When Hillary Clinton appeared before the House Oversight Committee in a closed deposition, she denied having any connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. There was one alleged statement from the late billionaire, however, she didn’t take offense to — and it made everyone in the room laugh.
“Mr. Epstein is commenting and he quotes, ‘Hey, Hillary Clinton is much prettier in person,’” Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert said in a video of Clinton’s Thursday, February 26, deposition.
“I’m not going to object to that,” Clinton, 78, replied, shrugging her shoulders in a sheepish manner as the room laughed in response.
A legal representative of Clinton’s can be heard asking the congresswoman off camera, “Can we see the documents? We don’t think the document says that.” He then turned to Clinton and said, “Not that you’re not pretty.”
The interaction between the pair provided a moment of levity in an otherwise tense proceeding, with Clinton responding, “I’ll take it if I can get it.”
Despite making a few jokes while facing the committee in Chappaqua, New York, for six hours last week, Clinton maintained she did not have a relationship with Epstein after she and her husband, former president Bill Clinton’s names were found in some of the Epstein’s files.
The former first lady told the panel she had “no idea” about Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes prior to his arrest. Hillary also claimed she barely knew the man and never visited any of his properties.
Hillary noted that Epstein’s crimes are not a one-off and the victims should be the subject of everyone’s focus.
“If you are new to this issue, let me tell you: Jeffrey Epstein was a heinous individual, but he’s far from alone,” she said in her opening statement to the committee via The Independent. “This is not a one-off tabloid sensation or a political scandal. It’s a global scourge with an unimaginable human toll.”
In July 2019, Epstein was arrested on federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors. (He also pleaded guilty in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a minor — a lesser charge as part of his “sweetheart” plea deal.) He pleaded not guilty to the charges but before the case could go to trial, Epstein died in a New York City jail at the age of 66. His death was later ruled a suicide.
While Epstein is no longer alive to speak about his alleged crimes, he is still continuing to make headlines thanks to the Justice Department’s long-awaited release of his Epstein Files as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
In recent months, several high-powered figures — including celebrities, politicians and royals —have been named in the documents.
Bill, 79, and Hillary both met separately with the House Oversight Committee to deny their alleged connection to the late criminal.
“First, I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing,” Bill wrote in a statement via X on Friday, February 27, ahead of his closed deposition. “No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that at the end of the day matter more than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos: I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn’t see. I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn’t do. I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong.”
He added that the committee might not like his answers, but he’s going to speak his truth. “That might be unsatisfying. But I’m not going to say something I’m not sure of,” Bill said. “Since I am under oath, I will not falsely state that I am looking forward to your questions. But I am ready to answer them to the best of my abilities, consistent with the facts as I know them.”
If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
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