Former President Bill Clinton testified Friday before the House Oversight Committee in a historic closed-door deposition focused on his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In a defiant opening statement, he declared: “I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong.”
The extraordinary session at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center marked the first time a former president has been compelled to testify before a congressional panel. Clinton faced questions under oath about photographs showing him with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s accomplice who is serving 20 years in federal prison for sex trafficking.
The deposition came one day after Hillary Clinton testified for more than six hours before the same committee. She told reporters the Republicans’ questioning was “very repetitive” and said she had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
In his prepared opening remarks, Bill Clinton sharply criticized Republican lawmakers for forcing his wife to appear, saying she had “nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein” and never traveled with him or visited his properties. He told the panel that whether they “subpoenaed 10 people or 10,000, including her was simply not right.”
The former president acknowledged he would frequently answer questions with “I don’t recall,” explaining the events happened decades ago. He said he would not speculate or guess under oath about interactions that occurred years ago, adding that such answers might be “unsatisfying” to lawmakers.
Clinton traveled on Epstein’s private plane at least 16 times, according to a CNN review. Files released by the U.S. Department of Justice showed Clinton photographed with women in a jacuzzi and with Maxwell, whose relationship with Epstein facilitated years of abuse against young women and girls.
In his statement, Clinton insisted he would have reported Epstein had he known about the crimes. He referenced his own childhood, saying that as someone who grew up in a home with domestic abuse, he would not have flown on Epstein’s plane had he known what Epstein was doing—and would have turned him in himself.
The committee’s probe centers on whether Epstein operated an intelligence-gathering operation targeting presidents and powerful figures, according to Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. Republicans aim to release video of both depositions within days, though the actual questioning took place behind closed doors at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer defended the investigation Friday morning, telling reporters: “No one’s accusing anyone of any wrongdoing, but I think the American people have a lot of questions, and our House Oversight Committee is committed to getting answers.”
Democrats pushed back hard on the proceedings and renewed calls for President Trump to testify. Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the committee, argued that Clinton’s deposition sets a precedent that should apply to the current president as well.
Garcia told reporters that Trump appears in the Epstein files “almost more than anyone else besides Ghislaine Maxwell” and demanded the president answer questions before the committee. Comer has previously said the committee cannot depose Trump because he is a sitting president.
The Clintons initially resisted the subpoenas issued in January but agreed to testify just before a contempt resolution was set for a full House vote. The Oversight Committee had voted on a bipartisan basis to hold them in contempt after they failed to appear for depositions in January.
Neither Bill nor Hillary Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and no survivor or associate has made public allegations of inappropriate behavior by either. Both Clintons deny having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, which came to light years after their contact with him ended.
Bill Clinton’s association with Epstein first drew public attention in the early 2000s when he traveled on Epstein’s jet for humanitarian missions connected to the Clinton Foundation. Maxwell told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in an interview last year that she organized those trips and considered Clinton her friend—not Epstein’s. She said Clinton never visited Epstein’s private island.
The investigation has drawn intense scrutiny from both parties. Democrats accuse Republicans of conducting a partisan exercise to shield President Trump, while Republicans insist they’re pursuing legitimate oversight. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Attorney General Pam Bondi have also faced questions about their potential connections to Epstein, adding another layer of complexity to the probe.
As the deposition continued Friday afternoon, lawmakers from both parties emerged periodically to speak with reporters, bound by confidentiality rules about specific testimony. Democrats continued demanding full, unedited release of both deposition videos, while Republicans maintained they would release the material on their own timeline.
Clinton noted in his opening statement that “no person is above the law, even presidents,” and expressed hope the testimony could help restore public trust. The depositions cap a months-long legal battle between the Clintons and Congress over one of the most notorious criminal cases in recent American history.