By Caitlin Yilek
Updated March 2, 2026 / 8:02 PM EST — CBS News
Washington — The House Oversight Committee on Monday posted videos of last week’s depositions of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as part of its probe into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Hillary Clinton testified Thursday and Bill Clinton a day later. The GOP Oversight YouTube uploads run about 4 hours, 35 minutes for Hillary and 4 hours, 33 minutes for Bill. Both depositions were taken behind closed doors in Chappaqua, New York.
Republican Rep. James Comer, the committee chairman, said securing the couple’s testimony was the culmination of a lengthy effort to question them about what they knew of Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is imprisoned on sex‑trafficking convictions. The Clintons have repeatedly denied knowledge of Epstein’s or Maxwell’s crimes. Both provided opening statements to the committee before testifying.
In his testimony, Bill Clinton departed from prepared remarks at points. He acknowledged a photo that appears to show him and his wife shaking Epstein’s hand in a photo line at a White House Historical Association fundraiser in 1993 and said neither he nor Hillary remembered the handshake. He criticized the committee for bringing his wife in for questioning but said he understood why they would question him about flights he took with Epstein.
Bill Clinton said his first recollection of meeting Epstein was in 2002 on a flight. He testified he took “four or five” trips on Epstein’s plane to Asia, Africa and northern Europe for Clinton Foundation philanthropic work, and at least once was offered a separate ride from Florida to New York. Hillary Clinton called her husband’s flying on Epstein’s plane “unfortunate” and said she wishes he had not done so.
Bill Clinton told the committee his relationship with Epstein ended in 2003, saying other donors were more involved and attentive to the foundation’s work. He described Epstein as “an interesting man” but not someone he believed was deeply engaged with the foundation’s mission.
The former president confirmed he wrote a letter to Epstein that appeared in a book for Epstein’s 50th birthday and said he didn’t recall the reason for the contribution but that it was likely at staff request. He was also shown a 1995 get‑well note to Epstein’s mother that looked like his handwriting; he said he did not recall writing it or meeting Epstein’s family.
Bill Clinton denied ever having sexual encounters with anyone introduced to him by Maxwell, denied visiting Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, denied interest in underage girls and denied witnessing any sexual abuse during overseas trips on Epstein’s plane. He also described a conversation with Donald Trump at an early‑2000s golf fundraiser in which Trump mentioned Epstein and a falling‑out over a real estate deal; Clinton said he did not take that remark as implying anything sexual.
Hillary Clinton told the committee she did not recall meeting Epstein but acknowledged she had been informed in preparation for the deposition that Epstein had attended a White House event. “I knew nothing about him,” she said.
During her testimony, Hillary Clinton engaged in heated exchanges with Republican congresswomen. One confrontation followed when GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert leaked a photo from the deposition to a right‑wing commentator, violating the deposition ground rules. A lawyer for Hillary interjected to raise the leak; Hillary stood up, saying she was done and that the behavior was “typical,” and the deposition paused briefly.
In another exchange, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace questioned how Hillary Clinton knew Howard Lutnick, now Commerce Secretary under President Trump, referencing an email from Lutnick to Epstein about an “intimate event” for Hillary Clinton at Cantor Fitzgerald. Hillary, recalling her work as a New York senator after the Sept. 11 attacks and Lutnick’s role leading Cantor Fitzgerald, pushed back when Mace interrupted her explanation. Mace accused Hillary of obfuscating and denying attempts to solicit money from Epstein; the two raised their voices, with Mace saying Hillary could “yell at me” and Hillary responding in kind.
Bill Clinton said he had not seen Maxwell in roughly a decade or more and described her as having been in a relationship with a mutual friend. Both Clintons maintained they had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct.
This is a developing story.