Washington — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused the Trump administration of a “continuing cover-up” over its handling of the release of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“There’s something about this administration’s attitude toward this, which I think really leads us to conclude they have something to hide,” Hillary Clinton told the BBC in an interview released Tuesday. “We don’t. We have been willing to say whatever we know. We’ve even done it under oath.”
Hillary Clinton is set to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 26 for a deposition as part of its Epstein investigation. Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to be deposed the next day. Neither has been accused of wrongdoing.
Their appearances before lawmakers, which will happen behind closed doors, come after a monthslong back-and-forth that led the committee to recommend holding the Clintons in criminal contempt of Congress for failing to appear under subpoena. The full House was on the verge of voting on the contempt resolution, which was expected to pass with bipartisan support, when the Clintons agreed to the committee’s terms to appear.
But the Clintons have pushed for the testimony to occur in public. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, has said that is a possibility after the private depositions.
“We will show up, but we think it would be better to have it in public,” Hillary Clinton told the BBC.
The Clintons submitted sworn declarations in January describing their interactions with Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a prison sentence on sex trafficking charges.
Hillary Clinton reiterated in the BBC interview that she doesn’t remember ever meeting Epstein and that her husband’s association with him was related to the Clinton Foundation’s philanthropic work. Bill Clinton has said Epstein offered his private plane to him, his staff and his Secret Service detail in support of his charity work between 2002 and 2003, and that he had not been in contact with Epstein for more than a decade before his 2019 arrest.
“We have no links. We have a very clear record that we’ve been willing to talk about, which my husband has said he took some rides on the airplane for his charitable work. I don’t recall ever meeting him,” Hillary Clinton said.
Hillary Clinton said she met Maxwell “on a few occasions” through the Clinton Foundation.
The couple’s knowledge of Epstein and Maxwell is “very limited and totally unrelated to their behavior or their crimes,” Hillary Clinton said.
The former secretary of state accused Comer of forcing them to appear for depositions “to protect” President Trump, who is also mentioned in the Epstein files and has denied any wrongdoing. She noted that other former officials subpoenaed in the inquiry have not been forced to testify.
“We have nothing to hide. We have called for the full release of these files repeatedly,” she said. “Get the files out. They are slow-walking it. They are redacting the names of men who are in it. They are stonewalling legitimate requests from members of Congress. That has nothing to do with us. Something is going on. They know it. I know it.”
She said lawmakers won’t “like what I have to say” if the committee follows through with the private deposition.
“I have very strong opinions about what it is they’re hiding and who they are protecting,” she said. “Why do they want to pull us into this? To divert attention from President Trump. This is not complicated.”
Asked Sunday about his response to Hillary Clinton’s allegation that they are being used as a diversion, Mr. Trump told reporters, “I have nothing to hide.”
“I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein,” Mr. Trump said.
