By Richard Cowan and Ryan Patrick Jones
Feb 26 (Reuters) – Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a congressional committee on Thursday that she did not remember ever meeting the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and had no information to share about his criminal activities.
“I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that,” Clinton said in a statement, which she released as she delivered a closed-door deposition to the House of Representatives Oversight Committee in Chappaqua, New York.
Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, also accused the Republican-led panel of trying to shift focus away from President Donald Trump’s ties to Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. She said Trump’s administration has “gutted” a State Department office focused on international sex trafficking.
The hearing was paused briefly after a photo of Clinton seated at a table was leaked to social media, in a violation of committee rules, according to Clinton adviser Nick Merrill. Conservative influencer Benny Johnson, who published the photo, said it was taken by Republican Representative Lauren Boebert.
She and her husband, Democratic former President Bill Clinton, initially refused to testify before the committee, but relented when lawmakers moved to hold them in contempt of Congress.
Bill Clinton is scheduled to testify to the committee on Friday.
Before the hearing, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, a Republican, denied that the probe was a partisan effort, noting that several Democrats had pushed for the Clintons to testify.
“No one is accusing at this moment the Clintons of any wrongdoing but we do have a lot of questions,” Comer said.
He said the committee would seek to find out about any interactions she might have had with Epstein, his involvement with the Clintons’ charitable work, and any relationship she may have had with jailed Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. He said transcripts of the Clintons’ interviews will be made public.
Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters that Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should also testify. Lutnick has admitted to visiting Epstein’s private island years after he says he broke off ties. Comer said it was “possible” the committee might subpoena him.
MISSING FILES
Garcia and other Democrats are accusing Trump’s Justice Department of selectively withholding material from 3 million Epstein-related documents it released to shield Trump from scrutiny. That includes records of a woman who accused Trump of sexually abusing her when she was a minor, Garcia said.
“Where are these files? Who removed them? These questions have to be answered,” he said.
Back in Washington, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said several Democrats will review the unredacted files and said the Justice Department must preserve records that detail how it handled the material.
The Justice Department said it is reviewing whether any documents were improperly withheld and would publish them if appropriate. The department has previously cautioned that the material it has released includes unfounded accusations and sensationalist claims about Trump.
Law enforcement authorities have not accused Trump of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. Trump socialized extensively with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s, before his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Comer said evidence gathered by the panel does not implicate Trump.
Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane several times in the early 2000s after he left office. He has denied wrongdoing and expressed regret for his association.
According to Comer, Epstein visited the White House 17 times while Clinton was in office.
The Justice Department sought to draw attention to photos of Bill Clinton in its document dump, but they also have revealed Epstein’s ties to a long list of business and political leaders, including Lutnick and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Overseas, they have prompted criminal investigations of Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York, and other prominent figures.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan and Nolan D. McCaskill; additional reporting by David Morgan; editing by Andy Sullivan and Alistair Bell)
