Pritzker denies traveling on Epstein’s plane after Bill Clinton’s
since-recanted testimony
[March 04, 2026]
By Ben Szalinski
Gov. JB Pritzker denied a since-recanted comment by former President
Bill Clinton that Clinton thought the pair may have traveled together on
a plane owned by convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
His denial was in response to a 90-second video clip of Clinton’s
closed-door deposition before the U.S. House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee that began circulating online Monday night.
“No, I have never, had never met Jeffrey Epstein,” Pritzker said
Tuesday. “I was never on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane. I was never on any
plane with Jeffrey Epstein or with Ghislaine Maxwell. Never met her.”
Pritzker added he had never heard of Epstein until about 2019 when
Epstein was indicted for child sex trafficking in the early 2000s.
Clinton’s testimony
In his deposition, the ex-president was asked to recall who he brought
on more than two dozen flights he took on Epstein’s plane. He said it
was often people who worked with him, for his foundation, including
staffers and Secret Service agents, but also the governor of Illinois
and his wife.
“On occasion, 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 — I think — 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.”
Speaking to reporters Tuesday in Chicago, Pritzker said Clinton “clearly
was mistaken.”
A spokesperson for Clinton on Tuesday also reframed the president’s
comments.
“President Clinton was simply giving an example of the many people he
traveled with to see the Clinton Foundation’s work,” spokesperson Angel
Ureńa said in a statement to Capitol News Illinois. “Gov. Pritzker
joined a Clinton Foundation trip in 2008. Not on Epstein’s plane. Not
with Epstein. Not with Maxwell.”
Clinton has said he cut ties prior to when Epstein was first arrested in
2005 for sex crimes and first sentenced to 18 months behind bars in June
2008. Clinton and Pritzker were photographed by Getty Images together in
Rwanda in August 2008 on a Clinton Foundation trip. Pritzker said the
plane for that trip was donated by Google.
Neither Pritzker nor the Clintons have been accused of any wrongdoing
related to Epstein. The Illinois governor’s name appears about two dozen
times in the Epstein files — all references to news stories with
Pritzker in the headline. The governor’s last name appears more than
7,100 times, likely in relationship to the governor’s cousin, Thomas
Pritzker, who has acknowledged a connection with Epstein.
Illinois GOP response
Illinois Republicans still pounced at the chance to tie the governor to
Epstein.
“Time to do some explaining! Why were you on pedophile Epstein’s plane?”
Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park, posted at Pritzker on X.
One person who is mentioned in the more than 3 million Epstein documents
released so far is President Donald Trump, whose name appears 38,000
times, according to The New York Times. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
[to top of second column]
|
Gov. JB Pritzker delivers his 2026 State of the State address in the
Illinois Capitol on Feb. 18, 2026. (Capitol News Illinois photo by
Jerry Nowicki)
Illinois Republicans skipped a vote on a nonbinding resolution in the
Illinois House last week that called on the Trump administration to
release all files related to Epstein with redactions only for victims.
“It’s a wag the dog,” Pritzker said. “Let’s, you know, ‘look over here,
look over here.’ Don’t look at the leader of their party, the leader of
this country, who is a Republican, Donald Trump, who clearly is somebody
that needs to be investigated, needs to be answering for his
relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell, with Jeffrey Epstein, and has done
none of that. You saw other people testifying. Where is President
Trump’s testimony?”
Pritzker’s relationship with the Clintons
Pritzker’s relationship with the Clintons dates back two decades.
According to the Washington Post, Pritzker connected as a political ally
with then-New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in 2006 through a mutual friend.
Hillary Clinton then asked Pritzker to be co-chair of her 2008
presidential campaign in the Democratic primary against then-Illinois
Sen. Barack Obama. Pritzker remained a top fundraiser and advisor to her
unsuccessful 2016 campaign against Trump.
Pritzker and Hillary Clinton even watched part of the 2024 Democratic
National Convention together from balcony seats at the United Center in
Chicago.
Pritzker, who is worth $3.9 billion, according to Forbes, and is one of
the wealthiest elected officials in American history, also gave $17
million to the Clinton Foundation between 2002 and 2016, according to a
2018 Illinois Answers Project investigation.
Another Pritzker
The governor’s cousin, Thomas Pritzker, recently resigned from his role
as the executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels after his association with
Epstein and Maxwell came into clearer view through emails released in
the Epstein files tranche.
When asked about his cousin’s connection to Epstein in a recent
interview, the governor said anyone who has done something wrong should
be held accountable.
“I’m not close to my cousin, but I can tell you that it’s very important
that people be held to pay the price for whatever it is that they may
have done,” Pritzker said.
Illinois Democratic lawmakers Monday joined advocates for women and
survivors of sexual abuse to introduce House Bill 5723, called the
Illinois Epstein Files Investigation Act.
The bill, if passed, would create a governor-appointed commission to
investigate Illinois-based crimes connected to Epstein’s network. Those
would focus primarily on the stories of victims in Illinois and crimes
that may have occurred in Illinois.
Maggie Dougherty contributed.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state
government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is
funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R.
McCormick Foundation. |
