Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told members of Congress on Thursday that she had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s or Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes, starting off two days of depositions that will also include former President Bill Clinton.
The closed-door deposition concluded Thursday after over six hours of questioning. “I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein,” Hillary Clinton said in an opening statement she shared on social media.
Clinton also said after her deposition that she was confident her husband did not know of Epstein’s crimes.
“I never went to his island, I never went to his homes, I never went to his offices,” she said after earlier accusing the panel of trying to “protect one public official” — US President Donald Trump.
The depositions in the Clintons’ hometown of Chappaqua come after months of tense back-and-forth between the former high-powered Democratic couple and the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee as it investigates convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Bill Clinton is scheduled to face questioning on Friday. It will be the first time that a former president has been forced to testify before Congress.
Closed-door hearing
The hearing was dramatically paused for a brief time after a photo of Clinton in the deposition was posted online, an apparent breach of the closed-door arrangement.
“We had agreed upon rules based on the fact it was going to be a closed hearing at their demand, and one of the members violated that rule, which was very upsetting,” Clinton said.
Democrats say the investigation is being weaponised to attack political opponents of Trump rather than to conduct legitimate oversight.
Trump and Bill Clinton feature prominently in the recently released trove of government documents related to Epstein, but said they broke any ties with the financier before his 2008 conviction in Florida as a sex offender.
The Clintons called for their depositions to be public but the committee insisted on questioning them behind closed doors, a move Bill Clinton denounced as akin to a “kangaroo court.”
Democrats have prioritised transparency around Epstein over defending the former leaders of their party. Several Democratic lawmakers joined with Republicans on the Oversight panel to advance the contempt of Congress charges against the Clintons last month.
Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight panel, also called on Trump to testify in the investigation. He argued that Bill Clinton’s appearance sets a precedent that should apply to Trump as well.
“Let’s get President Trump in front of our committee to answer the questions that are being asked across this country from survivors,” Garcia said.
Oversight panel chairman James Comer previously said that the committee can’t depose Trump because he is a sitting president.
Bill Clinton a top target of Republican accusations
Bill Clinton has emerged as a top target for Republicans amid the political struggle over who receives the most scrutiny for their ties to Epstein.
Comer said “the purpose of the whole investigation is to try to understand many things about Epstein”
“There were a lot of questions that we asked that we weren’t satisfied with the answers that we that we got,” he added after the deposition concluded.
Bill Clinton has acknowledged flying on Epstein’s plane several times in the early 2000s for Clinton Foundation-related humanitarian work, but said he never visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island.
Comer said at the conclusion of Hillary’s appearance that “we have a lot of questions for her husband tomorrow.”
The committee’s investigation has also sought to understand why the Department of Justice under previous presidential administrations did not seek further charges against Epstein following a 2008 arrangement in which he pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl but avoided federal charges.
Additional sources • AP, AFP
