<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



An allegation that former President Bill Clinton “threatened” Vanity Fair magazine to kill articles about sex trafficking allegations involving Jeffrey Epstein highlighted a second tranche of unsealed documents released Thursday, a day after he was named alongside figures like Prince Andrew, law professor Alan Dershowitz and magician David Copperfield as associates of the late convicted sex offender (all listed have denied any suggestion of wrongdoing).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



The unsealed names mentioned in the initial tranche of documents Wednesday included&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/01/03/first-epstein-names-unsealed-here-are-the-biggest-takeaways/?sh=6772cb58161b">prominent figures</a>&nbsp;like Clinton, Dershowitz, Prince Andrew and Copperfield—all of whom have denied wrongdoing in their associations with Epstein.



The following mentions are from documents unsealed Thursday, which previously had much information, including the names of Epstein’s alleged victims and associates, redacted.



Former President Bill Clinton: “When I was doing some research into [Vanity Fair] yesterday, it does concern me what they could want to write about me considering that B.Clinton walked into [Vanity Fair] and threatened them not to write sex-traffic[k]ing articles about his good friend J.E.” (Attachment 2, email sent by Virginia Giuffre to journalist and friend Sharon Churcher) Representatives for Clinton and Vanity Fair did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment, though Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair from 1992 to 2017, told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/04/business/jeffrey-epstein-documents-second-round/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNN</a> the incident “categorically did not happen.”



“Traveled with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and may have information about Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual trafficking conduct.” (Attachment 5, a witness request made by Giuffre in a disclosure)



Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson: “Has knowledge of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual trafficking conduct and interaction with underage minors.” (Attachment 5)



Prince Andrew: “Has knowledge of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual trafficking conduct and interaction with underage minors, including Virginia Giuffre.” (Attachment 5)



Lawyer Alan Dershowitz: “We all suspect Alan is a pedo and tho no proof of that, you probably met him when he was hanging [o]ut w [Jeffrey Epstein].” (Attachment 2, email sent by Churcher to Giuffre)



Jane Doe #3: &#8220;Epstein also trafficked Jane Doe #3 for sexual purposes to many other powerful men, including numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known Prime Minister, and other world leaders.&#8221; (Attachment 3, an excerpt from a joinder motion filed by Jane Doe #3 and Jane Doe #4 that does not go on to name the prominent figures).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CHIEF CRITIC</h2>



Though Clinton has publicly acknowledged his connection to Epstein and once praised the disgraced financier’s intellect, philanthropic endeavors and financial know-how, the former president has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/01/03/first-epstein-names-unsealed-here-are-the-biggest-takeaways/?sh=6772cb58161b">strongly denied</a>&nbsp;having a close relationship with him and having any knowledge of his crimes. Clinton has also rejected allegations from Giuffre that he visited Epstein’s private island. Dershowitz welcomed the initial tranche of files unsealed Wednesday and has insisted that the publication of the documents will prove he “<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/epstein-list-associates-alan-dershowitz-b2472637.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">did nothing wrong</a>.” The lawyer said that despite people possibly being “ashamed” about their connection to Epstein, the documents don’t indicate such people are guilty of anything beyond “having shown bad judgment.” Prince Andrew denies reports about a close relationship with Maxwell and has continuously denied allegations of abuse levied by Giuffre, claiming he had no memory of meeting her and targeting the authenticity of a photo of them said to be taken inside a home of Maxwell’s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



Giuffre in a disclosure also requested “All photos of Ghislaine Maxwell at Chelsea Clinton’s wedding.” (Attachment 5, one of several relevant documents requested by Giuffre)



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



The second round of names associated with Epstein were unsealed Thursday as part of a settled 2015 defamation case between alleged victim Giuffre and Epstein associate Maxwell. The first set of unsealed names&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/01/03/first-epstein-names-unsealed-here-are-the-biggest-takeaways/?sh=6772cb58161b">released Wednesday</a>&nbsp;also mentioned people such as Michael Jackson, former President Donald Trump, billionaire Highbridge Capital co-founder&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/glenn-dubin/">Glenn Dubin</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-pritzker/?sh=3c87942c3864">Thomas Pritzker</a>, the billionaire Pritzker heir and executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels. However, Clinton, Prince Andrew and Dershowitz were mentioned the most out of the prominent figures noted in the documents. In one attachment, Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg recalled a comment made by Epstein in which he said Clinton “likes them young.” Sjoberg’s deposition also included a recalling of a suggestive photo op with Giuffre and Prince Andrew where the Duke of York put one of his hands on her breast and the hand of a puppet caricature of himself on Giuffre&#8217;s breast. Giuffre sued Maxwell in 2015, accusing her of “public ridicule, contempt and disgrace” used to discredit Giuffre’s claims about Epstein.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/01/03/first-epstein-names-unsealed-here-are-the-biggest-takeaways/?sh=6772cb58161b">First Epstein Names Unsealed: Here Are The Biggest Takeaways</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2024/01/02/all-of-epsteins-associates-a-timeline-of-the-major-lawsuits-and-trials-they-have-faced/?sh=412440ee1aa7">All Of Epstein&#8217;s Associates: A Timeline Of The Major Lawsuits And Trials They Have Faced</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)

US-Britain-crime-justice-Epstein-Maxwell-assault

New Epstein Documents Unsealed: Bill Clinton ‘Threatened’ Vanity Fair Over Sex Trafficking Coverage, Email Alleges

It is a quarter of a century since the end of apartheid in South Africa. But it’s easy to forget how complex, difficult and violent the birth of full democracy really was. This was particularly true in KwaZulu-Natal, where battles between the African National Congress (ANC) and the mainly Zulu Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)&nbsp;<a href="https://csvr.org.za/docs/policeviolence/justicedenied.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">claimed the lives of as many as 20,000</a>&nbsp;in the decade between 1984 and 1994.



In the three months before the first elections in April 1994 an estimated 1 000 people&nbsp;<a href="https://csvr.org.za/docs/policeviolence/justicedenied.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">were killed</a>. The British and Americans were becoming increasingly concerned. The conflict between Inkatha and the ANC was just one crisis: another was developing with far right white extremists, who were threatening to resort to violence.



The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reported that there was an:



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">eight in 10 chance that violence will surge immediately before and during the election, when emotions are at their highest.</blockquote>



The agency also warned of the threat of a right wing coup, although it considered this “unlikely”. (This CIA report is available in hard copy only.)



As the situation grew increasingly tense, Britain’s Prime Minister John Major and the US’s President Bill Clinton became personally involved. Their interventions are shown in documents just released by&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">the UK National Archives</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284690/original/file-20190718-116539-n8y2tv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""/><figcaption>The cover page of the CIA document.&nbsp;Author provided</figcaption></figure>



The documents reveal just what a close-run thing the first truly democratic election was, and how much time and effort Britain and the USA spent ensuring that the voting went ahead.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Desperate times</h4>



Prime Minister Major took a phone call from Nelson Mandela on 22 February, in which the ANC leader described the situation as “very difficult.” Major briefed Mandela on a meeting between the British ambassador and the Inkatha leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi. He gave Mandela a full account of the conversation, which he warmly welcomed.



On 24 February there is the first indication of a joint Anglo-American mediation effort to resolve the crisis. This&nbsp;<a href="https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/15736.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">arose</a>&nbsp;during planning for a visit to Washington by Major three days later.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">Our starting point is that the situation has now deteriorated to the point where it seems very unlikely that left to themselves the South Africans will reach an agreement that will enable to participate in the elections. The consequences are likely to be very serious.</blockquote>



The British suggested that Major and Clinton might “offer their joint help to the transition process”.



The following day – having held discussions with Mandela, Buthelezi and President Frederik de Klerk – the British ambassador in Pretoria, Sir Anthony Reeve, was able to report that all three were prepared to go along with the Anglo-American initiative, although with some reservations. The ambassador concluded:



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">These responses do, I think, give us the green light to consult the Americans in detail on our thinking.</blockquote>



The proposal was discussed between Mandela and Buthelezi at a meeting on March 1 and both leaders agreed to “explore” the possibility of international mediation. Lord Carrington, who had negotiated the end of Rhodesia and its transition to Zimbabwe in 1980, was on a lecture tour of South Africa. He was approached by the ANC’s Thabo Mbeki who asked whether he might act as one of a panel of mediators.



Others suggested were US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Tanzanian head of state Julius Nyerere.



There followed intensive discussions between London and Washington, over how such mediation might work; indeed, Carrington and Kissinger travelled to South Africa. In the end a failure to agree on the terms of reference for the mediators, and South African government fears that the elections might be delayed, put paid to the plan.



It has been claimed the crisis – the most immediate was that Buthelezi was threatening to boycott the poll – was resolved by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="http://spas.ku.ac.ke/index.php/faculty/faculty-profiles/89-faculty/44-prof-john-okumu" target="_blank">surprising last minute mediation</a>&nbsp;by Kenyan Professor, John Okumu. Other Commonwealth envoys who had excellent contacts with both the ANC leadership and Buthelezi, including the late Ghanaian diplomat Moses Anafu, doubt this, arguing that forces that led Buthelezi into the election were&nbsp;<a href="https://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/6115/7/Moses_Anafu_Transcript_1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">much bigger</a>.



Indeed, Buthelezi’s brinkmanship had ensured key constitutional concessions. Okumu’s intervention seems then a face-saving device for the IFP leader. A joint statement was agreed between Mandela, Buthelezi and de Klerk on 19 April, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Govern_Political/ANC_18598.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">allowed the election to take place</a>&nbsp;just a week later (April 26-28).



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Close-run thing</h4>



It had been a close-run thing and South Africa’s first truly democratic election almost came to grief. But there were two more potential obstacles.



In the tense run-up to polling day, a&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="http://hurisa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Goldstone-Booklet.pdf" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;on the role of the apartheid state in stoking internal tension and violence was published. The Commission of Inquiry Regarding the Prevention of Public Violence and Intimidation, led by Justice Richard Goldstone had been established in 1991: its report was published on 21 April 1994. 



Judge Goldstone’s investigations revealed that sections of the South African Police had armed Inkatha, and pointed to attempts by senior police officers to&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="http://sabctrc.saha.org.za/reports/volume2/chapter7/subsection2.htm" target="_blank">subvert the work of his enquiry</a>.



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2018/12/07/in-pictures-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-gives-nelson-mandela-public-lecture/">IN PICTURES | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gives Nelson Mandela public lecture</a>



The charges were explosive and for a while the judge and his family were clearly at risk from white extremists. With de Klerk’s support and the knowledge of Mandela, Goldstone, his wife and a “key witness” (a former South African police officer) asked whether they might come to Britain. John Major agreed, and they were given temporary asylum and a safe house.



The second obstacle was the South African government’s clandestine chemical and biological weapons programme, known as&nbsp;<a href="http://www.unidir.org/files/publications/pdfs/project-coast-apartheid-s-chemical-and-biological-warfare-programme-296.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">“Project Coast.”</a>The British Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd, contacted Washington about the possibility of issuing a formal public protest unless President de Klerk publicly admitted his government’s involvement in the use of these weapons against ANC and Namibian prisoners.



The British had apparently intervened to prevent the&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/CSDS/Books/therollbackofsoafricachembio2.pdf" target="_blank">proliferation</a>&nbsp;of these weapons to other rogue states or terrorist groups. On April 11 the US and British ambassadors delivered their protest to President de Klerk – which apparently did the trick. 



There was an agreement that all the chemical and biological systems would be destroyed and one of the key South African experts, Wouter Basson, who had travelled to Libya on several occasions, was&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/wouter-basson/" target="_blank">subsequently prosecuted</a>.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Political triumph</h4>



The April 1994 election proved to be a watershed for South Africa. In technical terms, the election was a fiasco, but it was a political triumph, according to the Commonwealth’s leading election official,&nbsp;<a href="https://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/6121/1/Carl_Dundas_Transcript.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">Carl Dundass</a>. Inkatha’s surprising victory in Natal-KwaZulu strongly suggest Natal “horsetrading” involved overturning an actual ANC victory to manage anticipated post-election violence.



Despite all the violence, tension and drama the election ended apartheid and allowed Major to phone Mandela with his congratulations – a highly satisfactory conclusion to an intense period of international diplomacy.



-Sue Onslow; Reader, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study



-Martin Plaut; Senior Research Fellow, Horn of Africa and Southern Africa, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study



-The Conversation



<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120507/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

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Archive Documents Reveal The US And UK’s Role In The Dying Days Of Apartheid

Mo Ibrahim is rich, relaxed and a lot of fun. He sees humor in the leadership of Africa as he delivers his Nelson Mandela lecture. He compares Robert Mugabe to Bill Clinton and Barack Obama who both ran the world’s biggest economy in their 40s.
“Here we have somebody in our neighboring country, who, at 90 years old, is about to start a new term. So what is wrong with us? And the other day I was thinking, ‘If Obama senior decided to take the young Obama back to Kenya, where would the young Obama be today?’ You may guess, I know, he will never be president of Kenya,” says Ibrahim to laughter from the audience in Pretoria.
Ibrahim knows Africa like the back of his hand. He was born in Sudan in 1946, the second child in a family of five. He went to school and university in Alexandria, Egypt, where his father worked as a cotton trader. After university, Ibrahim went to work for the telecommunications department in Sudan. Following training and assignments abroad, he completed his Masters and Doctorate at the University of Birmingham, in England.
It led to an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of world telecommunications. Ibrahim joined British Telecom (BT) as a technical director when it won the first license for cellular technology. He designed the first mobile network in the United Kingdom.
Ibrahim left BT to start Mobile Systems International (MSI) and founded Celtel International, one of the first mobile phone networks in Africa, in 1998. At the time, people were scrambling for licenses everywhere but Africa. The general consensus was that Africa was too difficult.
“Wherever there is a gap between perception and reality, there’s a good business opportunity,” says Ibrahim.
He sold MSI in 2000. Celtel was sold in 2005 to MTC Kuwait for $3.4 billion, making him a reported $1.4 billion. At the time, the company had six million subscribers in 13 countries.
Ibrahim hails mobile technology as an African success story, but cautions that despite the continent having more mobile phones than Europe and the United States, it makes none of them. He says African nations should sign contracts with mobile companies forcing them to set up factories here and then transfer the skills.
The leadership that could bring this about has been honored with millions of dollars by the Ibrahim Foundation, launched in October 2006, to support good governance and great leadership in Africa. The foundation publishes an annual index on the quality of governance.
The Ibrahim Prize—of $5 million-a-year for 10 years—has been awarded a mere three times and goes only to former heads of state. In 2007, it went to former president of Mozambique Joachim Chissano; in 2008, Festus Mogae of Botswana; in 2011, Pedro Pires of Cape Verde.
Ibrahim says that it’s a prize for excellence that doesn’t come easy. He adds it is a prize and not a pension. Many do not agree with the idea, but Ibrahim challenges people to name three western leaders who could have won it in the last six years.
On the business front, Ibrahim is trying to channel investment through Satya Capital, of which he is chairman.
“Business is wonderful because business means prosperity, development and jobs,” says Ibrahim.
Good business that is. Ibrahim is disturbed by fellow African businessmen whom he believes are detached from society. A closer interaction is essential because, he says, business cannot succeed if society doesn’t thrive. He also thinks that the business world is too scared to rock the boat and hold government to account, forcing transparency and good governance.
Ibrahim is a proponent of integration. He feels that achieving a central market for Africa is essential, that the continent has yet to achieve this because of a lack of political will. According to Ibrahim, an African business plan must begin with integration and that Africa needs scale that allows the development of industries to compete with India, China, Brazil, the European Union and the United States.
“We cannot really build 54 successful small economies in Africa, it’s out of the question,” says Ibrahim.
“Only 11% of our trade is amongst Africans. We refuse to let our people travel from one country to another.”
Ibrahim says Africa needs infrastructure, roads and railways, power generation and broadband.
“Africa will not develop just by accident, people need to work and see what needs to be done and work together,” he says.
Then, there is youthunemployment.
“If you are a young African person, the more educated you are the more likely you are not to get a job. Our education system is not providing the skills for the job market. We need to rethink how our schools teach,” says Ibrahim in a speech to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), an organ of the United Nations.
“The future is theirs [the youth], they have a better understanding of the future than us. This continent belongs to its young people,” says Ibrahim.
Delivering the 11th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, Ibrahim posed a question whether young Africa can become the factory of the world when China has no youngsters to work in theirs, in 10 to 20 years time, because of the aging population.
What about the notion that China is taking over Africa? Ibrahim sees this as a healthy business relationship as long there is technological transfer, local sourcing of components, transparency, and respect for the environment and communities.
“Why are Africans poor when we have a rich continent?”
More money is lost from multinationals not paying tax, through what he calls ‘fancy accounting’, than gained from aid. He calls for a strengthening of tax institutions. Although the west has woken up to tax dodging, Africa slumbers.
Governance, according to Ibrahim, is about making difficult decisions and being judged on the numbers.
“Physics and numbers don’t lie, but people do,” he says.
Ibrahim says there is a dearth of leadership in Africa; that leadership is not about bossing people around, having a seat on the Security Council, or chairing the AU. It’s about engaging with others.
He says that the continent holds South Africa up as a role model, but that the country has become too arrogant and refuses to learn from other countries.
When the BEE policy was introduced in South Africa, Ibrahim asked his friends in the ruling party if this was not a slippery slope to corruption. He says that the policy has done nothing to keep South Africa from being at the bottom of the Gini Index scorecard, making it the most inequitable country in the world. He says there should be no “sacred cows”, including land reform. If something doesn’t work then policy makers should revisit it.
The 2013 Ibrahim Forum will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in November and will discuss where the continent is going after 50 years of the African Union. It will focus on achievements and those that got away.
Ibrahim doesn’t know where he gets his sense of purpose from, but he simply sees things that need to be done and does them. In the end, Ibrahim just wants to be remembered as a son of Africa that made it in the west and never forgot his people.

Tag: Bill Clinton

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

New Epstein Documents Unsealed: Bill Clinton ‘Threatened’ Vanity Fair Over Sex Trafficking Coverage, Email Alleges

Archive Documents Reveal The US And UK’s Role In The Dying Days Of Apartheid

The World According To Mo And Why An ObamaWill Never Lead Kenya