Former US President Bill Clinton confirmed on Friday before an investigative committee in the House of Representatives that he had "no idea of ​​the crimes" committed by his former friend Jeffrey Epstein, in an interrogation session that witnessed mutual accusations between Republicans and Democrats. While Republicans stressed the need to uncover the circumstances of Clinton's documented relations with the late billionaire, Democrats demanded that current President Donald Trump be interrogated against the backdrop of new accusations of sexual assault, as his name was mentioned in thousands of documents related to the case.

Published on: 02/27/2026 - 21:31

Former US President Bill Clinton stressed on Friday before an investigative committee in the House of Representatives that he broke off his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein more than a decade before his death in prison in 2019 and that he had “no idea of ​​the crimes” he committed. Clinton said in his testimony published on the

James Comer, head of the Republican-majority committee that is questioning Bill Clinton before the session, said that he has "many questions" to ask the former president, who traveled "at least 27 times" on Epstein's private plane, and who in turn went to the White House "17 times" during his term.

Democrats demand Trump's impeachment

Democratic representatives, for their part, stressed that they want to subject Donald Trump to questioning. Committee member Suhas Subramanian said, "Let's be honest, today we are going to the wrong president. It is President Trump who is obstructing our investigation. President Trump is the one who wants to kill this case."

The name of Bill Clinton, who occupied the White House between 1993 and 2001, was mentioned many times in Epstein's documents, like the current president, who is 79 years old, but no complaints were ever made against him. He was close to the New York financial expert, traveled several times on his private plane, and many pictures were taken with him, like Trump.

Among the photos recently revealed among millions of documents published by the Department of Justice, Clinton can be seen participating with Epstein in social events, but also in private sessions with him, and sometimes alongside women whose faces were hidden to preserve their privacy. One of the photos shows Clinton in a hot tub.

Repeated exile and a decade-long estrangement

Clinton has repeatedly stressed that he was not aware of the practices of Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 of sex crimes and served an 18-month prison sentence. Upon the death of Epstein, who committed suicide in his cell in 2019 while awaiting trial, Clinton confirmed that he had not contacted him for more than a decade.

This was also confirmed by his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, when she appeared Thursday before the same Republican-dominated committee to be questioned about her relations with Epstein. She stressed to reporters that "the vast majority of people who were in contact with him before he pleaded guilty in 2008...were not aware of what he was doing."

The hearing for Hillary and Bill Clinton will be held at the Chappaqua Arts Center in northern New York, where the couple resides.

Hillary Clinton challenges Republicans

The former first lady defied the Republican-dominated committee during her questioning Thursday, demanding that Trump be subpoenaed to testify about his relationship with Epstein, stressing that she had never met the financier. The committee was accused of trying to "protect one official," the Republican president.

"If this committee were serious about finding out the truth about Epstein's human trafficking crimes... it would ask (Trump) directly, under oath, about the tens of thousands of times his name appears in Epstein's files," she said.

Reveal new information

The Democratic members of the committee also demanded to hear from Trump, based on new information revealed by the American press. The media reported that the Ministry of Justice recently prevented the publication of documents containing accusations by a woman confirming that she was sexually assaulted when she was a minor by Epstein and Trump. California Representative Robert Garcia confirmed, "These are documents that accuse the President of the United States of very serious incidents of sexual violence."

The testimony of Hillary and Bill Clinton concludes a battle with Republican Committee Chairman James Comer over their questioning that lasted several months. The former president and his wife initially refused subpoenas to testify in the investigation. But they eventually agreed to do so after House Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress.

They requested that their testimonies be public, but the committee insisted on questioning them behind closed doors, a move that Bill Clinton denounced as “pure politicization” and a “sham trial.”

Epstein built an extensive network of relationships with powerful businessmen, politicians, celebrities, and academics. The publication of millions of documents related to him on January 30 had global repercussions that affected many figures and leaders, and led to the opening of criminal investigations, arrests, and resignations, especially in Europe.

France 24/AFP

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