Former US President Bill Clinton, who testified before the House Oversight Committee on Friday about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, maintained that he had committed no crime and was unaware of his criminal activity.
In a video message posted on social media after nearly six hours of closed-door testimony, Clinton reiterated her stance before the House Oversight Committee.
“I want closure for victims”
According to Clinton, who became the first sitting or former president to testify before members of Congress in more than 40 years, he did so because “nobody is above the law and he didn’t want to help Epstein’s victims get closure.”
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“It was over before the crimes came to light”
As for the relationship with Epstein, Clinton admitted that he has known the disgraced financier for a long time, but insisted that he was not part of his criminal activities.
“My brief acquaintance with Epstein ended years before his crimes came to light. And while in our limited interactions I never witnessed any indication of what was really going on, I offered what little I know in hopes that it would help prevent something like this from ever happening again,” Clinton said.
“Hillary had nothing to do”
The former US president also accused Republicans of dragging his wife Hillary Clinton into the controversy, even though she had nothing to do with Epstein.
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“The Republicans had Hillary testify yesterday and she had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. She has no recollection of ever meeting him. She did not travel with him or visit any of his properties. So whether ten people were subpoenaed or 10,000 including her was just not right,” he said.
‘I didn’t see anything, I didn’t do anything wrong’
The 79-year-old, who was seen in several photos with Epstein in recently released US Department of Justice (DOJ) documents, said none of them showed any criminal wrongdoing.
“I didn’t see anything and I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said.
Recalling his childhood, growing up in a household where he witnessed domestic violence, Clinton said he would have alerted authorities if he had known about Epstein’s abuse.
“As someone who grew up in a domestic violence home, not only would I not have flown on his plane if I had any idea what he was doing, I would have turned on him and led the call for justice for his crimes, not for the sweet deal he got,” he said.
According to Clinton, Epstein managed to hide his criminal activities from everyone for a long time, adding that their association ended long before his guilty plea in 2008.
No charges against Clinton
Although he was photographed several times with Epstein and flew on his private jet several times, Clinton was not accused of any crime or sexual misconduct in the Justice Department documents.
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None of Epstein’s victims also accused Clinton of any wrongdoing, and the only mention was made by one of the accusers, Johanna Sjoberg, who claimed to have heard Epstein say “Clinton likes them young.”
Key things
- Bill Clinton maintains his innocence of any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
- Clinton condemns Epstein’s actions and expresses a desire for justice for his victims.
- The political situation surrounding the Epstein case led to accusations against the Clinton family.
