‘Never met him’: Pritzker dismisses ties to Jeffrey Epstein as Clinton clarifies testimony

Gov. JB Pritzker debunked Republican assertions he had ties with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, claims that rose from testimony former President Bill Clinton gave before a congressional committee last week.

“No, I have never, had never met Jeffrey Epstein,” Pritzker said Tuesday at an unrelated briefing, noting Clinton’s remarks were misconstrued. “I was never on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane. I was never on any plane with Jeffrey Epstein or with (Epstein’s girlfriend) Ghislaine Maxwell. Never met her.”

Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a child for prostitution in 2008 and was indicted in 2019 for child sex trafficking. He died in jail that year.

Clinton gave a deposition to the House Oversight Committee Friday regarding his connections with the disgraced financier as fallout over the Epstein files continues.

Asked about flights he took on Epstein’s plane, Clinton said the excursions concerned his philanthropic foundation.

“I had people who had volunteered to help us and wanted to see what we were doing,” Clinton said. “For example, I think it was on one of these trips … that I had my first trip for a man who is now the governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, and his wife. They gave me — they helped me get started.”

A spokesman for the ex-president later clarified the remark.

“President Clinton was simply giving an example of the many people he traveled with to see the Clinton Foundation’s work,” the spokesman said. “Governor Pritzker joined a Clinton Foundation trip in 2008. Not on Epstein’s plane. Not with Epstein. Not with Maxwell.”

Nonetheless, the Illinois Republican Party issued a statement saying “JB Pritzker has a lot of questions to answer about his own ties to Jeffrey Epstein.”

GOP gubernatorial candidate and DuPage Sheriff James Mendrick also weighed in on social media.

“When the names of Governor JB Pritzker and his wife start surfacing in the same breath as Epstein Island — silence is not acceptable,” he wrote. “Illinois deserves a full, public explanation.”

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Pritzker said that President Donald Trump “palled around” with Epstein and Maxwell.

“He still hasn’t owned up to it or been held accountable for it,” he said.

Trump has said he broke ties with Epstein in the 2000s.

Pritzker spokesman Alex Gough noted the governor was asked to travel with Clinton on two trips, one in 2008 and the other 2013.

“Neither utilized Jeffrey Epstein’s aircraft, nor was he accompanied by that man or Ghislaine Maxwell,” Gough said.