Washington — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is sitting for a deposition with members of the Home Oversight Committee on Thursday in New York, the place she informed lawmakers she had “no concept” about Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell’s legal actions.
“The Committee justified its subpoena to me primarily based on its assumption that I’ve data relating to the investigations into the legal actions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” Clinton stated in her opening assertion. “Let me be as clear as I can. I don’t.”
She continued: “As I said in my sworn declaration on January 13, I had no concept about their legal actions. I don’t recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I by no means flew on his airplane or visited his island, properties or workplaces. I’ve nothing so as to add to that.”
The deposition was briefly paused after Benny Johnson, a right-wing commentator, posted a photograph from contained in the room, in accordance with a Clinton adviser. Johnson stated the photograph had been shared by GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, an obvious violation of Home guidelines.
Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Invoice Clinton, agreed to testify behind closed doorways and adjust to a subpoena to keep away from a vote within the Home to carry them in contempt. The about-face marked a victory for Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the committee’s Republican chairman. He denied the Clintons’ requests to carry the questioning in public, however has indicated a public listening to is feasible after the closed-door depositions. Thursday’s testimony is being held on the Chappaqua Performing Arts Heart in Chappaqua, New York, the place the Clintons reside.
In her assertion, Hillary Clinton claimed the committee’s actions have been “designed to guard one political social gathering and one public official, reasonably than to hunt reality and justice for the victims and survivors,” a reference to Republicans and President Trump. She accused the committee of compelling her testimony “totally conscious that I’ve no information that may help your investigation, so as to distract consideration from President Trump’s actions and canopy them up regardless of reliable requires solutions.”
The previous secretary of state stated that if Republicans on the panel have been severe, they’d ask the president immediately and beneath oath about Epstein. Mr. Trump’s identify seems hundreds of instances within the Epstein recordsdata launched by the Justice Division. He has denied any wrongdoing.
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Comer reiterated at a information convention forward of the deposition Thursday that “nobody’s accusing, at this second, the Clintons of wrongdoing.”
“They’re going to have due course of,” Comer stated. “However we’ve numerous questions.”
Comer stated that the committee is searching for to know how Epstein accrued his wealth, how he surrounded himself with highly effective people and whether or not he was a authorities asset.
“These are the questions that we’re going to ask over the following two days, and hopefully we’ll have the ability to get some solutions,” he stated.
ADAM GRAY by way of Getty Photographs
The chairman stated the committee would launch the transcript and video of the deposition after they’re reviewed and authorized. He stated he expects a “lengthy deposition” Thursday, and an “even longer deposition” for the previous president on Friday.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the highest Democrat on the committee, stated that Democrats are glad that the Clintons are keen to testify.
“Oversight Democrats, from day one we’ve stated that we wish to speak to anybody,” Garcia stated. “Whether or not that may be a Democrat, a Republican, how a lot wealth they’ve, how highly effective their place is, we wish to speak to anybody.”
Garcia indicated that Democrats would use the precedent set by subpoenaing a former president to name Mr. Trump to testify sooner or later.
“We needs to be very clear that now that we’re going to listen to from former President Clinton, I hope that Chairman Comer and the Republicans will be part of us in demanding that the one who truly seems extra instances within the recordsdata than the previous president, who we wish to communicate with, is President Donald Trump,” Garcia stated. “Let’s get President Trump in entrance of our committee to reply the questions which might be being requested throughout this nation.”
Rep. James Walkinshaw, a Virginia Democrat who additionally serves on the committee, questioned the motivation for deposing the previous secretary of state.
“There is no such thing as a indication — zero, zip, zilch, nada — that Secretary Clinton had any information of Epstein’s crimes,” he stated. “My concern is we’re right here in the present day as a part of a political train, a part of a long-running fever dream the place Republicans wish to lock up Secretary Clinton.”
Neither Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing and each have known as for the total launch of the Epstein recordsdata.
In an interview with the BBC final week, Hillary Clinton accused Comer of holding agency on the in-person depositions to shift focus away from Mr. Trump’s relationship with Epstein and his administration’s dealing with of the Epstein recordsdata.
“I’ve very robust opinions about what it’s they’re hiding and who they’re defending,” she stated. “Why do they wish to pull us into this? To divert consideration from President Trump. This isn’t difficult.”
In a sworn declaration submitted to the committee on Jan. 13, Hillary Clinton denied any “private information” of crimes dedicated by Epstein or his confederate Maxwell. She additionally stated she “by no means had any accountability for or involvement with” the Justice Division’s investigations into and prosecutions of Epstein and Maxwell throughout her twenty years in public workplace or as a non-public citizen.
Within the BBC interview, Clinton stated she met Maxwell, who’s serving a jail sentence on intercourse trafficking fees, “on a couple of events” by way of the Clinton Basis.
Comer stated in a press release Monday that the Clintons’ testimony “is crucial to understanding Epstein and Maxwell’s intercourse trafficking community and the methods they sought to curry favor and affect to protect themselves from scrutiny.”
