Former US President Bill Clinton told members of Congress on Friday that he “did nothing wrong” in his past association with late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, insisting he was unaware of any criminal conduct during their acquaintance.
Facing hours of questioning over links dating back more than two decades, Clinton said he never witnessed any misconduct and had no knowledge of Epstein’s sexual abuse.
“I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,” Clinton said in an opening statement posted on social media at the outset of the deposition.
Historic Congressional Deposition in New York
The closed-door testimony, held in Chappaqua, New York, marked the first time a former US president has been required to give evidence before Congress. The session came just one day after his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, appeared for her own deposition.
In prepared remarks submitted to the House Oversight Committee, Clinton said he would never have boarded Epstein’s plane had he known about the alleged trafficking of underage girls. If he had been aware, he added, he would have reported him.
“We are only here because he hid it from everyone so well for so long,” Clinton said.
He described his connection to Epstein as a “brief acquaintance” that ended years before the financier’s crimes became public. “I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing,” he told lawmakers.
Lawmakers Signal Broader Scrutiny
The deposition unfolded under the leadership of James Comer, the Republican chair of the House panel investigating matters related to Epstein. Ahead of Clinton’s testimony, Comer said he was keen to “ask lots of questions”.
Democratic members of the committee, meanwhile, renewed calls for current US President Donald Trump to be questioned as well.
Clinton did not refer to Trump by name in his statement, but stressed that “no person is above the law, even presidents, especially presidents.”
Hillary Clinton Says She Knew Nothing of Offences
A day earlier, Hillary Clinton told lawmakers she had no knowledge of criminal activity involving Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
“I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr Epstein,” she said in an opening statement shared on social media.
Her private deposition reportedly lasted more than six hours, during which she answered every question put to her.
She also accused the Republican-led panel of attempting to deflect scrutiny from Trump’s links to Epstein.
“This institutional failure is designed to protect one political party and one public official, rather than to seek truth and justice for the victims and survivors, as well as the public who also want to get to the bottom of this matter,” she said. “My heart breaks for the survivors. And I am furious on their behalf.”
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