Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified that she has no new information regarding Jeffrey Epstein's criminal activities during a deposition before the House Oversight Committee on Thursday.
Why it matters: Bill and Hillary Clinton's depositions on Thursday and Friday mark the first time a former first couple has appeared before a congressional panel under subpoena.
- "I don't know how many times I had say I did not know Jeffrey Epstein. I never went to his island. I never went to his homes. I never went to his offices," Hillary Clinton told reporters following the deposition.
- "The American people have a lot of questions...The Clintons haven't answered very many, if any, questions about their knowledge or involvement with Epstein and [Ghislaine] Maxwell, " Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) told reporters Thursday morning before the deposition.
The latest: Clinton's deposition lasted roughly seven hours, and Comer called the meeting "productive."
- Clinton described the questioning from lawmakers as "very repetitive," and said questions towards the end of her testimony got "quite unusual." She told reporters that GOP lawmakers started asking her about UFOs and the "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory.
- Comer specifically said that "some of the comments" Clinton made at the end of her deposition about Epstein will be "interesting."
- Clinton also defended her husband's ties to Epstein, saying he did not know of Epstein's criminal activities.
What they're saying: "Today we are sitting through an incredibly unserious clown show of a deposition where members of Congress and the Republican Party are more concerned about getting their photo op of Secretary Clinton than actually getting to the truth," Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) said roughly two hours into the deposition.
- Ansari was referencing Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) sharing an unauthorized photo of Clinton during the deposition with conservative influencer Benny Johnson, a violation of House rules.
- House Oversight Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) told reporters that Thursday's deposition "sets a precedent," noting Democrats' demands to hear from President Trump as part of the panel's probe into Epstein.
- Comer said Trump has "answered hundreds, if not thousands of questions from you all about Epstein," when asked if he would call Trump to testify.
The details: The closed-door interview took place in Chappaqua, New York, where the Clintons have a house.
- The committee is set to depose Bill Clinton on Friday. It will be the first time a former president has testified before a congressional panel in over 40 years.
- The Clintons have denied any wrongdoing tied to Epstein and have advocated for more transparency over the Epstein files.
- Comer acknowledged that "no one's accusing the Clintons of any wrongdoing, adding, "They're going to have due process."
The Oversight chairman told Axios on Wednesday that Republicans planned to question Hillary Clinton about whether Epstein was an asset for a foreign country, how he amassed his wealth and money he raised for the Clinton Foundation.
- The committee plans to release video and a transcript of the deposition, with both Clinton and GOP lawmakers urging a swift public rollout.
Zoom in: The Oversight Committee voted on a bipartisan basis to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress after they failed to appear in January.
- As the full House prepared to vote on the contempt resolution, the Clintons agreed to testify, squashing the effort.
- The Clintons had pushed to testify in a public hearing rather than behind closed doors, but Comer said the committee's practice is to conduct transcribed interviews before holding public sessions.
- "Other witnesses were asked to testify. They gave written statements under oath. We offered that," Hillary Clinton told the BBC in an interview last week.
Zoom out: Trump directed the Justice Department to investigate Epstein's connections to Bill Clinton and others.
- Bill Clinton's name was featured frequently throughout the millions of Epstein files, and the files included multiple photos of him.
- He also traveled aboard Epstein's plane during Clinton Foundation trips in the early 2000s, before Epstein was charged with sex crimes.
Go deeper: Leaked photo briefly derails Hillary Clinton deposition
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
