\n<\/p>\n
Bill Clinton<\/a> told a congressional committee on Friday he \u201chad no idea of the crimes\u201d Jeffrey Epstein was committing and insisted he \u201cdid nothing wrong\u201d in his relationship with the disgraced financier and convicted sex trafficker.<\/p>\n The former president\u2019s remarks came in his opening statement in a deposition to the House of Representatives\u2019 oversight committee, a day after his wife, Hillary Clinton, appeared before the same body and called the proceedings \u201cpartisan political theater<\/a>\u201d and \u201can insult to the American people\u201d.<\/p>\n Before the deposition began,James Comer, the committee\u2019s chair, said the former president would be subjected to \u201ca big portfolio of questions\u201d after Hillary Clinton<\/a> deferred at least a dozen questions about the couple\u2019s relationship to Epstein, who died in custody in 2019.<\/p>\n Comer spoke to reporters after the roughly six-hour deposition, saying he believed it was \u201cvery productive\u201d, and that the former president answered every question.<\/p>\n \u201cA consistent theme continues to persist throughout al the people we bring in \u2013 obviously the government failed the victims,\u201d he said. \u201cJustice was not served in Palm Beach when Epstein was first arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n In his statement, Bill Clinton<\/a> said he would have reported Epstein\u2019s crimes if he had been aware of them, and referenced his own upbringing in an abusive household.<\/p>\n \u201cAs 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 \u2013 I would have turned him in myself and led the call for justice for his crimes, not sweetheart deals,\u201d he said in a statement posted on social media after Friday\u2019s hearing began.<\/p>\n \u201cBut even with 20\/20 hindsight, I saw nothing that ever gave me pause. We are only here because he hid it from everyone so well for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n By the time Epstein\u2019s crimes came to light, as a result of a plea deal in 2008, Clinton said he had ended his association. Clinton also reportedly told the committee that he had spoken to Donald Trump about Epstein at a golf tournament in the early 2000s, and that Trump had told him the two had also fallen out.<\/p>\n During a break in Friday\u2019s proceedings, Comer briefed journalists that the former president had suggested that Trump \u2013 who Democrats say should also be subpoenaed to appear before the committee \u2013 was not \u201cinvolved\u201d in Epstein\u2019s crimes.<\/p>\n \u201c[Ranking Democrat Robert] Garcia asked President Clinton: \u2018Should President Trump be called to answer questions from this committee?\u2019 And President Clinton said: \u2018That\u2019s for you to decide\u2019,\u201d Comer said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd [Clinton] went on to say that the president \u2013 Trump \u2013 has never said anything to me to make me think he was involved when he met with Epstein.\u201d<\/p>\n Comer\u2019s interpretation was challenged by Garcia moments later when Democrats addressed reporters.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the best response to that is for you to view the complete record of what actually he said,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Clinton did bring up some additional information about some discussions with President Trump. The way Chairman Comer described it I don\u2019t think is a complete, accurate description of what actually was said.\u201d<\/p>\n During her deposition on Thursday, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, said she had never met Epstein.<\/p>\n After the hearing, she complained about the repetitive nature of the questions and said she had also been asked about UFOs and the \u201cPizzagate\u201d conspiracy theory.<\/p>\n Comer attributed the repetition to a \u201clot of documentation that would suggest that she had a relationship with Epstein\u201d. Comer added that Hillary Clinton and Epstein communicated often.<\/p>\n The former Democratic president flew on Epstein\u2019s<\/a> private jet several times in the early 2000s, but said he never visited his island. Comer said Hillary Clinton had confirmed that Epstein visited the White House 17 times \u2013 as suggested in the presidential mansion\u2019s visitor records \u2013 during her husband\u2019s presidency and had flown at least 27 times on the Epstein plane, which was nicknamed the \u201cLolita express\u201d.<\/p>\n Bill Clinton, who had an extramarital affair while president and has been accused of sexual misconduct<\/a> by three women, also appears<\/a> in a photo from the recently released files, in a hot tub with Epstein and a woman whose identity is redacted.<\/p>\n The former president told lawmakers that he was unsure who the woman<\/a> in the photograph was, according to CNN, which relied on unnamed sources familiar with the testimony. Clinton was also asked if he had had sex with the woman \u2013 and several others depicted in photographs \u2013 and reportedly said he had not.<\/p>\n Clinton also said he cut ties with Epstein in about 2005 before Epstein pleaded guilty to solicitation of a minor in Florida.<\/p>\n Clinton has denied the sexual misconduct claims and has not been charged with any crimes. He also has not been accused of any wrongdoing connected to Epstein.<\/p>\n Speaking outside the performing arts centre near their home in Chappaqua in upstate New York where the Clintons\u2019 hearings were held, Nancy Mace, the South Carolina Republican representative, told reporters she appreciated the testimony from Clinton and that he attempted to respond to every question asked, and that \u201ceven when his attorneys told him to shut up he kept going\u201d.<\/p>\n But, she added, she believed there were inconsistencies in responses from the Clintons.<\/p>\n Mace struck a very different tone when referring to Hillary Clinton\u2019s deposition, calling her \u201cunhinged\u201d. Mace told reporters Clinton had responded to some of her questioning by \u201cscreaming\u201d.<\/p>\n The claim was rebutted by Garcia, who called on the Republican majority to release unedited video footage of the proceedings. \u201cTo say that the secretary was screaming, I think, is beyond a mischaracterization. What happened yesterday was a disgrace \u2013 to be asking about UFOs, [and] Pizzagate conspiracy theories,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Democrats called for Trump to be questioned before the committe. Clinton\u2019s appearance made him the first former president to testify before Congress since Gerald Ford in 1983.<\/p>\n \u201cA new precedent has been set in America today,\u201d said Ro Khanna, a California Democrat and co-sponsor of the legislation that has mandated the release of the Epstein files.<\/p>\n \u201cNow we have the Clinton rule, which is: the presidents and their families have to testify when Congress issues a subpoena. And that means that Donald Trump needs to come before our committee and explain what he knew about Epstein.\u201d<\/p>\n The House committee subpoenaed the Clintons in August. They initially refused to testify, but agreed<\/a> after Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt.<\/p>\n The Clintons asked for their depositions to be held publicly, with the former president stating that to do so behind closed doors would amount to a \u201ckangaroo court<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n