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In Brief
- Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has spoken at a closed-door congressional committee deposition.
- Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, is expected to testify this week.
On Thursday, Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. Secretary of State, informed a congressional committee that she has no recollection of ever meeting Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender, nor does she possess any details regarding his illicit activities.
“I have no memory of any interaction with Mr. Epstein. I never traveled on his plane or visited any of his properties, including his island, homes, or offices. That’s all I have to say on the matter,” Clinton stated. She issued this declaration while providing a closed-door deposition to the House Oversight Committee in her hometown, Chappaqua, New York.
Clinton, who was the Democratic candidate in the 2016 presidential race, further claimed that the Republican-dominated committee is attempting to divert attention from President Donald Trump’s connections with Epstein. Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while in jail, was awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking.
She criticized the Trump administration for having “dismantled” a State Department division dedicated to combating international sex trafficking.
The session experienced a brief interruption when a photograph of Clinton at the hearing table was shared on social media, violating committee protocols, as noted by Clinton’s adviser, Nick Merrill.
Conservative influencer Benny Johnson, who published the photo, said it was taken by Republican representative Lauren Boebert.
Hilary 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 the investigation 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’ve 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.
‘Where are these files?’
Garcia and other Democrats are accusing Trump’s justice department of selectively withholding material from three 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’s 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 haven’t accused Trump of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
Trump socialised 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 doesn’t 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 deparment sought to draw attention to photos of Bill Clinton in its document dump, but they also 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.
On Thursday, the president and CEO of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Børge Brende, said he was stepping down, a few weeks after the forum launched an independent investigation into his relationship with Epstein.
Brende, who became president of the WEF in 2017, announced his decision in a statement following disclosures from the US justice department that showed the Norwegian had three business dinners with Epstein and had also communicated with the late financier via email and text message.
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