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)
Article Summary
- Former President Bill Clinton recently mentioned Gov. JB Pritzker in a deposition to Congress regarding sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, saying he thought he might have traveled on Epstein’s plan with Pritzker and his wife.
- The direct quote: “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.
- A spokesperson for Clinton quickly clarified the testimony, saying the former president was referring to a trip he took with Pritzker to Africa in 2008 for the Clinton Foundation, but it was not on Epstein’s plane and Epstein wasn’t present.
- Pritzker said Tuesday he has never had any association with Epstein and called Clinton “clearly mistaken.”
- Pritzker is a longtime friend of the Clintons and was a key supporter of both of Hillary Clinton’s campaigns for president.
- Pritzker’s cousin, Thomas Pritzker, has acknowledged documented ties to Epstein.
This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
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 Ureña 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.
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.
Read more: Illinois lawmakers call for governor-appointed Epstein investigatory commission
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.
