Former President Bill Clinton told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Friday that he had no idea about the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, according to his opening statement. 

His statement came a day after his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, appeared before the committee on Thursday. In her opening statement, Hillary said she had no relevant knowledge for the investigation and accused the panel of turning its trafficking investigation into partisan political theatre.

No allegations of wrongdoing involving Epstein have been made against either of the Clintons.

President Clinton told the panel that he was testifying for two reasons. He said he believes that no one was above the law in the country and that he wanted justice for those wronged. “The (second) reason I am here is that the girls and women whose lives Jeffrey Epstein destroyed deserve not only justice, but healing,” he added. 

Clinton described his relationship with Epstein was limited and said it ended before Epstein’s crimes were publicly exposed. “Though my brief acquaintance with Epstein ended years before his crimes came to light,” he said, adding that he never saw during their limited interactions  any indication of wrongdoing.

In his statement, Clinton also defended his wife and criticized the committee for subpoenaing her. “You made Hillary come in. She had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Nothing,” he said. “Whether you subpoena 10 people or 10,000, including her was simply not right,” he added. 

Clinton told the inquiry panel that he had no knowledge of the crimes Epstein was committing. “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,” he said, “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. Clinton said that the events were long ago and argued his oath prevented him from guessing. “You’ll often hear me say that I don’t recall. That might be unsatisfying.” “But I’m not going to say something I’m not sure of,” he further added. 

Hillary Clinton’s prepared statement a day earlier was longer, running into four pages. Her remarks began by saying she respected Congress’s role in oversight and but added, “As we all know, however, too often Congressional investigations are partisan political theatre,” she said, adding that the committee had summoned her based on an incorrect assumption. 

“The Committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” she said. “Let me be as clear as I can. I do not.”

She denied any connection to 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 added. Clinton accused the committee of overlooking officials more directly tied to the federal response to Epstein, saying, “You subpoenaed eight law enforcement officials, all of whom ran the Department of Justice or directed the FBI when Epstein’s crimes were investigated and prosecuted.” 

“Of those eight, only one appeared before the Committee,” she added. She further noted that five of the six former attorneys general were allowed to submit brief statements stating they had no information to provide.

She argued that the inquiry had drifted from serious oversight into partisan messaging. Clinton then accused the committee of failing basic transparency and focus, telling the panel, “You have held zero public hearings, refused to allow the media to attend them, including today, despite espousing the need for transparency on dozens of occasions.” 

She also criticized what she described as a lack of effort to question more central figures, saying, “You have made little effort to call the people who show up most prominently in the Epstein files,” and pointedly noted that when the committee did pursue Les Wexner’s deposition, “not a single Republican member showed up.”

Hillary closed her statement with the accusation that the committee compelled her to testify despite knowing she had no knowledge that would help the investigation. She argued that it was done to “distract attention from President Trump’s actions” and “cover them up.”  

“If the committee is serious about the investigation, it would ask him directly under oath about ‘the tens of thousands of times’ he shows up in the Epstein files,” she concluded alleging a cover up by the panel. 

The depositions of the Clintons’ were held behind closed doors at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center in Chappaqua, New York, near their home. Especially, it is the first time in more than 40 years that a sitting or former U.S. president has testified before members of Congress, dating back to an appearance by Gerald Ford in 1983. 

The testimony comes as Epstein has faced years of public scrutiny over sex trafficking accusations and how his earlier case was handled. Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to state charges involving a minor. He was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges. Epstein died in a New York jail on Aug. 10, 2019, while waiting for trial. 

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