former first couple bill and Hillary Clintontestifying in the investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein dossier. The former US secretary of state and first lady insisted she had no recollection of meeting the late sex offender and pedophile before a congressional committee on Thursday.
“I have no recollection of ever meeting Mr. Epstein. I have never flown on his plane or visited his island, home or offices,” Clinton said in a statement hours after closed-door testimony before the House Oversight Committee in Chappaqua, New York.
Hillary Clinton’s testimony transcript
Several Democrats, including California Rep. Robert Garcia, have called for the release of the full, unredacted transcript of Clinton’s testimony. He was joined by Democratic Reps. Yasamin Ansari, Wesley Bell, Subrahmanyam and James Walkinshaw.
While the full transcript is unlikely to be released, we have compiled some portions of public statements and media reports.
What did Hillary Clinton say about Epstein?
Clinton told reporters she was asked the same question repeatedly during the seven-hour testimony. The 78-year-old was also asked about UFO and Pizzagate conspiracy theories.
“It’s disappointing that they’ve refused to hold a public hearing so that I don’t have to describe the situation for you here,” she said. “You can see for yourself. We’ve asked for that. We think it’s going to be better for the committee and their efforts to gather whatever information they’re seeking.”
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to say I didn’t know Jeffrey Epstein. I’d never been to his island, I’d never been to his home, I’d never been to his office,” she added.
Read more: When will the video and transcript of Hillary Clinton’s Epstein testimony be released? what we know
Meanwhile, Rep. Lauren Boebert told Newsmax on Thursday that Clinton dodged several questions about Epstein.
“Now, she can recall in detail other less relevant topics, but it’s hard to get clear answers from the former secretary of state on some of the more difficult questions,” Boebert said.
“For seven months, we have been working with the Clintons through oversight committees and getting them into public hearings. They kept refusing and denying. Ultimately, we did threaten to hold them in contempt of Congress. It was a bipartisan vote,” Boebert added. “Many Democrats voted to show up and others voted to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress. Once they saw that, they agreed to this style of testimony. So we are in New York, deposing the Clintons,” the Republican congressman added.
During the hearing, Hillary Clinton accused House members of conducting a “fishing expedition” to obtain information about Epstein.
“If most people were serious, they wouldn’t waste their time fishing,” Clinton told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. “What was blocked? Who was protected? Why the cover-up?”
Rep. James Comer, who is leading the investigation, countered that the panel wanted to know how Epstein raised money for the Clinton family foundation and why Ghislaine Maxwell attended Hillary’s daughter’s wedding.
“No one has accused the Clintons of wrongdoing at this time,” Cuomo told reporters before testifying. “But we have a lot of questions.”
Latest news from Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton on Friday became the first former president to testify before a House panel. The testimony took place behind closed doors in New York. The testimony is expected to center on the Democrat’s multiple trips on Epstein’s private jet before Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida charges including procuring a minor for prostitution.
Epstein also donated $1,000 to Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign and $20,000 to Hillary Clinton’s 2000 U.S. Senate campaign. A charity controlled by Epstein donated $25,000 to the Clintons’ private foundation.
(Information provided by Reuters)
