Douglas “Doug” Band, a 1995 UF alumnus and member of UF’s presidential search advisory committee, is referenced in nine documents, transcripts and email chains related to the cases of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell released in the time since Epstein’s arrest in 2019.
The documents reveal that from 2002 to 2006, Band was purchased an expensive watch as a Christmas gift from Epstein and Maxwell, asked Maxwell to use her plane to watch the Gators play in the 2006 NCAA men’s basketball finals, took over 35 flights with them and received an invitation from Maxwell to a dinner with a “sluty Spanish girl.”
Epstein was a convicted sex offender and multimillionaire known for his connections to high-profile politicians and celebrities. He died in prison in 2019 after being convicted for sex trafficking of minors. His longtime accomplice, Maxwell, was sentenced to 20 years for her role in their crimes.
Beginning Dec. 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice released several batches of files pertaining to Epstein’s prosecution as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Over 2 million additional documents are still under review.
Band worked for former President Bill Clinton in various positions beginning in 1998 after graduating from UF, according to his LinkedIn. He parted ways with the administration in 2011 to focus on his global advisory firm, Teneo Holdings.
In December 2025, the university announced his appointment to the presidential search advisory committee by the UF Board of Trustees. Though the announcement came three days before the DOJ file release, three of the documents linking Band to Epstein were publicly available before that time.
The UF Board of Trustees did not respond to a request for comment after two phone calls and one email over the span of two weeks. The board’s chair, Morteza “Mori” Hosseini, also did not respond to an email sent Jan. 15.
Band previously served on the UF Foundation’s national board, nominating committee, board of directors and the student affairs development advisory board, according to the UF Alumni Association.
The university has reviewed the documents concerning Band and decided no actions against him need to be taken, UF spokesperson Steve Orlando told The Alligator.
“Mr. Band served as a committee member for the two most recent presidential searches and, throughout both processes, demonstrated a deep commitment to the university and finding an individual that best fit the university’s approved presidential qualifications and criteria,” the statement said.
Band did not respond to requests for comment on his relationship with Epstein. A message sent to an email address believed to be associated with him was not returned. On Jan. 10, an intermediary close to him said Band would not respond to requests for comment.
The emails and documents show Band interacted with Epstein and Maxwell from 2002 to at least 2006, the same years Epstein enticed and recruited dozens of minor girls to visit his mansion. The extent of Band’s relationship with the two remains unknown.
In a 2016 deposition, Maxwell described her relationship with Band as a friendship. The deposition was originally released by the Washington Post with Band’s name redacted in 2020 but was later released in full by Newsweek in 2024.
Many of the documents linking Band to Epstein and Maxwell involve their mutual connections to former President Bill Clinton. Band is often described as the “key architect” of Clinton’s post-presidency activities, including on his UF Alumni Association profile. During that time period, he attempted to distance the Clintons from Epstein and Maxwell, he told Vanity Fair in a 2020 interview.
It’s unclear when the rift between Band and Maxwell formed. Emails between the two, obtained by Drop Site News, show Band was on good terms with Maxwell until at least 2006.
In an email to Band, released by the DOJ as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Maxwell invited Band to a dinner in New York and mentions the attendance of two “sluty” girls.
“Let me know when you next go to Europe as I do have some interesting and fun friends that you could hook up with,” she wrote to Band.
Maxwell signed the email, “Hopefully we will meet up again soon.”
It is unclear whether Band responded.
Emails from 2005 showed a discussion of a $35,000 Audemars Piguet watch Epstein and Maxwell wanted to give Band. According to the emails, Band did not want to accept the gift if it was from Epstein.
“If its bc he wants to buy me one then no can do,” Band wrote in the email to Maxwell discussing the watch.
On Dec. 21, 2005, Maxwell emailed Epstein to tell him she had made the purchase. Epstein told her to sign the note from both of them.
“Make sure he gets it for xmas,” Epstein wrote to Maxwell in the email.
It’s unclear if Band accepted the gift.
Band also asked to pay to use Maxwell’s airplane to travel last-minute to Indianapolis to watch the Gators play in the NCAA men’s basketball finals in April 2006, as commercial flights were unavailable, the emails show.
Maxwell offered to let him use one of her planes for free after consulting Epstein about it over email. Band declined and said he had already reserved another plane. Epstein advised Maxwell they should pay — or at least offer to pay — for his travel.
Flight logs released by the DOJ show Band took over 35 flights with Epstein and Maxwell from 2002 to 2005, including at least two in which the three were the only listed passengers on board.
In 2002 or 2003, Maxwell took a trip with Clinton and Band to South America, she said in a July 2025 interview released by the DOJ. The transcript of the interview shows Maxwell mentions Band four times. When the interviewer asked who invited her to go on the trip, she said “probably Doug Band.”
Another document claims Band asked Epstein to use his plane for Clinton’s post-presidency humanitarian tour of Africa in 2002, for which Epstein, Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker tagged along.
Band is now an adjunct professor at New York University and a member of Georgetown University’s Board of Regents, from which he graduated with a law degree in 2001.
Shaheen Shariff, a professor of education specializing in its intersection with the law at Canada’s McGill University, said UF has a responsibility to respond to a situation like this.
She said the influence or connections Band may continue to carry with people involved with Epstein and Maxwell could affect his selection of the university’s new president, and for that reason, it is important for him to step down from the advisory committee.
“It might be just safer for the university, for the protection of the students at the university, to ensure that he doesn’t recommend a principal who has also been involved,” Shariff said.
Ann Skeet, the senior director of leadership ethics at Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, said she worries Band’s association with Epstein and Maxwell and his association with UF will distract from the presidential search process, and that this aspect alone is enough of a reason for him to leave the committee.
“Ideally, he would identify that there are going to be questions about his background that are going to distract from the process of the search, and he would choose to resign,” she said.
People should ask themselves if Band is the best person to be sitting on a presidential search committee, she added.
Contact Alexa Ryan at aryan@alligator.org. Follow her on X @AlexaRyan_.
Alexa is a second-year journalism and international studies students serving as the Fall 2025 Criminal Justice beat reporter. She previously served as a copy editor. She spends her free time running, traveling, having movie nights and going on random side quests with friends.
