Hillary Clinton told a congressional panel she “had no idea” about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, as she called for lawmakers to question President Donald Trump under oath about his past association with the late sex offender.
“I want to see the truth come out,” the ex-US secretary of state said after testifying behind closed doors for hours to a congressional committee investigating Epstein.
Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will testify on Friday.
The couple resisted the panel’s subpoena, dismissing it as politically motivated, before agreeing to testify as potential contempt-of-Congress proceedings loomed against them.
The Clintons and Trump deny wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
Clinton told reporters she was “disappointed” that the testimony was not made public after spending six hours on Thursday talking to members of the House Oversight Committee “so I wouldn’t have to be out here characterizing it for you.”
She also praised Chairman James Comer for listening to her concerns about the areas she believes should be investigated and for posing a number of important questions regarding the nature of the probe.
“I appreciated that. I want to see the truth come out, so that was a reassuring way to end a very long, repetitive deposition,” she said of Comer.
Bill Clinton has said he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and that he cut off ties with him two decades ago.
He said their contact arose in connection with his charity work after he left the presidency, and he has voiced regret that he was ever associated with the financier, who died in a New York City jail in 2019.
In advance of the hearing on Thursday in Chappaqua, New York, close to the Clinton residence, Hillary Clinton made available a copy of her opening remarks on X.
“I had no idea about their criminal activities,” Clinton said of Epstein and Maxwell.
The statement added, “I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes, or offices. I have nothing to add to that.”
In her statement, she also urged the House committee to call Trump in for direct questioning under oath on his name’s frequent appearance in the Epstein files.
The files are filled with references to the Clintons. Being listed among the millions of Justice Department records pertaining to the late sex offender does not imply any misconduct.
A picture that was leaked from inside the private meeting with US senators caused an unexpected halt to Hillary Clinton’s testimony on Thursday. The committee’s Democrats claimed that it was “completely against the rules” for a picture taken by Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert to be made public.
According to Boebert, she gave a conservative influencer a picture of Clinton taken inside the deposition room. It was taken before the deposition began, she informed the BBC.
Later, Clinton said her team paused the meeting because of Boebert’s conduct to make sure lawmakers wouldn’t break any additional regulations.
Democrats on the committee vigorously defended the former secretary of state to reporters outside during a mid-deposition update.
The MPs suggested that the hearings had been pointless and that no new information had been discovered, but they did not disclose the questions that Clinton had been asked thus far.
Congressman Robert Garcia, the leading Democrat on the committee, was hesitant to provide specifics as a number of reporters yelled questions about the mood in the room.
Within 24 hours, he stated, the public should have access to the complete, unaltered transcript of Hillary Clinton’s testimony. Additionally, he stated that “that needs to happen right now” for Trump to testify before the committee.
The hearings Thursday were described as a “very unserious clown show” by Arizona Democrat Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, who also accused Republicans of being more interested in obtaining pictures of Hillary Clinton than “actually getting to the truth and holding anyone accountable.”
In an interview with the BBC last week in Berlin, Germany, Hillary Clinton stated of her forthcoming Epstein testimony: “We have nothing to hide.
“We have called for the full release of these files repeatedly. We think sunlight is the best disinfectant.”
She emphasized that she never met Epstein but did meet Maxwell “on a few occasions.” Maxwell attended the wedding of the couple’s daughter, Chelsea Clinton, in 2010 in New York.
A possible contempt vote in the House was imminent when the pair announced in recent weeks that they would testify, reversing their combative stance.
A few Democratic committee members supported the start of contempt proceedings.
Comer’s handling of the probe has been accused by the Clintons of “partisan politics” in the past. “Nothing more than a ploy to attempt to embarrass political rivals, as President Trump has directed,” they said of the court summonses.
They maintained that all of the “limited information” they knew about Epstein had already been included in sworn affidavits that they had previously filed.
Bill Clinton’s spokeswoman stated that they “look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone” and would testify.
Comer, for his part, said that the attempt to get a deposition from both Clintons was a bipartisan effort to demonstrate that “no one is above the law.”
Comer added that although it was a “shame” that it took seven months to prepare, Hillary Clinton addressed most of their questions during her deposition on Thursday.
Comer stated that although many questions were posed, several committee members were dissatisfied with the responses.
“I don’t think it’s any type of being unfair in any way to the Clintons,” Comer previously said.
“They’ve never answered questions, unlike President Trump, who gets questioned every day by just about every one of you about his knowledge or involvement with Epstein.”
The Department of Justice has disclosed material discovered during federal investigations into Epstein’s activities, including texts and photographs of Bill Clinton that have been made public in phases.
More generally, the documents show how closely Epstein was associated with several prominent people, especially following his sex crime conviction.
The Clintons battled for their own testimony to be made public in order to prevent certain parts of their evidence from being leaked to the media, even though these depositions typically take place behind closed doors.
Following Hillary Clinton’s deposition, the committee’s Republican and Democratic members were scheduled to speak to reporters.
Bill Clinton’s much-awaited attendance on Friday would mark the first time since Gerald Ford’s 1983 testimony that a former US president has spoken before a legislative panel.
