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Former US President Bill Clinton testified before a congressional committee that he “did nothing wrong” and “saw nothing” over his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a closed-door hearing in New York, Mr. Clinton was questioned about her name in the recently released documents. This included a picture of her in a hot tub with an unidentified man.
A day earlier, Hillary Clinton testified that she had no knowledge of the Epstein crime.
Just because someone’s name is in the Epstein file doesn’t mean they were involved in a crime. None of the victims who have come forward so far have accused either Bill Clinton or Hillary Clinton of wrongdoing.
Bill Clinton has said that if he had known what Jeffrey Epstein was up to, he would not have had a relationship with him and would never have traveled on his private jet.
“I would have handed it to him myself,” Clinton said in her opening remarks.
After testifying in New York, Clinton posted a video in which she repeated her opening remarks. There he says that “no matter how many pictures they show me” he doesn’t know about Epstein’s crimes.
“When the video of my testimony is released today, I hope it will inspire everyone to go before Congress and tell what they know,” Clinton said.
“I hope this motivates the Department of Justice to finally release all the files and make sure this never happens again. It’s what the victims deserve.”
Before Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton agreed to appear before the congressional committee, they termed the fact that they were called to the committee as politically motivated.
They later agreed to appear before the committee when there was a possibility of contempt of Congress proceedings against them.
In a photo that shows the former president relaxing in a hot tub with a woman who looks like her (the person’s face has been blacked out to conceal her identity), Bill Clinton said he did not know the woman.
A source told the BBC that he said ‘no’ when asked if he had had sex with her.
image source, Reuters
However, he did not come out to talk to reporters like his wife after the testimony.
James Comer, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, described the hour-long interview as a “very productive deposition.”
“President Clinton has answered every question or tried to answer every question,” he said. At the same time, he said, the video and full text of Clinton’s testimony will be released in the next few days.
Calling the Clintons’ testimony “historic,” Comer said they were the two highest-level officials to testify before Congress.
Earlier in 1974, former President Gerald Ford voluntarily appeared before a congressional committee to explain his pardon to former President Richard Nixon.
“This is a very serious investigation. We will continue to try to bring the truth to the American people and ensure justice for the victims,” Comer said.
Among the topics discussed in Bill Clinton’s testimony was the issue of Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with current President Donald Trump.
Democrats say the interview reveals additional information about Trump that bolsters calls to bring him before the committee for questioning.
Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Clinton revealed additional information about her talks with President Trump. He reiterated his call for Trump to testify before the committee.
“Now a new precedent has been set in our country that current and former presidents can testify before this committee,” he said.
image source, US Department of Justice
According to congressional records, six current and former presidents have previously testified before congressional committees. Bill Clinton is the seventh such person.
Comer told reporters that Clinton was asked whether she thought Trump should be called before the committee. He replied that it is a committee matter.
According to Komar, Clinton also said she had no information about Trump’s involvement in Epstein’s crimes.
“He has been impunity for a long time,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump told reporters on Friday, “I didn’t like to see her (Clinton) testify.”
During a break hours after the deposition began, lawmakers from both parties told reporters that Bill Clinton was cooperating, answering questions and maintaining a transparent position.
Clinton says she had no idea of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and broke up with him nearly two decades ago.
He said that after leaving the post of president in 2001, communication with Epstein started due to his charity activities. However, he regretted that he had any relationship with that investor.
Notably, Epstein died in 2019 in a New York prison while on trial for sex crimes.
Bill and Hillary Clinton’s names appear hundreds of times in documents related to Epstein. However, the name in the document is not proof of involvement in any crime.
Bill Clinton’s name and photo are among the documents that the US Department of Justice has gradually released.
These documents reveal the contacts of many influential people with Epstein. Even after his first sex-offense conviction in 2008, there were hints of him having affairs with various high-profile figures.
https://www.bbc.com/bengali/articles/c93jd2kzl83o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
