Feb. 27 (UPI) — Former President Bill Clinton testified in front of the House Oversight Committee in New York Friday, and said he didn’t know about Epstein’s crimes at the time he knew him.
It was the first time a former president has been compelled to testify to Congress.
“I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing,” Clinton said in a statement, which he posted on X. “No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that at the end of the day matter more than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos. I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn’t see. I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn’t do. I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong.”
He added that his childhood history of experiencing domestic violence would have pulled him away from Epstein if he’d known.
“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,” Clinton said of Epstein.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., walked out of the deposition after noon and said the former president “is being very cooperative.”
“I don’t have any reason to believe right now that he’s hiding the ball,” she said. “On everything, he’s been pretty transparent.”
The former president was deposed about his involvement with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. His wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was deposed on Thursday.
Bill Clinton admitted knowing and traveling with Epstein, but he said his wife had “nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein” and “no memory of even meeting him.”
“Whether you subpoena 10 people or 10,000, including her was simply not right,” he wrote in his statement.
“Since I am under oath, I will not falsely state that I am looking forward to your questions. But I am ready to answer them to the best of my abilities, consistent with the facts as I know them: the legitimate, the logical and even the outlandish.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said Democrats have “real questions that deserve serious answers” from Clinton, but said the questioning of Hillary Clinton became a “sideshow” with a “series of bizarre questions” about UFOs and conspiracy theories. He said the committee should call for Trump to testify.
“Republicans are now setting a new precedent, which is to bring in presidents and former presidents to testify,” Garcia said. “We are now asking and demanding that President Trump officially come in and testify in front of the Oversight Committee.”
President Clinton testified on Friday in front of the House Oversight Committee after his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did so on Thursday.
The testimony happened in Chappaqua, N.Y., in the town’s performing arts center, where he was asked about his involvement with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Bill Clinton has denied any wrongdoing and has not been accused of any crimes in relation to the Epstein files.
“No one’s accusing, at this moment, the Clintons of any wrongdoing. They’re going to have due process,” committee chair James Comer, R-Ky., said before the deposition.
Epstein visited the White House at least 17 times in the early part of Clinton’s presidency, White House visitor records say. But Bill Clinton said he cut ties with Epstein around 2005.
On Thursday, Hillary Clinton testified that she never really knew Epstein, that she doesn’t remember meeting him and that she has “no knowledge” that would help the panel’s investigation. She called the deposition “political theater.”
The Clintons have asked for open testimony, but the committee has said they must have a closed-door deposition first. When subpoenaed, they didn’t comply for several months until the House nearly voted to find them in contempt.
While Hillary Clinton testified, a photo of the testimony was posted on X Thursday, sent to far-right influencer Benny Johnson by committee member Lauren Boebert, R-Colo. When she was asked by reporters why she did it, she answered: “Why not?” The proceedings were stopped for a short time while the committee tried to determine how the photo was leaked from the closed-door deposition.
