Ghislaine Maxwell Honored At Clinton Event Years After Epstein Allegations Surfaced

Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell was a recognized guest at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting in September 2013, years after allegations first surfaced linking her to Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse network, according to a new report from CNN.

Maxwell, now serving a 20-year federal prison sentence following her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking and conspiracy, was acknowledged at the conference as a “Commitment to Action” leader for her role in founding the TerraMar Project, a nonprofit focused on ocean sustainability that launched in 2012.

The recognition reportedly included public applause at the event.

Ghislaine Maxwell was not only honored at a Clinton Global Initiative, which she help founded, event years after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced, she also was served a subpoena there in a civil case brought on against her by her victims.

Maxwell had lied to her victims’… pic.twitter.com/3f072p1Ifs

— LIZ CROKIN (@LizCrokin) August 24, 2025

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A source familiar with CGI’s operations told CNN that such acknowledgment was “rare, prestigious and an honor to be acknowledged the way Ghislaine was at the CGI annual meeting.”

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The recognition came despite Maxwell facing public scrutiny for her ties to Epstein for years.

In 2009, she was served with a subpoena related to lawsuits filed by 24 underage girls against Epstein while leaving the CGI event that year, according to contemporaneous reporting from Page Six.

Although Clinton staffers barred Maxwell from official events starting in 2011 following growing media coverage of her alleged role in Epstein’s abuse, CNN reported that Maxwell nonetheless secured a complimentary ticket for the 2013 conference.

Sources told the outlet that comped tickets were rarely given and that such access may have required personal recommendation from either Bill or Hillary Clinton.

The TerraMar Project’s recognition alongside prominent philanthropy groups at the 2013 event stood in stark contrast to Maxwell’s tarnished public reputation.

The organization ultimately shut down in 2019 after Epstein’s arrest on federal sex trafficking charges.

We now have both Ghislaine Maxwell AND Jeffrey Epstein’s lawyers directly telling the Justice Department they helped set up the Clinton Global Initiative. https://t.co/20BWhdNULk pic.twitter.com/yfpYhBXvyH

— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) August 22, 2025

A spokesperson for former President Bill Clinton told CNN that the Clintons were not involved in Maxwell’s attendance at the 2013 conference.

“There were more than 600 comps approved at CGI in 2013. The decisions on those comps were made, as they have been historically, at the staff level, which included the office of President Clinton,” the spokesperson said.

“This is about someone working on ocean conservation attending a charitable conference 12 years ago, along with thousands of other people, and nothing more. As we have consistently said, the Clintons know nothing about Jeffrey Epstein’s terrible crimes.”

Maxwell’s legal team referenced her involvement with TerraMar during sentencing in 2021, even claiming she helped “launch the Clinton Global Initiative,” in a bid to secure a lighter penalty.

Her connections to the Clinton family, however, extend back decades.

Archival photographs show Epstein and Maxwell visiting the White House during Bill Clinton’s presidency as early as 1993.

Flight logs later revealed Clinton flew on Epstein’s private jet at least 16 times on international and domestic trips, often with Maxwell present.

The destinations included London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Morocco, Portugal, and Japan.

Maxwell also maintained a personal connection with Chelsea Clinton, vacationing with her in 2009 and attending her 2010 wedding in Rhinebeck, New York.

A Clinton spokesperson told Vanity Fair in 2019 that Chelsea and Maxwell became friendly through a mutual acquaintance and said Chelsea did not learn of the allegations against Maxwell until 2015.

Earlier this month, the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed both Bill and Hillary Clinton as part of its ongoing investigation into Epstein’s network of high-profile associates.

The committee scheduled both Clintons to be deposed in October.