‘I did nothing wrong’: Bill Clinton testifies in House Epstein inquiry 

Bill Clinton has told lawmakers that he “saw nothing that gave me pause” when he spent time with Jeffrey Epstein, as the former president gave closed-door testimony about his relationship with the late sex offender.

In a prepared statement on Friday, Clinton told the House of Representatives Oversight Committee that he would not have flown on the late financier’s plane if he had known about his alleged sex trafficking of underage girls, and would have reported him to the police if he did.

“We are only here because he hid it from everyone so well for so long,” Clinton said.

Clinton flew on Epstein‘s plane several times in the early 2000s after he left office and before Epstein’s 2008 conviction of soliciting prostitution from a minor. A tranche of documents released by the Department of Justice includes photos of Clinton with women whose faces are redacted.

“I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,” Clinton said.

The former president is in a deposition before the House Oversight Committee, one day after his wife, Hillary Clinton, testified before the same panel. It is being held near the Clintons’ home in Westchester County, New York.

The panel’s Republican chairman, Representative James Comer of Kentucky, said he would ask the former president about the photos released by the Justice Department. The committee is also expected to quiz Clinton about Epstein’s involvement with the couple’s charitable foundation.

Comer said video of Hillary Clinton’s testimony could be released as soon as Friday. He repeatedly has said the Clintons are not accused of wrongdoing.

The Clintons agreed to testify after the House threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate, which could have led to criminal charges.

Both Clintons accuse Republicans of conducting a partisan exercise designed to protect President Donald Trump from scrutiny, noting that others in the inquiry were allowed to submit written statements rather than testify in person.

Democrats have called on the committee to also subpoena Trump, whose name appears in Epstein-related documents, as well as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has acknowledged visiting Epstein’s private island.

Trump socialised extensively with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s and says he broke off ties before Epstein’s 2008 conviction.

Democrats have further accused the Justice Department under Trump of withholding records related to a woman who alleged that Trump sexually abused her when she was a minor. The department has said it is reviewing the material and will release it if deemed appropriate.

Speaking on Friday, Trump said he was not pleased about former President Bill Clinton’s deposition in the House’s Epstein inquiry.

“I like Bill Clinton, and I don’t like seeing him deposed,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for Corpus Christi, Texas.