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Bill Clinton has vehemently defended himself, asserting he had no improper dealings with Jeffrey Epstein while criticizing Republicans for compelling Hillary Clinton to testify.
Speaking to lawmakers during a significant deposition held near his Chappaqua, New York residence on Friday, Clinton declared, “I witnessed nothing, and I am innocent of any wrongdoing.”
The former president expressed his frustration with Republicans for involving his wife in the proceedings, emphasizing that Hillary had consistently denied ever encountering Epstein during her testimony on Thursday.
“Before we proceed, I must address something personal. Forcing Hillary to appear was unnecessary. She has no links to Jeffrey Epstein,” Clinton insisted. “She has no recollection of meeting him, never traveled with him, nor visited any of his estates. Whether you called 10 individuals or 10,000, including her was unjustified.”
Clinton hinted that his responses related to Epstein would likely reflect a familiar refrain from his presidency marked by scandals: “I don’t recall.”
‘You’ll often hear me say that I don’t recall. That might be unsatisfying. But I’m not going to say something I’m not sure of,’ he continued.Â
‘This was all a long time ago. And I am bound by my oath not to speculate, or to guess. This is not merely for my benefit, but because it doesn’t help you for me to play detective 24 years later.’
Lawmakers are grilling Clinton after new photos from the Epstein files released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) shed new light on the depths of his friendship with the pedophile.
One image shows him aboard a private jet with an unidentified woman, while another photograph captures Clinton swimming with Epstein’s infamous madam, Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence in a federal prison related to sex trafficking minor girls.Â
Clinton has issued a blistering statement claiming that he ‘did nothing wrong’ with Jeffrey Epstein as he slammed Republicans for forcing Hillary to testify
Bill Clinton and an unidentified woman on a private jet in the latest release of the Epstein files. The former president said he only ever traveled with the pedophile for charity work
Former President Bill Clinton in a hot tub and a woman whose face has been redacted are seen in another image from the files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
During his opening statement on Friday, the former president opened up about growing up in a family plagued with domestic abuse.Â
‘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,’ Clinton said.
Clinton’s stepfather, Roger Clinton, was an alcoholic who was physically abusive to Clinton’s mother, Virginia Kelley. The former president has previously recalled intervening to defend his mother against his stepfather’s abuse.Â
Epstein visited the White House 17 times during Clinton’s presidency, and Clinton later took 27 known trips on the pedophile’s private jet after leaving office.
‘But 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,’ Clinton added. ‘And by the time it came to light with his 2008 guilty plea, I had long stopped associating with him.’
Clinton is the first ever former president compelled to testify before Congress against his will. The 79-year-old finally agreed to testify after being threatened with contempt charges.
Clinton and Epstein were associated from the early 1990s and into the early 2000s.
He says he flew on Epstein’s private plane during Clinton Foundation trips before the financier was charged with any sex crimes but denies wrongdoing and says he cut ties years before Epstein’s 2006 arrest for soliciting prostitution from a minor.Â
President Clinton and wife Hillary share a tender moment during an East Room ceremony at the White House in Washington, July 17, 1996
Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s infamous madam, attended Chelsea Clinton’s wedding in 2010, years after Epstein had been convicted of sexual abuse
No evidence has emerged implicating either Bill or Hillary Clinton in criminal conduct related to Epstein.
Hillary said Thursday that she expected her husband to testify that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s sexual abuse at the time they knew each other.
The former president previously said he never visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island, Little St James, where many of the pedophile’s accusers say they were trafficked for abuse.
Maxwell said in an interview with the Justice Department last year that Clinton was never there.
‘I do not recall speaking to Mr. Epstein for more than a decade prior to his 2019 arrest’ Clinton’s declaration said.
Hillary said after her deposition: ‘I think the chronology of the connection that he had with Epstein ended several years before anything about Epstein’s criminal activities came to light.’
Clinton signaled that his answers regarding Epstein would echo a phrase synonymous with his scandal-filled presidency: ‘I don’t recall’
Comer has pledged extensive questioning of the former president. He claimed that Hillary had repeatedly deferred questions about Epstein to her husband.
Epstein was found hanged in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence as his only co-conspirator ever convicted.
Democrats argue that it sets a precedent that should also apply to Donald Trump, a Republican who had his own relationship with Epstein.