Bill Clinton told a House panel Friday in the first forced deposition of a former president that he had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, and held to his insistence that he ceased contact with the sex offender before those facts surfaced.
Even before the historic deposition was done, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee seized on it as precedent for seeking to question President Donald Trump about his own Epstein ties, while Republicans who control the panel sought to use Clinton’s testimony to absolve Trump.
“Though my brief acquaintance with Epstein ended years before his crimes came to light, and though I never witnessed during our limited interactions any indication of what was truly going on, I am here to offer what little I know so that it might prevent anything like this from ever happening again,” Clinton said, according to his opening statement posted on X as the closed-door deposition began.
Clinton’s deposition marked the first time a current or former U.S. president has been compelled to testify in a congressional investigation under subpoena. His wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, did the same on Thursday.
Both depositions, which were filmed, took place in Chappaqua, New York, where the couple lives. Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has said that the committee will release video and transcript of their testimonies.
Comer sought to question Bill Clinton about Epstein and Maxwell’s involvement in the Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Foundation, among other topics.
Members of the committee said after the 6-hour session that Clinton was candid.
“He did attempt to respond to every single question asked,” said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., “even when his attorney told him to shut up.”
During a break in the proceedings, several members of the committee told reporters that Trump was a point of discussion in the deposition. Trump had railed against the release of the Epstein files, repeatedly calling the controversy a hoax, before Congress forced his hand and he signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Clinton told the committee that Trump never said anything to him to make him think he was involved in Epstein’s sex trafficking, Comer told reporters. Ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., disputed his colleague’s characterization of Clinton’s remarks.
“I don’t think is a complete accurate description of what actually was said,” Garcia said. “So let’s release the full transcript.”
Bill Clinton is among the prominent men who appear in the Epstein files, including in photos alongside the convicted sex offender, his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, celebrities and several women whose faces were redacted.
The documents released by the Justice Department also show that Maxwell was involved in kicking off the Clinton Global Initiative years before Epstein was indicted for sex crimes in Florida in 2006.
Bill Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing. He has said he cut ties with Epstein prior to Epstein’s indictment and eventual conviction on state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution and soliciting prostitution with a minor.
The Clintons were first subpoenaed by Comer in August. Although they initially declined to comply, they ultimately agreed in early February to separately testify after the committee voted to advance contempt resolutions against them.
Both have expressed their disagreement with their depositions taking place behind closed doors.
The Kentucky Republican said he would be open to a public hearing with the Clintons later, if they want that.
Hillary Clinton has said she will not testify again.
Trump has called for the DOJ to investigate Bill Clinton. But he has since appeared to express some uncertainty about the committee’s investigation into the former president over Epstein.
“I don’t like seeing him deposed, but you know, they certainly went after me a lot more than them,” Trump told reporters Friday, referring to both Clintons. “Look, I like them. And I don’t like seeing them deposed.”
Trump has denied wrongdoing. But Democrats on the committee have pointed to the precedent set by Bill Clinton’s forced deposition in demanding that Trump be similarly deposed.
“If Oversight Republicans were serious about the Epstein investigation, they would be focusing on the fact the Department of Justice has been exposed for concealing Epstein documents that have to do with President Trump being accused of sexual abuse,” Garcia said in a statement Thursday. “It’s time to bring in President Trump for testimony under oath.”
