Former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared before a Republican-led House panel on Thursday, February 26, to testify about her alleged association with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. While she denied knowing or meeting Jeffrey Epstein, she also called on President Donald Trump to testify about his own connections to the convicted financier.
Hillary Clinton told a congressional committee she had no information about Epstein’s crimes, never remembered meeting him and never visited his island or flew on his plane, accusing the panel of trying to “protect one public official.”
In her opening statement, Hillary Clinton said she was horrified to learn of Epstein’s crimes. “It is incomprehensible that Mr. Epstein received a slap on the wrist in 2008, allowing him to continue his predatory practices for another decade.”
“As I stated in my January 13 affidavit, I had no idea of their criminal activities. I have no recollection of ever meeting Mr. Epstein. I have never flown on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add,” she said.
James Comer, who chairs the committee that will also grill former President Bill Clinton on Friday, Feb. 27, said “the whole purpose of the investigation is to try to understand a lot of things about Epstein.”
What did Hillary say in her statement?
Attacking the committee and President Trump, Hillary Clinton said: “This institutional failure is designed to protect one political party and one public official, rather than seek truth and justice for victims and survivors, as well as the public who also wants to get to the bottom of this matter. My heart goes out to the survivors. And I am furious on their behalf.”
“Jeffrey Epstein was a vile individual, but he is far from alone. This is not a one-off tabloid sensation or a political scandal. This is a global disaster with an unimaginable human toll,” she said.
Hillary Clinton went on to criticize the Trump administration, saying, “…the Trump administration gutted the State Department’s Office of Human Trafficking by cutting more than 70 percent of the civilian and foreign service professionals who worked so hard to prevent human trafficking crimes. The annual report on human trafficking, required by law, was delayed by months.” Also read | Epstein Files: Who were the two women in Stephen Hawking’s photo? The scientist’s family reveals
“The Trump administration’s message to the American people and the world could not be clearer: combating human trafficking is no longer an American priority in the Trump White House,” she said.
Hillary Clinton went on to challenge the House panel, saying that “if this committee is serious about getting to the truth about Epstein’s human trafficking crimes … it would ask him (Trump) directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he appeared in Epstein’s files.”
