Former President Bill Clinton insisted he did nothing wrong as he sat for a closed-door deposition Friday before the House Oversight Committee, which is examining matters related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Clinton, in an opening statement, said he had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct and denied witnessing any behavior that would have raised concerns during their interactions.
“I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,” Clinton said, adding that he had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing.
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The former president is named and pictured numerous times in documents released by the Justice Department as part of its review of materials related to Epstein. Being named or pictured in the files is not, by itself, an indication of wrongdoing.
Clinton acknowledged that he had a relationship with Epstein but said it ended before Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea on state prostitution-related charges in Florida. He said that by the time Epstein’s crimes came to light, he had long stopped associating with him.
"Even with 20/20 hindsight, I saw nothing that ever gave me pause," the former president said. "We are only here because he hid it from everyone so well for so long."
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The deposition comes a day after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also testified before the committee. Bill Clinton criticized the panel for subpoenaing his wife, saying she “had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein.”
Hillary Clinton said she told the panel that she didn't know Epstein.
"I never went to his island. I never went to his homes. I never went to his offices, so it's on the record numerous times," she said.
The Republican-led committee has been reviewing records and testimony related to Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. The inquiry is separate from the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law that required the Justice Department to release millions of investigative documents.
Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking charges and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
