If the strategy was to deflect, distract, or deny, Bill Clinton’s former deputy chief of staff, Angel Ureña, may have missed the moment — and the mood.
Following the Department of Justice’s Friday release of thousands of documents and images under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Ureña issued a defensive and combative statement on social media, accusing the Trump administration of using Clinton as a “scapegoat” and claiming the former president cut ties with Epstein “before his crimes became public.”
But the photos — many never seen before — tell a story that demands more than just press release damage control.
Among the images: Clinton shirtless in a hot tub, arms behind his head, clearly relaxed. Another shows him in a pool alongside Ghislaine Maxwell and a woman whose face the DOJ redacted — important, because under official policy, only the faces of minors, victims, or government officials are hidden. Additional photos show Clinton with pop legends Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, seated beside a redacted woman on a private jet, and smiling side-by-side with Epstein at what appears to be an upscale dinner gathering.
— Angel Ureña (@angelurena) December 19, 2025
The tone from the White House was straightforward. Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson confirmed the redactions were applied strictly to protect victims and minors. Nothing more, nothing less. The DOJ, under instruction from the Trump administration, is complying with the law — a law that passed overwhelmingly and was signed by President Trump on November 19.
But Ureña’s response — suggesting that this massive release was timed to “shield” the White House from something more damaging — doesn’t address what Americans are asking: Why was Clinton repeatedly in Epstein’s inner circle? Why is his name in flight logs, guest lists, and now these photographs?
The narrative that Clinton “cut ties” with Epstein before the financier’s downfall has been repeated often, but grows shakier with every new piece of visual or documentary evidence. The idea that the former president simply got duped — again and again, across years, on private planes and in luxury settings — no longer holds up under scrutiny.
The real issue isn’t that Clinton appears in photos with Epstein. It’s that he keeps appearing in settings that suggest familiarity, not formality. Comfort, not distance. And with Epstein’s long trail of abuse, trafficking, and victimization now fully exposed, proximity demands explanation.
Clinton is not accused of any criminal wrongdoing in the documents released so far. But accountability doesn’t always come in the form of indictments. Sometimes, it comes in the form of questions that deserve real answers — not political finger-pointing and “whataboutism.”
Ureña may hope that shouting “scapegoat” will make the firestorm go away. But this isn’t a partisan stunt. It’s the result of a transparency law. The photos are real. The documents are official. And the public — MAGA or otherwise — has every right to ask what a former president was doing so deep in Epstein’s orbit.
