WASHINGTON — On Thursday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared before U.S. House lawmakers, asserting she was unaware of any criminal activities involving Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell. These hearings mark the beginning of two days of depositions that will also feature former President Bill Clinton.

“I had no knowledge of their criminal conduct. I do not recall any interactions with Mr. Epstein,” Hillary Clinton stated in an opening remark she later posted on social media.

The depositions are taking place in Chappaqua, New York, the Clintons’ hometown, which is usually a serene suburb located north of New York City. This session follows a protracted period of negotiations between the prominent Democratic couple and the Republican-led House Oversight Committee. Notably, this marks the first instance of a former president being compelled to testify before Congress.

However, the demand for accountability regarding Epstein’s exploitation of underage girls has gained significant momentum both on Capitol Hill and across the nation.

While President Donald Trump, a Republican, has voiced regret over the Clintons being summoned to testify, he conceded to public pressure last year by releasing files related to Epstein’s case. Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 as he awaited trial. The Clintons agreed to testify after their attempts to provide sworn written statements were rejected by the Oversight Committee. The Committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., had threatened to pursue criminal contempt of Congress charges against them.

“We have a very clear record that we’ve been willing to talk about,” Hillary Clinton said in an interview with the BBC earlier this month. She added that her husband had flown with Epstein for charitable trips and that she did not recall meeting Epstein but had interacted with Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and confidant, at conferences hosted by the Clinton Foundation.

Maxwell, a British socialite, also attended the 2010 wedding of their daughter, Chelsea Clinton.

“We are more than happy to say what we know, which is very limited and totally unrelated to their behavior or their crimes, and we want to do it in public,” Hillary Clinton said.

Bill Clinton, however, has emerged as a top target for Republicans amid the political struggle over who receives the most scrutiny for their ties to Epstein. Several photos of the former president were included in the first tranche of Epstein files released by the Department of Justice in January, including a number of him with women whose faces were redacted. Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing in his relationship with Epstein.

Comer has also pointed to Hillary Clinton’s work as secretary of state to address sex trafficking as another reason to insist on her deposition. The committee’s investigation has sought to understand why the Department of Justice under previous presidential administrations did not seek further charges against Epstein following a 2008 arrangement in which he pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl but avoided federal charges.

Yet conspiracy theories, especially on the right, have swirled for years around the Clintons and their connections to Epstein and Maxwell, who argues she was wrongfully convicted. Republicans have long wanted to press the Clintons for answers.

“I mean if you’re the wife of Bill Clinton, aren’t you going to have some questions about your husband’s activities?” said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the House Oversight Committee. “We only go where the facts take us. We didn’t put the president and the secretary in this position. They put themselves in it.”

Democrats, now being led by a new generation of politicians, have prioritized transparency around Epstein over defending the former leaders of their party. Several Democratic lawmakers joined with Republicans on the Oversight panel to advance the contempt of Congress charges against the Clintons last month. Several said they had no relationship with the Clintons and owed no loyalty to them.

Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight panel, said that both Republican and Democratic administrations “have failed survivors in not getting more information out to the public.” He also said he wanted to ask about Epstein’s possible ties to foreign governments.

Democrats are also coming off an effort this week to confront Trump about his administration’s handling of the Epstein files by taking women who survived Epstein’s abuse as their guests to Trump’s State of the Union address. Even senior Democrats, such as former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, said it was appropriate for the committee to interview anyone, including the former president, who was connected to Epstein.

“We want to hear from everyone,” Pelosi said, adding that she did not see why Hillary Clinton was being interviewed and that it was important to “believe survivors.”

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