Washington: Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told lawmakers that she had no information about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and did not recall ever meeting the disgraced financier, as she sat for a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
“I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes, or offices,” Clinton said in prepared remarks shared ahead of her testimony.
Clinton appeared under subpoena as part of the Republican-led panel’s probe into the federal government’s handling of investigations into Epstein, who died in custody in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking, and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, now serving a federal prison sentence.
In her opening statement, Clinton sharply criticised the investigation. She accused the committee of compelling her testimony “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 added that the inquiry was “designed to protect one political party and one public official, rather than to seek truth and justice for the victims and survivors.”
Clinton said she did not recall ever encountering Epstein and repeated that she had “nothing to add” beyond her sworn declaration in January.
The deposition briefly descended into controversy when a photograph from inside the closed-door session was leaked and posted online. House rules prohibit taking photographs during such proceedings. Clinton later described the leak as “very upsetting, because it suggested that they might violate other terms of our agreements.”
She also characterised the questioning as repetitive. “I don’t know how many times I had to say I did not know Jeffrey Epstein,” she told reporters after the session. “It’s on the record numerous times.”
Representative James R. Comer, the Republican chairman of the committee, defended the probe. “This isn’t a partisan witch hunt,” Comer said ahead of the deposition, noting that Democrats had voted in favour of holding the Clintons in contempt of Congress after they initially resisted appearing.
Comer said Republicans were not satisfied with some of Clinton’s responses and would pursue further questioning when former President Bill Clinton testifies on Friday.
Democrats on the panel pushed back strongly. “We are sitting through an incredibly unserious clown show of a deposition,” said Representative Yassamin Ansari. Representative Robert Garcia said Clinton had “zero knowledge of any wrongdoing.”
Clinton urged the committee to focus on the release of files and to call those more directly connected to the case. “You have made little effort to call the people who show up most prominently in the Epstein files,” she said.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats said they would seek to preserve Justice Department records related to the handling of Epstein files and review unredacted material. “Democrats are going to hold Pam Bondi and everyone involved at the DOJ accountable for this cover-up,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said.
Epstein, a financier with ties to political and business elites, pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges related to procuring a minor for prostitution and later faced federal sex-trafficking charges in 2019. He died in a New York jail while awaiting trial.
The case has triggered years of legal scrutiny and public demands for transparency. Files released under a bipartisan transparency law have included photographs and references to high-profile figures, though being mentioned does not indicate wrongdoing.
(IANS)
