Hillary Clinton appearing for Epstein deposition before House committee
Washington — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is meeting with the House Oversight Committee on Thursday in New York, where she planned to tell lawmakers she had "no idea" about Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal activities.
"The Committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell," Clinton said in a prepared opening statement to the panel. "Let me be as clear as I can. I do not."
Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, agreed to testify behind closed doors and comply with a subpoena to avoid a vote in the House to hold them in contempt. The about-face marked a victory for Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the committee's Republican chairman. He denied the Clintons' requests to hold the questioning in public, but has indicated a public hearing is possible after the closed-door depositions. Thursday's testimony is being held at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center in Chappaqua, New York, where the Clintons live.
In her opening statement, Hillary Clinton claimed the committee's actions have been "designed to protect one political party and one public official, rather than to seek truth and justice for the victims and survivors," a reference to Republicans and President Trump. 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 cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers."
The former secretary of state said that if Republicans on the panel were serious, they would ask the president directly and under oath about Epstein. Mr. Trump's name appears thousands of times in the Epstein files released by the Justice Department. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Comer reiterated at a news conference ahead of the deposition Thursday that "no one's accusing, at this moment, the Clintons of wrongdoing."
"They're going to have due process," Comer said. "But we have a lot of questions."
Comer said that the committee is seeking to understand how Epstein accumulated his wealth, how he surrounded himself with powerful individuals and whether he was a government asset.
"These are the questions that we're going to ask over the next two days, and hopefully we'll be able to get some answers," he said.
The chairman said the committee would release the transcript and video of the deposition after they are reviewed and approved. He said he expects a "long deposition" Thursday, and an "even longer deposition" from the former president. His testimony is scheduled for Friday.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, said that Democrats are glad that the Clintons are willing to testify.
"Oversight Democrats, from day one we have said that we want to talk to anyone," Garcia said. "Whether that is a Democrat, a Republican, how much wealth they have, how powerful their position is, we want to talk to anyone."
Rep. James Walkinshaw, a Virginia Democrat who also serves on the committee, questioned the motivation for deposing the former secretary of state.
"There is no indication — zero, zip, zilch, nada — that Secretary Clinton had any knowledge of Epstein's crimes," he said. "My fear is we're here today as part of a political exercise, part of a long-running fever dream where Republicans want to lock up Secretary Clinton."
Neither Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing and both have called for the full release of the Epstein files.
In an interview with the BBC last week, Clinton accused Comer of holding firm on the in-person depositions to shift focus away from Mr. Trump's relationship with Epstein and his administration's handling of the Epstein files.
"I have very strong opinions about what it is they're hiding and who they are protecting," she said. "Why do they want to pull us into this? To divert attention from President Trump. This is not complicated."
In a sworn declaration submitted to the committee on Jan. 13, Hillary Clinton denied any "personal knowledge" of crimes committed by Epstein or his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. She also said she "never had any responsibility for or involvement with" the Justice Department's investigations into and prosecutions of Epstein and Maxwell during her two decades in public office or as a private citizen.
"I do not recall encountering Mr. Epstein, or any specific interactions with him," she said in her declaration, adding that Maxwell had a "personal relationship with a mutual friend," though she does "not recall the specifics of my interactions with her." In her prepared remarks to the committee Thursday, she reiterated that she did not recall ever encountering Epstein, while noting that she "never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices."
In the BBC interview, Hillary Clinton said she met Maxwell, who is serving a prison sentence on sex trafficking charges, "on a few occasions" through the Clinton Foundation.
Comer said in a statement Monday that the Clintons' testimony "is critical to understanding Epstein and Maxwell's sex trafficking network and the ways they sought to curry favor and influence to shield themselves from scrutiny."