UFOs, Pizzgate and leaked photos: Hillary Clinton faces tough questions over Epstein files – The

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified for more than six hours behind closed doors on Thursday before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.The hearing, which took place in Chappaqua, Clinton’s hometown, in New York, came after months of tension between the former Democratic couple and the committee. The Clintons resisted the committee’s subpoena, dismissing it as politically motivated, before agreeing to testify as contempt of Congress proceedings against them loomed.This was the first time a former president was forced to testify before Congress.

Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to appear before the committee on Friday.

In an opening statement shared on social media, Hillary Clinton said she had no knowledge of the criminal activities of Epstein or Maxwell. “I had no idea of ​​their criminal activities. I don’t recall ever meeting Mr. Epstein,” she said.“I don’t remember ever meeting Mr. Epstein,” she said in her prepared remarks. “I have never flown on his plane or visited his island, home or offices.

I have nothing to add to that.”She added: “Like any decent person, I was horrified by what we learned about their crimes.”

Clinton said Thursday she was confident her husband knew nothing about Epstein’s abuse of minors or other crimes. “I think the chronology of the relationship that he had with Epstein ended many years before anything came to light regarding Epstein’s criminal activities,” she said after giving what she described as an “extremely long and repetitive” statement.

After her testimony, Hillary said the questioning changed after she repeatedly told House Republicans that she did not know Jeffrey Epstein.She said the exchange became “a little unusual, because I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizzagate, one of the most false and despicable conspiracy theories ever posted on the Internet, which served as the basis for one member’s questions to me.”Pizzagate was a 2016 conspiracy theory based on the false claim that members of the Clinton campaign team used encrypted emails to discuss child sex slaves allegedly held in the basement of Comet Ping Pong — a pizzeria in Washington, D.C., that has no basement and no connection to child sex trafficking.The conspiracy theory was promoted by far-right Donald Trump supporters, including Jack Posobiec, until late 2016 when a man armed with an assault rifle, who believed the claims were true, entered the restaurant to “self-investigate” and fired a shot inside.Speaking to reporters after her testimony, Hillary said she answered all the questions she was asked.

Hillary accused the committee of targeting her to divert attention from Donald Trump.“You forced me to testify, knowing full well that I had no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract from and cover up President Trump’s actions despite legitimate calls for answers,” she said in her opening statement.She said the committee should ask Trump “directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he appeared in the Epstein files.”Trump was a close friend of Epstein, but was not accused of any wrongdoing related to the disgraced financier, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.Hillary also accused the committee of an “institutional failure” aimed at “protecting one political party and one public official, rather than seeking truth and justice for the victims and survivors (of Epstein).”

The Clinton family and members of the House Oversight Committee agreed on five subject areas for the depositions. they:

The committee’s investigation also sought to understand why the Justice Department under previous presidential administrations did not seek further charges against Epstein after a 2008 plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl but avoided federal charges.

Testimony was briefly halted after Rep. Lauren Boebert shared a photo of Hillary answering questions from inside the deposition room. The photo was posted on social media by Penny Johnson.Hillary’s lawyers immediately requested a temporary halt to the proceedings, noting that her request for a public hearing had been denied. The sedimentation process resumed after about 30 minutes. Rep. Suhas Subramaniam, D-Va., said the first hour of briefing before the boycott was an embarrassment for Republicans and showed nothing of significance.

“Secretary Clinton is at a loss as to why she is here to answer questions,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out what to ask her. She doesn’t know much.”

Photos, flights, and social events reappear

Hillary Clinton had previously said that her husband traveled with Epstein on charity trips, but she did not remember ever meeting Epstein.Bill Clinton traveled on Epstein’s private plane at least 16 times, according to a CNN review, and was photographed with women in jacuzzis in files released by the US Justice Department.

Several photos of the former president were included in the first batch of Epstein files released in January, including a number of photos of him with women whose faces were obscured. He was also photographed with Ghislaine Maxwell.Hillary Clinton admitted that she interacted with Maxwell at conferences hosted by the Clinton Foundation. Maxwell, a British socialite and former friend and confidant of Epstein, also attended the 2010 wedding of Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea Clinton.While exiting the event center where the briefing took place, Clinton told reporters that Maxwell had come to the wedding as someone else’s guest and that she had told the committee that she knew Maxwell only as an “acquaintance.”Epstein’s survivors and lawyers representing them said it was important for the Clinton family, especially the former president, to testify as lawmakers continue to examine the government’s handling of the case.