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28th February 2026
10:35am GMT

Former US president Bill Clinton has claimed he is innocent as he told a congressional panel on Friday that he “saw nothing” and “did nothing” wrong in relation to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In his opening statement during questioning before a Republican-led committee over his ties to Epstein, the former president said that he had “no idea” of the crimes committed by the disgraced financier.
“No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that at the end of the day matter more than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos”, Clinton said.
“I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn't see. I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn't do. I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong”, he added.
Clinton claimed he has been forced to speak after Epstein hid his crimes from everyone “so well for so long”, in the last page of his opening statement.
The former president refused to speculate, saying it “doesn’t help you for me to play detective 24 years later”, as he added that “since I am under oath, I will not falsely state that I am looking forward to your questions. But I am ready to answer them to the best of my abilities”.
Speaking of his wife, former secretary Hillary Clinton, he said that “she had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Nothing. She has no memory of even meeting him”.
Hillary Clinton testified in Epstein probe just a day before, on Thursday, as she accused officials of “cover-up” and called for Trump to be questioned.
According to Clinton, the committee of “elected officials” owed it to the public to “get to the bottom” of reports that the US Department of Justice withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accuses President Trump of “heinous crimes."
She also said she had no information about the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.
“I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr Epstein”, she added.
After previously resisting demands to appear before the House Oversight Committee, the Clintons agreed to testify only recently.
They initially described the demands for them to speak before the committee as politically motivated, as they rejected subpoenas ordering them to testify.
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