Hillary Clinton Testifies for Over Six Hours in Epstein Investigation
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified for more than six hours behind closed doors on Thursday before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee as part of its ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The deposition took place in the Clintons' hometown of Chappaqua, New York, following months of tense negotiations between the former Democratic power couple and the committee.
Clintons Initially Resisted Subpoena Before Agreeing to Testify
The Clintons had initially resisted the committee's subpoena, dismissing it as politically motivated, before agreeing to testify as potential contempt-of-Congress proceedings loomed against them. This marked the first time a former president has been forced to testify before Congress, with former President Bill Clinton scheduled to appear before the committee on Friday.
Hillary Clinton Denies Any Knowledge of Epstein Crimes
In an opening statement shared on social media, Hillary Clinton firmly denied any knowledge of the criminal activities of Epstein or Maxwell. "I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein," she stated emphatically.
She elaborated in her prepared remarks: "I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that." Clinton added, "Like every decent person, I have been horrified by what we have learned about their crimes."
During her testimony, Clinton expressed confidence that her husband knew nothing of Epstein's abuse of minors or other crimes. "I think the chronology of the connection that he had with Epstein ended years, several years, before anything about Epstein's criminal activities came to light," she explained after giving what she described as a "long and very repetitive" deposition.
Questioning Shifted to UFOs and Pizzagate Conspiracy Theory
After her deposition, Hillary Clinton revealed that the questioning took an unusual turn after she repeatedly told House Republicans she did not know Jeffrey Epstein. She described how the exchange became "quite unusual, because I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizzagate, one of the most vile, bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the internet."
The Pizzagate conspiracy theory emerged in 2016, built on false claims that members of Clinton's campaign team used coded emails to discuss child sex slaves allegedly held in the basement of Comet Ping Pong—a Washington, DC pizza restaurant that has no basement and no connection to child sex-trafficking. The theory was promoted by far-right supporters of Donald Trump until late 2016 when a man armed with an assault rifle entered the restaurant to "self-investigate" and fired a shot inside.
Clinton Accuses Committee of Political Distraction
Hillary Clinton accused the committee of targeting her to distract from Donald Trump's actions. "You have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump's actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers," she stated in her opening statement.
She called for the committee to question Trump directly under oath about "the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files." Trump was a one-time close friend of Epstein but has not been charged with any wrongdoing related to the disgraced financier, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
Clinton further accused the committee of an "institutional failure" designed to "protect one political party and one public official, rather than to seek truth and justice for the victims and survivors of Epstein."
Agreed Areas of Testimony and Committee Investigation Focus
The Clintons and members of the House Oversight Committee agreed to five specific topic areas for the depositions:
- Alleged mismanagement of the federal government's investigation into Epstein and Maxwell
- The circumstances and subsequent investigations of Epstein's 2019 death
- The ways the federal government could effectively combat sex-trafficking rings
- How Epstein and Maxwell sought to curry favor to protect their illegal activities
- Potential violations of ethics rules related to elected officials
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.
Deposition Disrupted by Social Media Photo Leak
The testimony was briefly halted after Representative Lauren Boebert shared a photograph of Hillary Clinton answering questions from inside the deposition room. The image was posted on social media by Benny Johnson, prompting Clinton's attorneys to immediately request a pause in proceedings, noting that she had been denied her request for a public hearing.
The deposition resumed approximately 30 minutes later. Representative Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., commented that the first hour of the deposition before the interruption had been an embarrassment to Republicans, turning up nothing of significance. "Secretary Clinton is puzzled as to why she's here answering questions," he said. "I'm trying to figure out what else to ask her. She doesn't know much."
Previous Connections and Social Interactions Resurface
Hillary Clinton has previously stated that her husband flew with Epstein for charitable trips but that she did not recall ever meeting Epstein personally. According to a CNN review, Bill Clinton traveled on Epstein's private plane at least 16 times and was pictured with women in a jacuzzi in files released by the US Department of Justice.
Several photos of the former president were included in the first tranche of Epstein files released in January, including numerous images of him with women whose faces were redacted. He was also pictured with Ghislaine Maxwell.
Hillary Clinton acknowledged that she had interacted with Maxwell at conferences hosted by the Clinton Foundation. Maxwell, a British socialite and Epstein's former girlfriend and confidant, also attended the 2010 wedding of the Clintons' daughter, Chelsea Clinton.
While exiting the event center where the deposition was held, Clinton told reporters that Maxwell had come to the wedding as a guest of someone else and that she had informed the committee she only knew Maxwell "as an acquaintance."
Epstein survivors and lawyers representing them have emphasized the importance of the Clintons testifying, particularly the former president, as lawmakers continue to examine the government's handling of the case.
