Former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified Thursday before the House Oversight Committee regarding the connections she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, had to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein’s crimes, death and the files associated with him were put back under the spotlight after President Donald Trump retook office and promised to release the millions of documents related to Epstein.
Clinton was called to testify before the committee, but chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., refused her and her husband’s demands for it to be streamed publicly. Clinton ultimately gave a six-hour deposition before lawmakers on Thursday at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center in New York. The former president testified Friday.
Here’s what we know about their testimony:
What Hillary Clinton said before and after her deposition
Hillary Clinton released her opening statement before addressing the lawmakers.
“The Committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Let me be as clear as I can. I do not,” she said.
Following her multihour deposition, Clinton spoke with the media and said she answered every question the lawmakers had “as fully as I could based on what I knew.”
She claimed she didn’t know Epstein.
“I don’t know how many times I had to say I did not know Jeffrey Epstein. I never went to his island, I never went to his home, I never went to his offices. So it’s on the record numerous times,” Clinton said.
While Clinton was critical of Comer’s decision not to hold the hearing publicly, she commended him for “raising a series of significant questions” about where she thought the investigation should head next.
She also spoke about why Ghislaine Maxwell attended her daughter Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. “She came as the plus one, the guest of someone who was invited,” Clinton said. She did not identify who the guest was that brought Maxwell to the 2010 wedding.
In 2022, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in the sexual abuse and exploitation of multiple minor girls by Epstein.
The former first lady was also asked about her husband’s involvement with Epstein, as photographs have circulated for years showing Bill Clinton with Epstein and with women connected to Epstein. More information about Clinton and Epstein were released with the latest batch of files.
Hillary Clinton said that she thinks its fair to say that “the vast majority of people who had contact with (Epstein) before his criminal please in ‘08 were like most people.”
“They did not know what he was doing and I think that is exactly what my husband will testify to,” Clinton said.
Democrats call on Trump to testify, GOP said bipartisan support for Hillary’s deposition
Republican members of the committee said there was bipartisan demand for the former secretary to share what she knows about Epstein. Comer, along with other House Republicans, said they were focused on looking at Epstein’s wealth.
“This isn’t a partisan witch hunt,” Comer said. “This was a motion, a bipartisan motion supported by the Democrats, to bring the Clintons in.”
Comer noted that the committee hasn’t accused Hillary Clinton of wrongdoing but noted Epstein’s support for the Clinton Global Initiative and Clinton Foundation.
Comer said it took “seven months” to get the Clintons deposed.
“But we’ve got them in here and we look forward to asking lots of questions,” he said.
Ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., and other Democrats on the committee called on their Republican colleagues to release the transcript of Clinton’s deposition, saying the public deserves to hear what she had to say.
The committee is expected to release videos of the depositions at a later date.
“Just want to begin by clarifying and putting emphasis on something that’s very important, and something the secretary herself has said. Secretary Clinton never met Jeffrey Epstein,” he said. “What we also want to say at this very moment is it’s becoming more clear every single day, is the questions continue to build around this (Department of Justice) and the White House and the focus of the majority, we want to understand right now where the missing FBI files are.”
Garcia’s remarks come after reports indicate that the Department of Justice hadn’t released all documents involving uncorroborated accusations made by several woman against Trump. The department said that it was looking into whether it improperly withheld the documents. Democrats also called on the committee to speak with those named in the files, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
President Clinton takes the stand Friday
Former president Bill Clinton released a statement early Friday ahead of his deposition with the committee. He said he never would have flown on Epstein’s plane had he had “any inkling” of what the late financier was doing.
Clinton said his “brief acquaintance” with Epstein ended years before his crimes came to light and he never witnessed anything criminal during their “limited interactions.” However, Clinton said he was before the lawmakers “to offer what little I know so that it might prevent anything like this from ever happening again.”
Maxwell told U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last year that she did not see any criminal activity by Trump or Clinton and that Clinton was “my friend, not Epstein’s friend.”
Clinton was among several high-ranking officials, including an Obama administration official, Bill Gates and former Prince Andrew named in the several batches of files. Clinton was in several photographs aboard Epstein’s plane, pictured with a woman or girl whose face was redacted. There were other photos, including him with Epstein and in a pool.
It is unclear if the former president will address the public after his deposition Friday.
Comer last month argued that Clinton’s testimony is “critical to understanding Epstein’s sex trafficking network and the ways he sought to curry favor.” On Friday, he acknowledged the frustration about people not being held accountable for their relationships with Epstein.
“Today, we hope to be able to do as we did yesterday and continue to bring some of the most powerful people in the world to answer questions,” he said. “Again, no one’s accusing anyone of any wrongdoing, but I think the American people have a lot of questions.”
He noted that everyone has seen the photos of Clinton with Epstein and on his plane, as well as email correspondence.
“We know President Clinton had, and Secretary Clinton confirmed this yesterday, Jeffrey Epstein was in the White House 17 times while Bill Clinton was president. We know that Bill Clinton flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane at least 27 times. So those are questions that we’re going to ask,” Comer said.
Part of the way through the lawmakers’ questioning of the former president, the separate parties addressed the media. Comer, who went first, said he wanted to note Trump’s role in the files, especially in regard to Clinton.
“Ranking Member Garcia asked President Clinton ‘should President Trump be called to answer questions for this committee?’ And President Clinton said that’s for you to decide,” Comer said. “And then the president went on to say that President Trump has never said anything to me to make me think he was involved (with Epstein).”
The Democrats, who addressed the press shortly after, refuted that statement and argued that what Comer said Clinton said was misleading, again pointing to the need for a transcript of the deposition to be released.
Trump, leaving the White House for a state visit, was asked about Clinton’s ongoing deposition.
“I don’t like seeing him deposed, but you know, they certainly went after me a lot more than that,” Trump said. “I like him and I don’t like seeing him deposed.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.