- The financier Jeffrey Epstein was an important political donor before he pleaded guilty to charges of felony sexual solicitation of underage girls in Florida in 2008.
- Epstein has donated $184,276 to politicians on both sides of the aisle, including Chuck Schumer, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Bob Dole since 1990, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
- Three of the public officials, Eliot Spitzer, Bob Packwood, and Bill Clinton, who have received donations from Epstein have also faced allegations of sexual misconduct.
- Epstein pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking on July 8.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Jeffrey Epstein, the financier charged with sex trafficking of underage girls, was once a major political donor.
Since 1990, Epstein has donated $147,426 to various Democrats and $18,250 to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Chuck Schumer, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Bob Dole each received thousands.
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to felony sexual solicitation of underage girls. Epstein continued to make donations after he was released from a 18-month jail term.
Some politicians, including the disgraced former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and retired Sen. Chris Dodd, returned Epstein's donations as accusations of the financier's wrongdoings became public. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also returned a $10,000 gift from Epstein three days after receiving it in 2018, according to The Daily Beast.
Keep reading to learn more about Epstein's political donations.
Delegate Stacey Plaskett, who represents the US Virgin Islands in the House of Representatives, accepted donations from Epstein after he registered as a sex offender.
Epstein made the maximum individual contribution - $5,400 - to Plaskett's reelection campaign in 2016, The Daily Beast reported. Plaskett's district includes St. Thomas, where Epstein's firm is incorporated, and Epstein's private island.
Epstein also donated $2,700 to Plaskett in 2018.
Epstein sent $10,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in October, only to have the money returned to him three days later.
"Without second thought, the DCCC immediately refunded this unsolicited donation," a DCCC spokesperson told The Daily Beast.
Epstein gave so much to Gwendolyn Beck, an independent running for Congress from Connecticut in 2014, that he violated the Federal Election Commission's individual contribution limit.
Epstein donated a total of $12,600 to Beck, $2,600 directly to Beck's campaign, in addition to two donations of $5,000 each to two political groups supporting that candidate, records from the Federal Election Commission show. The FEC declined to prosecute.
Epstein donated $50,000 to former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer in 2006.
Spitzer returned the funds later that year, according to Reuters.
Spitzer was in office for 15 months before resigning amid allegations of soliciting sex from prostitutes, CNN reported.
John Kerry received $4,000 from Epstein between 1991 and 2002.
Epstein made four separate gifts of $1,000 each to Kerry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Retired Senator Chris Dodd returned a $1,000 donation from Epstein in 2006.
Epstein made the donation to Dodd's reelection campaign in 2003, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Epstein donated a total of $7,000 to New York Senator Chuck Schumer.
Schumer received seven separate donations of $1,000 each from Schumer in 1992, 1995, and 1997, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
President George H.W. Bush received $1,000 from Epstein.
Epstein made a single donation to Bush's unsuccessful 1992 reelection campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Epstein also donated $2,000 to support Bill Clinton in 1992 — who defeated Bush.
Epstein made two separate donations to Clinton's campaign in 1992 - one in January and one in June - according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Epstein also donated $25,000 to the Clinton Foundation in 2006, Reuters reported. Clinton said in a statement that he also took four trips on Epstein's private jet in connection with his work for the Clinton Foundation, but that he "knows nothing about the terrible crimes" Epstein was charged with.
But in the 1996 election, Epstein supported Clinton's opponent, Bob Dole. Epstein donated $1,250 to Dole.
Epstein gave Dole $1,000 in March 1995, followed by another $250 that October, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Dole, the Republican nominee, lost the election to President Clinton.
Epstein also tried to donate more than $4,000 to former Senator Jeff Bingaman, a Democrat from New Mexico, but Bingaman returned some of it.
Bingaman received $4,073 from Epstein in three separate donations on December 17, 1993. Bingaman returned $2,073 to Epstein that same day, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Epstein donated another $1,000 to Bingaman in October 1994.
Former Senator Joe Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-Independent from Connecticut, received $3,000 from Epstein.
Epstein made three separate donations of $1,000 to Lieberman in 1994 and 1999, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Former Senator Tom McMillen, a Democrat from Maryland, received $3,000 from Epstein.
Epstein donated $1,000 to McMillen in 1990 and $2,000 in 1992, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Retired Senator Alfonse D'Amato, a New York Republican, received $2,000 from Epstein.
Epstein made two donations of $1,000 each in 1992 and 1997, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
New Mexico Democrat John J. Kelly received $2,000 from Epstein for his unsuccessful congressional bid.
Epstein made two donations of $1,000 each in 2000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Epstein gave former U.S. representative Rick Lazio, a Republican from New York's second district, $2,000.
Epstein made two donations of $1,000 each in 1996, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Epstein gave $2,000 to former US representative Wayne Owens, a Utah Democrat, in 1990.
Owens received two $1,000 donations from Epstein, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Epstein donated $1,000 to Bob Packwood in 1991.
Epstein made a single donation to Packwood, a Republican senator from Oregon, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Packwood resigned from the Senate in 1995 following allegations of sexual harassment, according to The New York Times.
Epstein donated $2,000 to Delaware Democrat Charles Oberly III for his unsuccessful Senate bid in 1994.
Epstein made two donations to Oberly, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Epstein donated $500 to former Senator Timothy Wirth, a Democrat from Colorado, in 1991.
Epstein made a sole donation to Wirth, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Former New York senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democrat, received $2,000 from Epstein in 1998.
Moynihan returned $1,000 - half the donation - to Epstein seven months later, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Former Senator Mark Pryor, a Democrat from Arkansas, received $1,000 from Epstein in 2002.
Epstein made a single donation to Pryor, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Epstein donated $1,000 to Eugene Watts, a Republican member of the Ohio state Senate, in 1993.
Epstein donated to Watts once, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
