By Richard Cowan and Ryan Patrick Jones
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to testify behind closed doors in congressional Epstein probe
Feb 26 (Reuters) - Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a congressional committee on Thursday that she did not remember ever meeting the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and had no information to share about his criminal activities.
"I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices," Clinton said in a statement, which she released as she delivered a closed-door deposition to the House of Representatives Oversight Committee in Chappaqua, New York.
Following a seven-hour appearance before the panel, Clinton told reporters she repeatedly was asked the same questions throughout the day, but that she also offered some suggestions on conducting the investigation. She did not detail those ideas.
Clinton said that late into the procedures "it got quite unusual because I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizzagate, one of the most vile bogus conspiracy theories."
She was referring to false, widely disseminated musings in 2016 that a Washington, D.C. pizzeria was a front for a child sex ring run by her and that New York City police had discovered a pedophilia ring linked to Democrats.
In her prepared testimony, Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, also accused the Republican-led panel of trying to shift focus away from Trump's ties to Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. She noted Trump's administration has "gutted" a State Department office focused on international sex trafficking.
Speaking to reporters after Clinton's testimony, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer dismissed the idea of having Trump appear before the panel.
"President Trump has answered hundreds if not thousands of questions from you all about Epstein and I think he's been very transparent in releasing the documents," said Comer, a Kentucky Republican.
Clinton 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.
Hillary Clinton told reporters that the former president will tell the committee that the "vast majority" of people who had contact with Epstein before his criminal pleas in 2008 "did not know" about the sex trafficking. "That is exactly what my husband will testify to tomorrow," she said.
Before the hearing, Comer denied that the probe was a partisan effort, noting that several Democrats had pushed for the Clintons to testify.
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"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 have 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 and video 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.
MISSING FILES
Garcia and other Democrats are accusing Trump's Justice Department of selectively withholding material from 3 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.
The Justice Department said it is reviewing whether any documents were improperly withheld and would publish them if appropriate. It has previously cautioned that the material it has released includes unfounded accusations and sensationalist claims about Trump.
Law enforcement authorities have not accused Trump of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. Trump socialized 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 does not 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 Department sought to draw attention to photos of Bill Clinton in its document dump, but they also have 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.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Ryan Patrick Jones, Doina Chiacu, Ismail Shakil and David Morgan; editing by Andy Sullivan, Alistair Bell and Sergio Non)
