New Leak Sinks Bill and Hillary, Top Clinton Aide Turns And Airs Their Dirty Laundry: “Ghislaine had access to yachts and nice homes”
A stunning new leak from deep within Bill and Hillary Clinton’s inner circle is hitting the dynamic duo extra hard.
Doug Band, who was Bill’s body man while he was president and stayed with the Clintons as they went around the world cashing in just aired the Clinton’s dirty laundry to Vanity Fair reporter Gabriel Sherman.
“No staffer has ever used their role to serve their interests as much as Doug Band,” a very nervous Clinton family spokesperson told Sherman. “For many years he was a valuable member of President Clinton’s team and supportive of Clinton Foundation programs. Until he wasn’t. He put the foundation at risk by leveraging a world-class philanthropy for his own financial gain. It’s as disappointing a story as it is a sad one and ultimately why Doug Band and the Clintons parted ways.”
Gabe Sherman writes in Vanity Fair:
Band was 22 when he landed an unpaid internship in the White House counsel’s office midway through Clinton’s first term. He served as Clinton’s “body man” during the second while earning a Georgetown law degree at night. On paper, the job is a glorified gofer, but Band leveraged the position to build a filial bond with the leader of the free world. When Clinton left office in January 2001, Band was one of the aides Clinton invited to go with him.
Band took on a role that was equal parts fixer, gatekeeper, wingman, consigliere, and adopted son. (Officially, his title was counselor.) “They were with each other all the time,” said former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta, who first got to know Band in the Clinton White House.
Band said Bill tried to sabotage Hillary in 2008:
Meanwhile, Bill’s erratic behavior during the 2008 Democratic primary torched his statesman image. “He dismantled everything we had done,” Band said. Bill took on the role of Hillary’s attack dog and went aggressively after Barack Obama.
As the primary dragged on, Bill shouted at voters and reporters in a series of rope-line meltdowns. The spectacle of a former president denigrating America’s would-be first Black president went viral. Prominent Democrats called the outbursts “bizarre,” “ill-tempered,” and “ill-founded.” Al Sharpton said Bill needed to “shut up.”
At the time, Band attributed Bill’s mistakes to aftereffects of his 2004 heart attack, rustiness from not having run a national campaign in over a decade, and a visceral dislike of Hillary’s opponent.
“Obama drove him nuts,” Band said. Looking back, however, Band thinks Bill may have consciously or unconsciously not wanted Hillary to win. “He was used to it being all about him, and if she won, it would be all about her. That’s not how he lived his life for the four decades leading up to that election,” he said.
“In her White House, he would be back under a microscope but without the benefit of being the one in charge.” A Clinton spokesperson said: “That’s ridiculous. President Clinton did more than 300 events on her behalf, and very much wanted her to win.”
Hillary’s team faulted Band for failing to rein in his boss. “The view was Band was an enabler of Bill’s behavior,” a Hillary adviser told me. It’s a critique that still grates. “The idea that anyone can control a person, especially a former president of the United States, is completely ridiculous,” Band said.
Band on how Hillary really felt about Obama:
When Obama offered Hillary the chance to be America’s chief diplomat that November, Band was thrilled. The job of secretary of state has historically been the most prestigious and apolitical of Cabinet appointments (at least prior to the Trump administration). Hillary’s post would allow Band to put politics behind, refocus Bill on philanthropy, and start the long process of repairing his reputation.
But Hillary didn’t want to work for Obama. “She wasn’t over the primary loss,” Band remembered. During a phone call Band was present for, Hillary told Obama she was turning down the offer and would be issuing a press release stating so. “She was bitter, angry, and believed he didn’t deserve to be president,” Band recalled. With Bill’s help, Band implored Hillary to reconsider. “Over the next 12 or so hours she came around.”
And why was Chelsea so close to Epstein’s pimp Ghislaine Maxwell? According to Band, it was all about the cash:
Chelsea had ties to Epstein and Maxwell, Band said; he showed me a photo of Bill and Chelsea posing with Epstein and Maxwell at the King of Morocco’s wedding. Chelsea remained friends with Maxwell for years after the press revealed Maxwell was a close associate of Epstein’s. For instance, Chelsea invited Maxwell to her 2010 wedding at the Brooke Astor estate in Rhinebeck, New York, after Epstein had pleaded guilty in Florida to procuring sex from a minor.
“Ghislaine had access to yachts and nice homes. Chelsea needed that,” Band told me.