By Jennifer Calfas, Ken Thomas and Anvee Bhutani

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. -- Hillary Clinton said she had no prior knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's wrongdoing and accused House Republicans of conducting a partisan "fishing expedition" as she sat Thursday for a closed-door, videotaped deposition in front of a GOP-led House committee.

The former secretary of state said in her opening statement that she had no information to share about any criminal activity by Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

"As I stated in my sworn declaration on January 13, I had no idea about their criminal activities. 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, according to a copy of her prepared remarks.

"You have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump's actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers," she added, saying that if Republicans were serious about their Epstein investigation, they "would not waste time on fishing expeditions."

Hillary Clinton's deposition is taking place at a performing-arts center near her residence in Chappaqua ahead of former President Bill Clinton's testimony scheduled for Friday. The extraordinary circumstances involving the Epstein case marked the first time a former first lady and former Democratic president were speaking to a congressional committee under subpoena.

House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer (R., Ky.) said his panel was pursuing a serious and bipartisan investigation, as he arrived at the deposition joined by Republican committee members, including Reps. Nancy Mace (R., S.C.) and Lauren Boebert (R., Colo.) who helped lead the fight to make public files related to Epstein.

"The American people have a lot of questions," Comer told reporters. "To my knowledge, the Clintons haven't answered very many, if any, questions about their knowledge or involvement" with Epstein or Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping recruit and groom underage girls.

"If she has any information that could be helpful to the investigation, we want to hear that," said Rep. Robert Garcia (D., Calif.), the top Democrat on the committee. He said the panel had "no evidence of her having any interactions with Mr. Epstein."

Comer said the committee, which has been conducting its investigation since last year, wasn't accusing Hillary Clinton of any wrongdoing. The Clintons have previously said they had no personal knowledge of Epstein's criminal activities. The Clintons' lawyer, David Kendall, has told the committee that Hillary Clinton "never flew on his aircraft, never visited his island, and cannot recall ever speaking to Epstein."

Bill Clinton has acknowledged flying on Epstein's private jet for foundation work in 2002 and 2003, but has said he never visited Epstein's private island.

"We hope they actually ask questions about Epstein," Angel Ureña, a spokesman for Bill Clinton, said on Thursday morning.

For Hillary Clinton, who served as secretary of state in the Obama administration and as a New York senator, the deposition reprises memories of her contentious marathon 2015 hearing before Congress over the Benghazi attack in Libya. She has previously endured scandals centered around her husband's political career and presidency, including investigations into the Whitewater land deal and Monica Lewinsky.

As a presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton was dogged over her use of a private email server while secretary of state, an episode that figured prominently in her 2016 campaign against Trump.

Trump has said his friendship with Epstein ended before Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008. When Epstein was arrested again in 2019, Trump said he hadn't talked to Epstein for about 15 years. The president said recently he has been "totally exonerated" of any wrongdoing in connection to Epstein.

The deposition comes after weeks of legal wrangling that nearly resulted in the House voting to hold both Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton in contempt of Congress. The GOP-led committee had advanced contempt resolutions last month, with several Democrats joining Republicans -- particularly on the vote involving Bill Clinton -- before the Clintons agreed to appear.

The committee's investigation is focused on the federal government's handling of Epstein, the financier who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, and Maxwell. Lawmakers have said they are examining prosecutorial decisions across multiple administrations -- including the 2008 nonprosecution agreement Epstein reached with federal prosecutors in Florida, a deal that later drew bipartisan criticism.

Files released by the Justice Department beginning in December included photographs of Bill Clinton and references to his past interactions with Epstein, though being mentioned in the files isn't an indication of wrongdoing. A review of the files by The Wall Street Journal didn't find correspondence with Hillary Clinton, though her name appears in news clippings in Epstein's email inbox. Maxwell attended the 2010 wedding of Chelsea Clinton, the Clintons' daughter, as a guest of computer entrepreneur Ted Waitt. Comer on Thursday mentioned a picture showing Maxwell at that wedding.

Bill Clinton wrote in his 2024 memoir "Citizen" that he "had no inkling of the crimes [Epstein] was committing. He hurt a lot of people, but I knew nothing about it and by the time he was first arrested in 2005, I had stopped contact with him."

The battle over the Clintons' testimony has scrambled traditional partisan lines. Some Democrats voted to advance contempt proceedings against both Clintons -- though many said they felt Hillary Clinton was getting dragged into the investigation unfairly. Clinton allies have cast the investigation as politically motivated and aimed at embarrassing the couple.

Write to Jennifer Calfas at jennifer.calfas@wsj.com, Ken Thomas at ken.thomas@wsj.com and Anvee Bhutani at anvee.bhutani@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 26, 2026 12:11 ET (17:11 GMT)

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