Hillary Clinton testifies that she had no information about Epstein’s crimes and could not recall meeting him

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told U.S. House lawmakers on Thursday that she had no knowledge of the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell at the start of two days of depositions that will also include former President Bill Clinton.

“I had no idea of ​​their criminal activities. I do not recall ever meeting Mr. Epstein,” Hillary Clinton said in an opening statement she shared on social media.

Read more: Bill and Hillary Clinton are preparing for another battle in Washington

The closed-door depositions in Chappaqua, the Clinton family’s hometown, a sleepy hamlet north of New York City, come after months of back-and-forth between the powerful former Democratic couple and the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee. This will be the first time a former president has been forced to testify before Congress.

However, the demand for accountability for Epstein’s abuse of underage girls has become an almost unstoppable force on Capitol Hill and beyond.

President Donald Trump, a Republican who has expressed remorse for forcing the Clintons to testify, last year gave in to pressure to release the files on the case of Epstein, who committed suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. The Clintons also agreed to testify after the Oversight Committee rejected their offers to testify, and its chairman, Rep. James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, threatened criminal contempt on congressional charges against them.

“We have a very clear record that we were willing to talk about,” Hillary Clinton said in an interview with the BBC earlier this month. She added that her husband traveled with Epstein on charity trips and that she did not remember meeting Epstein, but she interacted with Maxwell, Epstein’s former friend and confidant, at conferences hosted by the Clinton Foundation.

Maxwell, a British socialite, also attended their daughter Chelsea Clinton’s wedding in 2010.

“We are very happy to say what we know, which is very limited and has absolutely nothing to do with their behavior or their crimes, and we want to do that publicly,” Hillary Clinton said.

Read more: Hillary Clinton calls for a public hearing in the House investigation into Epstein

However, Bill Clinton has emerged as a prime target for Republicans amid the political fight over who receives the most scrutiny over his ties to Epstein. Several photos of the former president were included in the first batch of Epstein files released by the Justice Department in January, including a number of photos of him with women whose faces were obscured. Clinton has not been accused of any wrongdoing in his relationship with Epstein.

Coomer also pointed to Hillary Clinton’s work as Secretary of State to address sex trafficking as another reason to insist on her testimony. The committee’s investigation sought to understand why the Justice Department under previous presidential administrations did not seek further charges against Epstein after a 2008 plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl but avoided federal charges.

However, conspiracy theories, especially on the right, have swirled for years about Clinton’s family and her ties to Epstein and Maxwell, who say she was wrongly convicted. Republicans have long wanted to press the Clintons for answers.

“I mean, if you were Bill Clinton’s wife, wouldn’t you have some questions about your husband’s activities?” said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the House Oversight Committee. “We just go where the facts take us. We didn’t put the president and the secretary in that position. They put themselves in it.”

Democrats, now led by a new generation of politicians, have prioritized transparency about Epstein over defending their party’s former leaders. A number of Democratic lawmakers joined Republicans on the oversight committee to press ahead with contempt of Congress charges against the Clinton family last month. Many of them said they had no connection to the Clintons and had no loyalty to them.

Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said Republican and Democratic administrations alike “have failed survivors by not releasing more information to the public.” He also said he wanted to ask about Epstein’s possible ties to foreign governments.

Democrats are also making an effort this week to confront Trump over his administration’s handling of the Epstein files by having women survivors of Epstein’s abuse as their guests at Trump’s State of the Union address. Even top Democrats, such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, have said it is appropriate for the committee to interview anyone, including the former president, who was connected to Epstein.

“We want to hear from everyone,” Pelosi said, adding that she did not understand why the interview with Hillary Clinton was being conducted and that it was important to “believe survivors.”