‘I saw nothing,’ Bill Clinton tells US lawmakers investigating Epstein

CHAPPAQUA, New York – Mr Bill Clinton told lawmakers on Feb 27 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.

Mr Clinton’s appearance before the House of Representatives Oversight Committee marked the first time a current or former president has been compelled to testify before Congress.

Democrats on the panel said

US President Donald Trump

should be subpoenaed as well, but the committee’s Republican chairman, Mr James Comer, said that was not going to happen.

Both men socialised with Epstein before his 2008 conviction of soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Both have repeatedly said they did not see any evidence of sex trafficking, and neither has been accused by the authorities of

criminal activity related to the late financier,

who entertained a long list of business and financial leaders at his lavish residences in New York, Florida and the Caribbean.

In a prepared statement, Mr 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 if he did.

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

Mr 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 millions of documents released by the Justice Department includes photos of Mr Clinton with women whose faces are redacted.

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

Mr Comer described the hearing as cordial and said the former US president was cooperative. “He’s a charming individual, obviously,” he said.

His testimony follows that of his wife, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who told the panel on Feb 26 that she did not remember ever meeting Epstein and had

nothing to share about his sex crimes.

She said she was also asked about UFOs and a 2016-era conspiracy theory during the seven-hour session.

Mr Clinton said the committee should not have subpoenaed his wife. Mr Comer said some of Ms Clinton’s answers had been inconsistent and would be examined for possible perjury.

Mr Comer did not rule out the possibility of subpoenaing

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick,

who visited Epstein’s Caribbean island after his 2008 conviction. “Stay tuned on that,” he said.

Democrats said the investigation would not be credible if it does not examine Mr Trump’s role.

The panel’s Republican chairman, Representative James Comer of Kentucky, has repeatedly said the Clintons are not accused of wrongdoing but should answer questions about Epstein’s involvement with their charitable foundation.

During a break in the testimony, Mr Comer told reporters that Mr Clinton told the committee that Mr Donald Trump had never said anything to him to make him think the Republican President was involved in criminal activity with Epstein.

Democrats on the panel said that was not an accurate characterisation and said it raised questions about Mr Trump’s past statements.

They said the committee should call Mr Trump to testify – a notion Mr Comer has ruled out.

“President Clinton’s presence here today under oath highlights the Donald Trump-sized gaping hole in chairman Comer’s investigation,” said Democratic Representative James Walkinshaw of Virginia.

Democrats are also accusing Mr Trump’s Justice Department of withholding records of a woman who accused Mr Trump of sexually abusing her when she was a minor.

The Justice Department has said it is looking at the material and will publish it if appropriate, and has also warned that the material includes unfounded accusations about Mr Trump.

Mr Trump’s name appears frequently in the Epstein files. He socialised extensively with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s and says he broke off ties before Epstein’s 2008 conviction.

The authorities have not accused him of criminal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, but the association has dogged him for decades.

At the White House, Mr Trump expressed sympathy for Mr Clinton, a Democrat.

“I don’t like seeing him deposed,” Mr Trump said. “But they certainly went after me more than that.”

The Clintons agreed to testify near their home in Chappaqua after they were

threatened with being held in contempt of Congress

for refusing to cooperate. Some Democrats supported the move.

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

Epstein died in jail in 2019 while facing federal sex-trafficking crimes. His death was ruled a suicide. REUTERS