Inside Clintons' testimonies before House Committee on Epstein links

Former US President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concluded two days of closed-door testimony before the House Oversight Committee on February 27, 2026.

The depositions, held in Chappaqua, New York, marked a significant moment in the ongoing investigation into the network surrounding the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Both appeared under threat of contempt of Congress after initially resisting subpoenas from the Republican-led committee.

During his six-hour deposition on February 27, Bill Clinton told American lawmakers that he saw nothing that gave him pause during his acquaintance with Epstein.

The former president stated that he had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing and insisted that he did nothing wrong.

In an opening statement shared on social media, he noted that his brief association with the financier ended in 2005, well before Epstein's first conviction in 2008.

Lawmakers questioned the former president about specific photographs found in recently released Justice Department files.

These images reportedly show him in a hot tub and a swimming pool with Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

He argued that if he had any inkling of Epstein's true activities, he would have reported him to authorities immediately.

Hillary Clinton testified a day earlier, on February 26, in a session that lasted approximately seven hours.

She maintained a firm stance that she never met Jeffrey Epstein and had no personal or professional connection to him.

She acknowledged knowing Ghislaine Maxwell only as a casual acquaintance and explained that Maxwell had attended her daughter’s wedding as a guest of an invited party.

The former Secretary of State described the proceedings as partisan political theatre and an insult to the American people.

She accused Republican members of the committee of conducting a fishing expedition designed to protect Donald Trump from scrutiny regarding his own past ties to Epstein.

She further claimed the investigation was a distraction from what she termed a cover-up by the previous administration regarding the full release of Epstein-related files.

Both Clintons reported that the questioning frequently veered into topics unrelated to the sex trafficking investigation.

Hillary Clinton told reporters that she was asked about UFOs and the discredited 2016 Pizzagate conspiracy theory.

She expressed disappointment that the committee refused to hold the hearing in public, arguing that it would have allowed the public to see the repetitive nature of the questions.

The proceedings on February 26 were also briefly suspended following a rule violation.

Republican Representative Lauren Boebert reportedly leaked a photograph of Hillary Clinton from inside the secure deposition room.

This led to a temporary halt as legal teams addressed the breach of the agreed-upon rules for the closed-door session.

The committee chairman, James Comer, described the sessions as productive but raised concerns about the consistency of some answers.

He suggested that the committee would review the transcripts for potential perjury, particularly regarding the number of times the Clintons interacted with Epstein and Maxwell.

Republican members noted that White House visitor logs from the 1990s showed Epstein visited the executive mansion 17 times during the Clinton presidency.

In contrast, Democratic members of the committee defended the Clintons and called for the investigation to shift its focus.

Representative Ro Khanna stated that no new evidence of wrongdoing was uncovered and urged the committee to subpoena Donald Trump to answer questions under oath.

While the full transcripts of the depositions are currently private, a committee spokesperson confirmed that edited versions and video highlights may be released to the public in March 2026.