Former President Clinton said he "did nothing wrong" and had "no idea of the crimes" Jeffrey Epstein was committing as he kicked off a deposition with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
In a prepared opening statement on social media, Clinton shared that his connection with Epstein ended before his crimes came to light.
He noted that he was "here to offer what little I know so that it might prevent anything like this from ever happening ever".
In his opening statement to the panel, which he posted on X, Clinton said, "As someone who grew up in a home with domestic abuse, not only would I not have flown on his plane if I had any inkling of what he was doing—I would have turned him in myself and led the call for justice for his crimes."
"I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong," Clinton noted.
On Friday, February 27, the former president is sitting for a deposition with the committee in Chappaqua, NY, behind closed doors a day after his wife, Hillary Clinton, sat for hours-long deposition with the committee.
In her interview, she told the panel that she did not recall ever meeting Epstein and only knew Ghislaine Maxwell as a casual acquaintance and had no knowledge of their criminal activities.
Moreover, Clinton is the first sitting or former president to testify before members of Congress in over 40 years.
Prior to the deposition, committee chair James Comer, R-Ky., told reporters, "It's a historical day for the United States Congress."
"No one is accusing anyone of any wrongdoing, but I think the American people have a lot of questions, and our House Oversight Committee is committed to getting answers," he added.
It is quite rare for a sitting or former president to appear before members of Congress. The last to do so was former President Gerald R. Ford in 1983, when he testified before a Senate subcommittee about planning for the bicentennial of the Constitution.
