Bill Clinton Tells Congress He 'Saw Nothing and Did Nothing Wrong' as Epstein Deposition Gets Under Way

Bill Clinton sat down with the House Oversight Committee in Chappaqua, New York on Friday and came in with a firm denial. In his opening remarks to lawmakers investigating his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the former president made his position plain: 'I saw nothing and I did nothing wrong.'

It is the first time a former US president has been compelled to testify before Congress in over four decades. The last was Gerald Ford in 1983. Clinton's full statement left little ambiguity. 'I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing. No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that, at the end of the day, matter more than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos. I know what I saw and more importantly, what I didn't see. I know what I did and more importantly, what I didn't do.'

'I Would Have Turned Him In'

Clinton also addressed the question of Epstein's private jet directly, one of the central issues the committee raised. Flight records and Department of Justice-released materials show Clinton travelled on Epstein's aircraft at least 27 times. He did not deny the flights, but denied knowing what was happening on them.

'As someone who grew up in a home with domestic abuse, not only would I have not 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. He added: '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.'

He also cautioned the committee that memory would be an issue. '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. This was all a long time ago, and I'm bound by my oath not to speculate or to guess.'

Hillary Left the Hard Questions for Him to Answer

The deposition came one day after Hillary Clinton spent roughly six hours before the same committee. Committee Chair James Comer said she had deferred at least a dozen questions, telling lawmakers repeatedly to ask her husband instead, which he said only expanded the list going into Friday.

'There are so many examples in the evidence the Department of Justice released, in correspondence where Epstein bragged about how involved he was initially in setting up the Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Foundation,' Comer told reporters. Hillary had told the panel she was in the Senate at the time and was not focused on it, leaving those questions unanswered.

Clinton used part of his opening remarks to push back on that. 'You made Hillary come in. She had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Nothing. She has no memory of even meeting him. She neither travelled with him nor visited any of his properties,' he said. 'Whether you subpoenaed 10 people or 10,000, including her, was simply not right.'

Hillary Clinton, speaking to reporters after her own session, said she was '100% confident' her husband knew nothing of Epstein's crimes, adding that their relationship with Epstein ended years before his criminal activities came to light.

The Fight Over Who Should Testify

Neither Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing, a point Comer made explicitly before the session began. 'No one is accusing anyone of any wrongdoing,' he said. 'But I think the American people have a lot of questions, and our House Oversight Committee is committed to getting answers.'

The committee's top Democrat, Representative Robert Garcia of California, argued that if Republicans were setting a precedent for compelling former presidents to testify, the same standard should apply elsewhere. 'We are now asking and demanding that President Trump officially come in and testify in front of the Oversight Committee,' he said.

The deposition began just after 11 am and was expected to run the full day. Transcripts and video of both Clinton sessions are set to be released publicly, with Hillary Clinton's expected as early as Friday or Saturday.

The Epstein investigation has drawn in figures from across decades of American political life. Clinton's appearance—compelled, historic, and politically charged—is a marker of just how far-reaching that scrutiny has become. With transcripts and video set for public release, the full picture of what both Clintons told Congress will soon be out in the open.