Former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has concluded hours of closed-door testimony before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, insisting she did not know about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and calling for President Donald Trump to testify under oath about his own past association with the late financier.
Speaking to reporters after a six-and-a-half-hour deposition in Chappaqua, New York, Clinton said she had “answered every one of their questions as fully as I could based on what I knew,” repeatedly maintaining that she did not know Epstein and had no information about his criminal activities.
“I don’t know how many times I had to say, ‘I did not know Jeffrey Epstein,’” she said, adding in her opening statement that she did not recall ever meeting him, flying on his plane, or visiting his properties.
Clinton also addressed her limited connection to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, who was convicted in connection with his sex-trafficking operation.
She described Maxwell as a casual acquaintance who once attended her daughter’s 2010 wedding as a guest of another invitee.
The deposition is part of the committee’s investigation into Epstein’s crimes, his 2019 death in a New York jail, and broader questions surrounding federal handling of the case.
Clinton used her opening statement to accuse Republicans of engaging in “partisan political theater” and pressed lawmakers to question Trump directly, citing his name’s appearance in documents related to the Epstein investigation.
She stressed that appearing in the millions of Justice Department files tied to Epstein does not imply wrongdoing.
Proceedings were briefly paused after a photograph taken inside the closed-door session was shared publicly by conservative podcaster Benny Johnson.
Democrats on the committee said the image, which Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert acknowledged sending before the deposition began, violated House rules. Clinton later described the leak as “very upsetting.”
Democratic lawmakers strongly defended the former secretary of state.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the panel’s top Democrat, said Clinton was cooperating “in full faith and in good faith” and called for the full transcript or video of the deposition to be released within 24 hours.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari described the proceedings as an “unserious clown show,” accusing Republicans of prioritizing photo opportunities over substantive questioning.
Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican, said the deposition was “productive” and that members “learned a lot,” adding that Clinton at times referred questions about Epstein to her husband.
Bill Clinton to Testify on Friday
Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to testify before the panel on Friday.
He has previously acknowledged traveling on Epstein’s private plane multiple times in the early 2000s but denies any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s crimes, saying he cut ties with him years before Epstein’s 2019 arrest.
Bill Clinton has never been charged with wrongdoing related to the case.
The Clintons initially resisted the committee’s subpoenas, calling the probe politically motivated, but agreed to testify as potential contempt-of-Congress proceedings loomed. Both have denied any wrongdoing.
Hillary Clinton said some lines of questioning during the deposition were “quite unusual,” including inquiries about UFOs and “Pizzagate,” a debunked conspiracy theory that circulated during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Survivors of Epstein’s abuse and their attorneys have said it is important for prominent figures connected to Epstein to cooperate with congressional investigators, while emphasizing that a person’s appearance in investigative files does not in itself indicate criminal conduct.
The committee has indicated it will seek to release video of the deposition, as scrutiny intensifies over the scope and direction of its high-profile inquiry.
