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Former US President Bill Clinton told lawmakers on Friday that he had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and had ended his association with the financier long before the wrongdoing came to light.
“I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing,” Clinton said in the opening statement of his deposition before the House Oversight Committee’s Epstein investigation, which he shared on X Friday. “I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong.”
“As someone who grew up in a home with domestic abuse, not only would I not have flown on his plane if I had any inkling of what he was doing—I would have turned him in myself and led the call for justice for his crimes, not sweetheart deals,” he added.
Clinton is testifying after the committee subpoenaed both him and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as part of the panel’s inquiry into Epstein. Hillary Clinton appeared before the committee on Thursday.
The depositions are being conducted behind closed doors, though videos and transcripts will be made public later, a committee spokesperson confirmed.
Committee chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told reporters Friday that Clinton had so far undergone about two hours of questioning—one hour from Republicans and one from Democrats—with an additional hour scheduled for Republican questioning before the committee takes a break.
Also on Friday, former President Donald Trump said, “I like Bill Clinton and I don’t like seeing him deposed.”
In January, the Clintons initially refused to testify, citing that they had already shared the limited information they had on Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell with lawmakers. They later agreed to testify after Republicans pursued contempt of Congress proceedings.
Clinton is among several high-profile figures with ties to Epstein. His name and photo appear multiple times in the so-called “Epstein files,” documents released by the Justice Department related to investigations into Epstein.
