advice from her mother on what to do with the child. “I am currently on the Island and have invited Kevin’s daughter Chole to come and visit. She will [be] arriving on Wed. What does one do with a 12-year-old? Any ideas?”
Ghislaine Maxwell
Ghislaine Maxwell is currently in prison for sex related offences. In July 2020, federal prosecutors in New York charged her with helping to recruit underage girls, who she and Epstein then sexually abused. She was convicted in December 2021 of sex trafficking, conspiracy and transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity, and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.
During a deposition before US lawmakers Monday February 9, 2026, Maxwell, also described as confidante of Epstein invoked her Fifth Amendment rights to avoid answering any questions.
She was questioned during a video call to the federal prison camp in Texas where she’s serving the 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
Ghislaine is the daughter of the Late British media tycoon Robert Maxwell, who also died under mysterious circumstances on November 5, 1991, after falling overboard from his luxury yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, while cruising near the Canary Islands.
An official inquest ruled his death as an accidental drowning, possibly following a heart attack, but the mysterious circumstances generated numerous conspiracy theories.
Maxwell met Epstein in 1991, and the two became romantically involved. She subsequently became his primary co-conspirator.
Jeffrey Epstein
The Palm Beach Police Department in 2005 initiated an investigation into Epstein after the parents of a 14-year-old girl reported that he had molested their daughter. In July 2006, the FBI launched a federal investigation into him. The FBI at that time identified 36 girls who were minors at the time of their abuse. In May 2007, federal prosecutors had prepared a draft indictment of 60 counts against him, however, in September that year, US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Alexander Acosta signed a non-prosecution agreement that granted immunity to Epstein, four named co-conspirators and “any potential co-conspirators”.
But in 2008, under a secret arrangement, Epstein pleaded guilty to just two state charges of solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of prostitution from someone under the age of 18. He was sentenced to 18 months in a minimum-security facility, but was allowed work release for 12 hours per day.
In 2009 he was released five months early after serving less than 13 months at the Palm Beach County Stockade, and had to register as a sex offender.
A decade later, he faced allegations from multiple women who claimed they were victims of his sexual abuse. In November 2018, the Miami Herald published a series of investigative pieces revisiting Epstein’s case. The coverage received renewed public interest and, in July 2019, Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges after prosecutors in New York concluded they were not bound by the terms of the earlier non-prosecution agreement. While awaiting trial, on August 10, 2019, Epstein was found dead in his cell. Investigators ruled it a suicide by hanging. But the case continued with charges against Maxwell.
Maxwell is cited extensively for playing a significant role in recruiting girls and young women for Epstein.
By Emmanuel K Dogbevi