Men We Love

It bothered me. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee in connection with its investigation into the Epstein files, along with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, over his past associations with Jeffrey Epstein. Both ultimately agreed to appear for closed-door depositions before the committee.

Kāʻanapali, Maui. February/March 2026

Her connection to Jeffrey Epstein appears, at least publicly, to be no little more than a grey dotted line, loosely drawn by association. There has been no public reporting that she traveled on his planes or stayed in his homes. Former President Bill Clinton, by contrast, has acknowledged flying on Epstein’s plane during travel connected to his foundation.

Yet the committee insisted on her presence at the closed-door deposition.

Meanwhile, Melania Trump—who had appeared in social circles that overlapped with Epstein and Donald Trump in New York and Palm Beach during the same era—has not been subpoenaed by House Oversight.

Is it just me that smells something rotten?

On my flight from Maui to Los Angeles, I listened to Vanity Fair’s interview with Bianca Censori. Her public appearances—nude or nearly nude—have fueled speculation that she is being controlled or manipulated by her husband, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, now Ye. I had to listen to the interview twice; I fell asleep the first time.

What stayed with me was the ending: Ye appearing ready to overshadow the interview with his own presence, and Censori accepting it as part of his artistic vision. I drifted off again.

With about an hour left in the flight, my thoughts drifted to another woman whose life had long been interpreted through the behavior of her husband: Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Accusations, allegations, and rumors surrounding Bill Clinton have included women such as Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broaddrick, and Elizabeth Ward Gracen. And then there was Monica Lewinsky.

I remember when the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke. Hillary Clinton went on the Today Show and defended her husband during the early days of the controversy. It was a big moment in the media cycle at the time. She stood by her man. She believed Bill. He said he had not had an affair with Monica Lewinsky and insisted he would not lie. Later, he publicly acknowledged an inappropriate relationship with her.

People whispered about divorce. Some criticized her for standing by her man. I don’t think she stood by him. I think she stood by Chelsea, a teenager at the time. How do you divorce the President of the United States and do so as privately as possible to shield your child from all the dirty laundry?

She has been accused of staying with him for her own political ambition. I think her instinct to protect her child kept her from divorcing Bill. As time passed, the pain from those wounds may have dulled.

Perhaps their lives together drifted toward each other rather than apart.

Is that how Usha Bala Chilukuri Vance feels about her marriage to the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance?

Did you know that she clerked for both Justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh? When her husband was named as the vice-presidential nominee on Donald Trump’s ticket, she resigned from Munger, Tolles & Olson. She paused her career for a man whose political platform can only be described as hostility toward minorities. Is she not aware that she is Indian American?

I thought her silence might be for their three children—until they announced they are expecting a fourth child. Does she love him? How does she reconcile what he stands for, what he says about minorities and immigrants, with what she is? How does she explain it to her children?

Can she explain it all as love?

Can we accept that the men we love are not reflections of who we are?

___

More essays:

Are We Ready for the Truth? I’m Fat.

At the Intersection of Law & Humanity: Immigrants

Don't Bend It Like The Beckhams

Six Trash Bags to Clarity

Chaos Among Serendipity

ESSAYS | RECIPES | STYLES | IG

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