Doug Band, a former top aide to President Bill Clinton, was questioned by the House Oversight Committee about a series of emails exchanged with Ghislaine Maxwell, the associate of Jeffrey Epstein. The closed-door interview, which took place on June 30, delved into the nature of Band's decades-old communications with Maxwell, who is currently serving a prison sentence for sex trafficking.
According to a transcript obtained by the Daily Mail, Band was asked about emails in which Maxwell made suggestive comments, including one from April 2002 that stated, "I have a crush on you and you are hung like a horse." Band, when directly asked by Rep. Nancy Mace if he was "hung like a horse," responded that Mace would have to ask Maxwell for an explanation. Band's lawyer, Howard Shapiro, interjected, questioning the relevance of the inquiry.
During his testimony, Band admitted to exchanging "silly, flirtatious banter" with Maxwell but vehemently denied ever having an affair with her. He stated, "Absolutely not, never," when asked about a physical, romantic, or any relationship beyond friendship.
The committee also presented emails from April 2003 where Band and a friend, Philip Levine, discussed "women troubles." Maxwell replied to Band, suggesting, "I think the 3 of us make a good team - you can cogitate on your female woes and I can give you the down and dirty on that - and I am happy contemplating how lucky I am being with my 2 favorite men!" Band told lawmakers he did not recall the specific meaning of "burgerfest," a term mentioned in the exchange.
Further questioning involved an October 2004 email where Maxwell referred to Band as "babycakes" and "booboo," and an April 2002 email where Band referred to Maxwell as his "pimp" and "lover." Band also did not recall an August 2002 email in which he told Maxwell he wanted to "spank bottoms tonight." Rep. Mace pressed Band on whether "spanking" was a fetish of his or hers, to which Band responded he did not remember the message.
Maxwell also offered to arrange companionship for Band in emails, suggesting "the s****y Spanish girl" or a "cool poised Swedish type" during a future trip to Europe.
Band, who served as Clinton's "body man" and later as a chief advisor, co-founded Teneo. He and Clinton had a public split in 2012 amid tensions with Chelsea Clinton. White House visitor logs indicate that Epstein visited the White House 17 times during Clinton's presidency, sometimes accompanied by Maxwell.
Band testified that he never witnessed Clinton engaging in anything compromising with Epstein or any of his victims. He stated that when Clinton was present on Epstein's plane, the former president would retreat to a private office to meet with Epstein. Clinton himself has previously testified that he was unaware of Epstein's criminal activities, stating, "I saw nothing, I did nothing wrong."