Bill Clinton tells congressmen that he was unaware of Epstein's crimes: 'I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong'

Former President Bill Clinton began testifying Friday before the House Oversight Committee about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Clinton, 79, features prominently in the most recent disclosures in the files related to the financier and sex offender.

The former president's appearance before the committee comes one day after that of his wife, Hillary, a former secretary of state. Both are testifying from Chappaqua, New York where they reside.

The Clintons initially refused subpoenas to testify, but agreed after Republican lawmakers threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress.

"No person is above the law"

During his appearance, the former chairman told committee members that he was coming voluntarily because "no person is above the law, even presidents," and said his testimony was intended to help restore public confidence and support Epstein's victims.

"The second reason I'm here is that the girls and women whose lives Jeffrey Epstein destroyed deserve not only justice, but healing."

The former president has noted that he traveled on Epstein's plane on several occasions in the early 2000s to participate in humanitarian activities linked to the Clinton Foundation, but maintained that he was never on the financier's private island in the Caribbean.

New images recently extracted from Epstein's millions of declassified files show Bill Clinton reclining in a hot tub, with part of the photograph hidden by a black rectangle. In another, the former president is seen swimming next to a dark-haired woman who appears to be Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's aide.

"I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong"

The former president has maintained that he ended his relationship with the financier long before he was convicted of sex crimes in 2008. In his opening statement to the committee, he reiterated that narrative and stressed that he had stopped his relationship with the sex offender before his crimes came to light.

Likewise, Clinton stated in his opening statement released on social media at the start of the deposition, "I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong."

Bill Clinton added: "As someone who grew up in a home with domestic abuse, not only would I not have flown on his plane if I had any inkling of what he was doing- I would have turned him in myself and led the call for justice for his crimes, not sweetheart deals."

The former president also defended his wife and, in his statement, added: "But before we start, I have to get personal. You made Hillary come in. She had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Nothing. She has no memory of even meeting him. She neither traveled with him nor visited any of his properties."

"Whether you subpoenaed 10 people or 10,000, including her was simply not right," the former lawmaker stated.

James Comer: "The American people have a lot of questions"

House Oversight Committee Chairman Republican James Comer said Friday: "It took seven months to get the Clintons here. But, now that we have them, we're going to ask a lot of questions."

"No one is accusing anyone of any wrongdoing," Comer told reporters. "But I think the American people have a lot of questions." He added that people with "great power and great wealth" had often avoided accountability in the Epstein case.

But Democrats on the committee reiterated their call for Trump to be quizzed. "Let's be real, we are talking to the wrong president," said Democrat committee member Suhas Subramanyam, who also emphasized that Clinton had not dodged any questions.