Former US President Bill Clinton has testified before a congressional committee about his relationship with the late, notorious US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He said he “saw nothing” and “did nothing wrong.”
The day-long hearing was held in New York, USA, before the Oversight Committee of the US House of Representatives on Friday.
In the closed-door hearing, former President Clinton was questioned about his name appearing in recently released documents related to the Epstein case. One of the documents released by the US Justice Department shows Clinton bathing in the same hot tub with an unidentified man.
A day before Clinton’s testimony, his wife, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also testified before a congressional committee.
In the Thursday hearing, Hillary said that she knew nothing about Epstein’s crimes. She had no idea about it.
Just because someone’s name is in the Epstein-related documents does not mean that they were involved in any kind of crime. Epstein's victims who have come forward so far have not brought any charges against Clinton.
Clinton said in an initial statement after the hearing that if she had even the slightest idea what Epstein was doing, she would have severed all ties with him and never traveled on his plane.
The former US president added, "Then I would have turned him in myself."
Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton initially refused to testify before the committee; but when lawmakers moved to charge them with "contempt of Congress," they agreed.
A source familiar with Clinton's closed-door hearing told the BBC that when the former president was asked about the photo of him sitting in a hot tub, he claimed not to know the person with him. The person sitting in the hot tub with Clinton is believed to be a woman. The US Justice Department blacked out the person's face in the documents released to protect his identity.
Clinton was asked if she had had sex with the woman. Clinton said she had not.
Hillary Clinton spoke to reporters after testifying before a congressional committee on Thursday; Bill Clinton did not.
However, James Comar, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, described the hours of testimony as “very productive.”
“President Clinton answered every question or attempted to answer every question,” Comar said.
A video and full transcript of Clinton’s testimony will be released in the coming days, Comar said.
James Comar described the testimony of Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, as “historic,” and said they were the highest-ranking officials ever to face questioning before Congress.
Six other US presidents have testified before Congress. But none of them have been formally questioned by legal means.
Former President Gerald Ford, for example, voluntarily appeared before a congressional committee in 1974 to explain his pardon of former President Richard Nixon.
“This is a serious investigation,” Comar said. “We will continue to try to get the truth out to the American people and to ensure justice for the victims.”
One of the issues raised during Bill Clinton’s testimony was Epstein’s relationship with President Donald Trump.
House Democrats said his testimony had revealed “additional information” about Trump that would justify questioning the current president.
Comar told reporters that Clinton was asked during her testimony whether Trump should be brought before the committee to testify.
Clinton responded, "That's up to you to decide."
Comer said Clinton was asked if she knew anything about Trump's involvement in the Epstein case. However, Comer said that no new information provided by the former president has changed her belief about Trump.
Comer said the charges against him (Trump) were dismissed a long time ago. Trump has not engaged in any misconduct.
On Friday, Trump opened up about the questioning of Clinton. He told reporters, "I don't like to see him face questioning."
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