Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has insisted she “never knew Jeffrey Epstein” after a tense, six-hour closed-door deposition before Congress, saying she answered “every one of their questions as fully as I could”.
Speaking to reporters after the session in Chappaqua, New York, Clinton said: “I never met Jeffrey Epstein, never had any connection or communication with him.” She added: “I do not recall ever encountering Mr Epstein. I never went to his island. I never went to his home. I never went to his offices.”
The deposition, ordered by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee chaired by James Comer, forms part of its investigation into the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Clinton said she had “no idea about their criminal activities” and described herself as “horrified by what we have learned about their crimes”. She acknowledged knowing Maxwell “casually, as an acquaintance”, including at events linked to the Clinton Foundation, and said Maxwell attended her daughter’s wedding as someone else’s guest.
Tensions flared during the hearing. Clinton said proceedings were briefly disrupted after a Republican lawmaker shared a photo from the closed session online, in breach of committee rules. She also described questions about UFOs and the so-called “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory as “vile, bogus conspiracy theories”.
Pressed about photographs of her husband, former president Bill Clinton, with women referenced in Epstein files, she said his association with Epstein had ended years before the financier’s crimes became public. Bill Clinton has acknowledged flying on Epstein’s plane for charitable work but has denied any wrongdoing.
Clinton used her appearance to call for President Donald Trump to testify under oath, arguing that if the committee seeks the truth, it should question all prominent figures named in the files. Comer said a transcript and video of the deposition would be released.
