Geoff Bennett:
Welcome to the “News Hour.”
Members of the Republican-led House Oversight Committee questioned Hillary Clinton for more than six hours today as part of its investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The former secretary of state told lawmakers she had no information on Epstein’s criminal activities.
Amna Nawaz:
During a closed-door session, Clinton said she also did not recall ever meeting Mr. Epstein and never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices.
Today’s meeting was the first of two days of closed-door depositions for the House Oversight Committee of both Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY):
There were a lot of questions that we asked that we weren’t satisfied with the answers that we got, but we will continue to move forward.
Amna Nawaz:
Democrats on the committee argued their Republican colleagues did not take the deposition seriously.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ):
Today, we are sitting through an incredibly unserious clown show of a deposition where members of Congress in the Republican Party are more concerned about getting their photo-up of Secretary Clinton than actually getting to the truth and holding anyone accountable.
Amna Nawaz:
Neither Bill nor Hillary Clinton have been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s crimes, but Bill Clinton has said he previously had a professional relationship with the convicted sexual offender.
For more on today’s testimony, I’m joined now by justice correspondent Ali Rogin.
So, Ali, today’s session was behind closed doors between Clinton and members of the committee. What did we learn today about any ties between Secretary Clinton and Epstein?
Ali Rogin:
Well, Amna, Hillary Clinton just came to the microphones and spoke to the media following today’s proceedings. She said she answered questions as best she could. She called the day long and repetitive, maintained that she has never met Jeffrey Epstein and that she had no knowledge of his or Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes.
She also said that, towards the end of the questioning today, it took an unusual turn and she spoke about — she was asked about things like UFOs and Pizzagate, that scandal from the first Trump campaign season.
We want to play for you a piece of what she said today.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former U.S. Secretary of State: I answered every one of their questions as fully as I could based on what I knew. And what I knew is what I said in my statement this morning.
I never met Jeffrey Epstein, never had any connection or communication with him.
Ali Rogin:
Amna, committee members also said that Hillary Clinton today gave them suggestions for other people to try to depose. And Committee Chairman James Comer said that repeatedly she answered questions by saying: “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask my husband.”
Amna Nawaz:
Well, we’ve heard the Clintons and the representatives argue House Republicans here are operating in what they call partisan political theater. At one point today, there was some back-and-forth between them, the Clintons and the Republicans on the committee. Tell us about that.
Ali Rogin:
That’s right.
During — right before the meeting started, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert snapped a picture of Clinton, apparently sent it to MAGA influencer Benny Johnson, who posted it on X. Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia said, everyone in the room was taken aback by this clear breach of committee rules.
So proceedings did temporarily pause, and then they did get back on track.
Amna Nawaz:
So, this testimony, this session comes after months of negotiations with the Clintons. Just remind us how we got to this moment.
Ali Rogin:
This hearing took a long time to schedule. Initially, the Clintons sought to argue that this subpoena was invalid and could not be enforced.
Then the committee moved towards a full House of Representatives vote on contempt of Congress. Then the Clintons said they would testify, but only in public. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said that he would interview them the same way everyone else has been interviewed on that committee, which is closed-door, videotape, with the video and transcript released subsequently.
Clearly, they arrived at a resolution, Amna, because these members made their way to Chappaqua, New York, for today and tomorrow.
Amna Nawaz:
So they heard from Secretary Clinton today. Tomorrow, they hear from former President Bill Clinton. Is that right?
Ali Rogin:
That’s correct.
And, though, of course, being mentioned in the files is not a suggestion of wrongdoing, Bill Clinton indisputably had a closer relationship with both Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell than did Hillary. Epstein visited the White House while Clinton served in office. Clinton traveled and socialized with the two of them, as is evidenced from many of the photos that have been released over the months from the Epstein files, as a Clinton spokesperson has maintained that Bill Clinton knew nothing of either individuals’ crimes.
As for the rest of the witness schedule, this committee is also going to hear from Epstein’s accountant and his lawyer. We also learned today that Chairman Comer is open to requesting that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testify. Lutnick has had to revise his statement several times about the nature of his relationship with the White House with Epstein.
So it makes sense that the committee would want to hear from him.
Amna Nawaz:
While we have you, another piece of related news I want to ask you about. We have seen reporting from multiple outlets this week that the Justice Department withheld and removed some of the Epstein files related to President Trump. What do we know about that?
Ali Rogin:
Yes, this is related to notes from four interviews that the FBI conducted with one woman in 2019 after Epstein was arrested.
The DOJ did release notes from one of those interviews, in which the woman accuses Epstein of sexually assaulting her when she was as young as 13 years old. But several media outlets noted that the notes from the three other interviews were missing and that, based on other documents that they could triangulate, there was information implicating potentially President Trump in those missing documents.
In response to this, the DOJ has said that it is reviewing those files and that — quote — “Should any document be found to have been improperly tagged in the review process, the department will, of course, publish it, consistent with the law,” Amna.
Amna Nawaz:
That’s our justice correspondent Ali Rogin beginning our coverage tonight.
Ali, thank you.
Ali Rogin:
You bet.
