Hillary Clinton before the House Oversight Committee: 'I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein'
The Democrat took the opportunity to go on the offensive and demand that President Donald Trump testify about his alleged ties to the sex offender.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Hillary Clinton asserted that she has no recollection of meeting Jeffrey Epstein or his criminal activities. The former secretary of state's statement came during a forced appearance Thursday before a Republican-led panel investigating Epstein.
"I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that," she said.
In addition, the Democrat took the opportunity to go on the offensive and demand that President Donald Trump testify about his alleged ties to the sex offender.
Clinton also challenged the panel, saying that "if this committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein's trafficking crimes...it would ask (Trump) directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files."
The committee's top Democrat, Robert Garcia, also called on Trump to testify "to answer the questions that are being asked across this country from survivors."
In that regard, James Comer, who chairs the committee that will also question former President Bill Clinton on Friday, said "the purpose of the whole investigation is to try to understand many things about Epstein" -- the deceased convicted sex offender.
The committee's investigation
The Clintons had initially refused subpoenas ordering them to testify in the panel's investigation, but the Democratic power couple agreed to do so after House Republicans threatened to declare them in contempt of Congress.
Hillary Clinton said in her opening statement to the panel that she "justified her subpoena based on the assumption that I have information about investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell."
"Let me be as clear as I can. I do not."
Trump and Bill Clinton, both 79, figure prominently in the recently released set of government documents related to Epstein, but said they severed any ties to the financier before his conviction as a sex offender in 2008 in Florida.
Mere mention in the records does not constitute proof of wrongdoing.
The Clintons asked that their statements be made public, but the committee insisted on questioning them behind closed doors, a move Bill Clinton denounced as akin to a "kangaroo court."
The depositions are being held in Chappaqua, N.Y., where the Clintons reside. Dozens of journalists have gathered in the affluent area.
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