Disclaimer: This article may contain the personal views of the author.
Ah, The Clintons. It feels great that The Clintons, Bill and Hilary, who have long fooled many in the media and in the country, that they were good and moral, seem to have long lost that veneer of virtue. It has slipped like a mask and has been for some time. Now, we are being treated to some, let’s call it, retrospective or retroactive criticism to Bill Clinton.
The lurid name “Epstein” has once again entered the discussion. For this writer, who has long been an admirer of the late great Christopher Hitchens, who could be called Clinton’s first real critic, it has been wonderful seeing Hitch’s criticisms vindicated and benefiting from the kindness of history. There is now an update that calls to us from way back in 1992.
It has recently been reported that:
Disgraced felon Jeffrey Epstein once rented a New York City mansion from the federal government old news clippings show. Beginning in February 1992, Epstein rented a former Iranian government building that had been taken over by the State Department for $15,000 a month.
The mansion is located at 34 East 69th Street. This is one of Manhattan’s most expensive neighborhoods. Epstein later bought a mansion a few blocks away from Les Wexner in what all consider to be an odd transaction.
The CEO of Blaze Media, Tyler Carditis, commented that, “Bizarre that the State Department rented out a five-story upper East Side mansion to Jeffrey Epstein from 1992 to 1996. Does the State Department rent out property to private citizens often? Seems weird.”
Yashir Ali of New York magazine elaborated:
“Yes they rent out properties. When diplomatic ties are cut with a country, the US is required to take care of them under Vienna Convention.
“They can earn income by renting them. They rent out other Iranian properties. In the past they did this for Vietnam, Iraq, Yugoslavia, etc.”
The timeline shows Epstein first rented the apartment from the George H.W. Bush administration and rented it throughout Bill Clinton’s first term.
Buzzfeed released a reported following up on this, adding:
“Things went sour when the government sued Epstein in the Southern District of New York, alleging that he had at one point failed to pay the rent on time and had violated the lease by moving out in early 1996 and subletting the place without the State Department’s permission.
“His subtenant was Ivan Fisher, a New York City criminal defense lawyer who had famously defended members of the French Connection and Pizza Connection drug rings. The government also sued Fisher.
“A New York Daily News article from the time, headlined “Lawyer Pays Not A Cent For Palatial East Side Digs,” said Fisher had stopped paying rent after learning that the State Department had terminated Epstein’s lease as a result of the conflict over Fisher’s subtenancy, and was thus living in the home for free.
“I’m the perfect tenant,” Fisher told the Daily News. The paper described the home’s opulence: “carved oak doors, a white marble foyer, three kitchens, three bedrooms, a library with floor-to-ceiling bookcases, a steam room, 19th-century chandeliers, brass sconces, and a white marble central staircase.”
“I pray to God I can stay,” Fisher told the Daily News.
“Epstein is described in the story as a “Palm Beach, Fla., financial advisor.”
“The incident is also briefly mentioned in Vicky Ward’s 2003 Vanity Fair profile of Epstein.
“The government’s complaint rested on its assertion that Epstein had not received permission before installing Fisher as the subtenant, and its grievance with Epstein was only intensified by his charging Fisher $20,000 a month for the rent when State was charging $15,000 — netting Epstein a monthly profit.”
For some time, the names Clinton and Epstein have been used co-terminously for the last few years, and will good reason. The flight logged of the famed “Lolita Express” should be a to do list for the FBI for their, let’s call it, unforgiving attention.
For now, there is a mountain of potential evidence that is currently on offer and there seems to be more of it trickling in every day.
