Jeffrey Epstein tried to lobby Bill Clinton to change US trade laws on behalf ... trends now
Jeffrey Epstein made his first connection with Bill Clinton by lobbying on behalf of his associate Les Wexner, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The late pedophile financier tried to change US trade laws in 1994 in an effort to save The Limited, Wexner's clothing company, $1.2billion.
But while those efforts did not succeed, Epstein made 17 visits to the Clinton White House and forged a bond with the then-president that would last more than a decade.
The purpose of those visits was unclear until newly released documents from the Clinton Presidential Library showed that Epstein appears to have been attempting to influence the drafting of US law.
Among the people Epstein visited was Robert Rubin, Clinton's director of the National Economic Council and later his Treasury Secretary.
Letters related to Epstein's work were put in a file by the Clinton White House marked 'Jeffrey Epstein' and handed over to the National Archives.
The file was obtained by DailyMail.com through a Freedom of Information request.
Jeffrey Epstein tried to lobby then-President Bill Clinton to change US trade laws in 1994 in an effort to save clothing company The Limited $1.2billion. Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Clinton are seen in 1993 at the White House
The Limited, whose brands include the lingerie chain Victoria's Secret, is owned by former Epstein associate Leslie Wexner
Clinton flew at least 26 times on the pedophile's jet - known as the 'Lolita Express' - and is pictured here with Ghislaine Maxwell
Clinton's relationship with Epstein was put back in the public spotlight last week after a journalist asked him about it at a rally in Texas ahead of the midterm elections.
Clinton brushed it off by saying the 'evidence is clear' and walked away in a clip which went viral.
The Epstein file from the Clinton White House consists of three pages of faxes that were sent to senior White House officials in the summer of 1994, a period which coincided with the peak of Epstein's visits to the White House.
Among the people Epstein visited was Robert Rubin, Clinton's director of the National Economic Council and later his Treasury Secretary. Rubin is pictured with Clinton
The first is dated August 1, 1994 and is from Claude Fontheim, a lobbyist who worked for The Limited, whose brands include the lingerie chain Victoria's Secret.
Fontheim objected to proposed changes that were being brought in under the Uruguay Round of international trade talks, which at the time was the biggest trade deal in history and paved the way for the creation of the World Trade Organization.
Fontheim said that changing the rule of origin laws about clothing - which determines where a garment originated from - had not been done 'fairly, openly and honestly' and accused the White House of trying to 'circumvent' normal procedures.
Without mentioning Epstein by name, the fax says that 'The Limited has now met with a range of Administration officials on this issue,' noting that the meetings had been 'very positive'.
But there were still some 'substantive arguments' that
