In a statement shared via social media, former President Bill Clinton asserted, “I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,” setting the tone for his recent deposition. This session, held behind closed doors in Chappaqua, New York, marks a historic moment as it is the first instance of a former president being compelled to testify before Congress.

This deposition follows closely on the heels of a similar session involving his wife, Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. Secretary of State, who faced lawmakers for questioning just a day prior.

Notably, Bill Clinton stands free of any allegations of misconduct. However, the broader context involves a significant inquiry into accountability for high-profile individuals worldwide. This scrutiny follows the scandal surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, who in 2008, pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in Florida. The focus now is on understanding how such powerful individuals maintained connections with Epstein after his conviction.

Republican Representative James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, expressed the overarching concern succinctly before the deposition commenced on Friday. He remarked, “Men — and women, for that matter — of great power and great wealth from all across the world have been able to get away with a lot of heinous crimes. They haven’t been held accountable, nor have they had to answer questions.”

Yet lawmakers are grappling with what accountability in the United States looks like at a time when men around the world have been toppled from their high-powered posts for maintaining their connections with Epstein after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.

“Men — and women for that matter — of great power and great wealth from all across the world have been able to get away with a lot of heinous crimes and they haven’t been held accountable and they have not even had to answer questions,” said Republican Rep. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, before the deposition began Friday.

Hillary Clinton told lawmakers Thursday that she had no knowledge of how Epstein had sexually abused underage girls and had no recollection of even meeting him.

But Bill Clinton will have to answer questions on a well-documented relationship with Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, even if it was from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Bill Clinton in his opening statement said that he would likely often tell the committee that he did not recall the specifics of events from more than 20 years ago.

But he also expressed certainty that he had not witnessed signs of Epstein’s abuse.

Still, Republicans were relishing the opportunity to scrutinise the former Democratic president under oath.

“No one’s accusing anyone of any wrongdoing, but I think the American people have a lot of questions,” Comer said.

Republicans finally get a chance to question Bill Clinton

Republicans have wanted to question Bill Clinton about Epstein for years, especially as conspiracy theories arose following Epstein’s 2019 suicide in a New York jail cell while he faced sex trafficking charges.

Those calls reached a fever pitch late last year when several photos of the former president surfaced in the Department of Justice’s first release of case files on Epstein and Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021 but maintains she’s innocent.

Bill Clinton was photographed on a plane seated alongside a woman, whose face is redacted, with his arm around her.

Another photo showed Clinton and Maxwell in a pool with another person whose face was redacted.

Epstein also visited the White House several times during Clinton’s presidency, and the pair later made several international trips together for their humanitarian work.

Comer claimed the committee has collected evidence that Epstein visited the White House 17 times and that Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s airplane 27 times.

“We are only here because he hid it from everyone so well for so long,” Bill Clinton said in his opening statement.

“And by the time it came to light with his 2008 guilty plea, I had long stopped associating with him.”

Comer pledged extensive questioning of the former president. He claimed that Hillary Clinton had repeatedly deferred questions about Epstein to her husband.

Bill Clinton went after Comer for calling his wife before the committee, telling him that “including her was simply not right.”

The committee was working to quickly publish a transcript and video recording of her deposition.

Has a precedent been set?

Democrats, who have supported the push to get answers from Bill Clinton, are arguing that it sets a precedent that should also apply to US President Donald Trump, a Republican who had his own relationship with Epstein.

“I think that President Trump needs to man up, get in front of this committee and answer the questions and stop calling this investigation a hoax,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, on Friday.

Comer has pushed back on that idea, saying that Trump has answered questions on Epstein from the press.

Democrats are also calling for the resignation of Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Lutnick was a long-time neighbour of Epstein in New York City but said on a podcast that he severed ties with Epstein following a 2005 tour of Epstein’s home that disturbed Lutnick and his wife.

The public release of case files showed that Lutnick actually had two engagements with Epstein years later. He attended a 2011 event at Epstein’s home, and in 2012 his family had lunch with Epstein on his private island.

“He should be removed from office and at a minimum should come before the committee,” Garcia said of Lutnick.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace questioned Hillary Clinton about Lutnick’s relationship to Epstein during the deposition on Thursday.

On Friday morning, Mace joined in calling for the commerce secretary to come before the committee.

“I believe we will have the votes to subpoena him,” Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said.

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