Bill Richardson

Bill Richardson (1947–2023) was a U.S. Democratic politician with a long career in public service. He represented New Mexico’s 3rd congressional district from 1983 to 1997, served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1997 to 1998, as U.S. Secretary of Energy from 1998 to 2001, and as the 30th Governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. He died on September 1, 2023.

Richardson’s name appears in records connected to Jeffrey Epstein. According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice show that Richardson arranged to meet with Epstein on several occasions in the years after Epstein’s 2006 Florida conviction, with contacts documented as late as 2018. The same reporting notes that Richardson returned, by donating to charity, campaign contributions Epstein had made to his gubernatorial campaigns.

Court documents unsealed in August 2019 — part of a settled defamation lawsuit between Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell — included Richardson’s name among individuals Giuffre alleged in a 2016 deposition that she was directed to have contact with. As CBS News reported, Richardson denied the allegations, issuing a statement that called them “completely false” and stating that he had “never met Ms. Giuffre.” According to reporting on the released files, his attorney said federal prosecutors had informed them that Richardson was “neither a target, subject, nor witness” in their investigation. Richardson was never charged in connection with Epstein.

Is Bill Richardson in the Epstein files?

Yes. Bill Richardson, the former New Mexico governor and U.S. Energy Secretary, is named in documents connected to Jeffrey Epstein. Court records unsealed in August 2019 included his name in connection with allegations made by Virginia Giuffre, which Richardson denied as “completely false,” saying he had never met her (CBS News). Separately, DOJ records reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican document that he arranged to meet Epstein several times in the years after Epstein’s 2006 conviction. Richardson was never charged. Being named in these documents is not evidence of any crime or wrongdoing; people appear in such records in many contexts, and Richardson denied the allegations against him.

Documents

Primary-source records that name or reference Bill Richardson. Inclusion in these documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; Richardson denied the allegations against him, said he had never met Virginia Giuffre, and was never charged.

• Giuffre v. Maxwell — unsealed court records (Jan. 2024) — Richardson is named repeatedly in records unsealed in this civil case (U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y., No. 1:15-cv-07433). Virginia Giuffre’s deposition alleges Maxwell directed her to give him a massage, and his name appears among individuals she identified; Maxwell’s defense witness list also names him, stating he “may have knowledge concerning Plaintiff’s false claims.” (Many of these same allegations were first unsealed in August 2019.)