All posts tagged "hillary clinton"

This GOP farce just proved the net is closing on Trump

For the better part of 40 years, the Republican Party has chased Bill and Hillary Clinton with fervor bordering on obsession. From Whitewater to Benghazi, from emails to impeachment, the pursuit has been relentless, and always ridiculous.

After Hillary Clinton lost the Electoral College in 2016 (while winning the popular vote), it seemed possible the GOP might finally loosen its grip.

Nope. This week, the GOP tried to light the Clintons on fire again. And as usual, the Clintons proved flame retardant.

In the Epstein affair, James Comer, Chair of the House Oversight Committee, tried to use closed-door depositions to make the former first couple look guilty — or at least more guilty than Donald Trump.

But if Comer and his allies believed they would finally corner the Clintons, they miscalculated badly. The depositions produced no bombshells, no dramatic unravelings — nothing, unless you count the bizarre spectacle of a bunch of clowns asking Hillary about UFOs, and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) managing to torpedo the whole thing by leaking photos to the press.

If this two-day Chappaqua farce did anything, it made it more obvious that the current president and first lady should testify.

Anyone with documented ties to Jeffrey Epstein, and that includes Bill Clinton, should answer questions under oath. He did. Survivors deserve nothing less than full transparency. All this innuendo and all these flimsy excuses — “bad judgment,” “mistake,” “just business” — need to end. Now.

But if Republicans insist on dragging Hillary Clinton into the room, despite zero evidence she ever met or interacted with Epstein, then fairness demands the standard apply to Melania Trump.

Melania moved in overlapping social circles with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. She was photographed at events where Epstein was present. Maxwell reportedly referred to her affectionately — as “sweet pea.”

If Hillary Clinton can be questioned to eliminate doubt, Melania should be too. But don’t bet on it. She’ll hide under her shady hats, and refuse to step forward in her five-inch stilettos.

It shouldn’t stop there. It’s time to pick up the pace. Honestly, if Republicans want to stop Epstein haunting the entire midterms campaign, they need to get down to business.

Why has there been so little urgency to pursue testimony from figures far more substantively tied to Epstein than the Clintons? It’s starting to bother voters, and it’s only going to get worse.

Les Wexner, the billionaire who financed Epstein, did testify — and not a single GOP member of Comer’s committee dared participate in full.

Wexner said he was “deceived,” that Epstein “misappropriated vast sums of money from me and my family.”

Speaking of money, what the hell did Bill Gates need Epstein for?

The Microsoft founder has called meetings with Epstein after his 2008 conviction for child prostitution a “huge mistake” and a “serious error in judgment.”

But a “mistake” is not enough. Epstein was a registered sex offender. His crimes were public knowledge. Why continue meeting with him?

What was so valuable that it justified the reputational and moral risk? Gates has more money than God. It doesn’t make sense. That’s why Gates should testify under oath, and answer questions from the FBI.

So should Alex Acosta, the U.S. Attorney who approved Epstein’s 2008 Florida plea deal, then later became Trump’s secretary of labor.

Acosta later claimed he was told Epstein “belonged to intelligence.”

The full context of how Epstein secured such an extraordinary deal remains disturbingly unresolved.

The lawyer Alan Dershowitz needs to be grilled. He strenuously denies wrongdoing, stating, “I never had sex with any of Epstein’s accusers,” calling allegations “fabricated.”

So why did he hang out with Epstein? Seriously.

Then there’s Woody Allen. In light of all the allegations that have dogged the comic and director, his association with Epstein remains extremely dubious. As recently as September, Allen defended his attendance at Epstein’s dinners, saying Epstein "couldn't have been nicer" and was "charming and personable". And that he “told us he’d been in jail.”

Woody. You of all people should have run for the hills.

Steve Bannon, who spent hours interviewing Epstein after his conviction, says Epstein was “trying to rehabilitate his image.”

Can’t someone subpoena Bannon’s tapes? We’re talking about serious crimes.

And what of figures in proximity to Epstein who overlap directly with Trumpworld — including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick?

Above all, if Bill Clinton can be compelled to testify a quarter-century after leaving office, then Donald Trump must be called to testify under oath and to be interviewed by the FBI. He was in way deeper.

It is not enough for Trump to toss half-answers at press gaggles or dismiss legitimate questions as “old news” or a “hoax.” Trump once called Epstein a “terrific guy” who liked women “on the younger side.”

That remark has no expiration date. There are photos, footage, flight logs, and overlapping Palm Beach connections. If Congress and the Justice Department truly believe no one is above scrutiny, that principle must begin with the man at the center of their universe.

Here is a starting point: anyone who chose to associate with Epstein after his 2008 conviction should testify. Period. No exceptions. Everyone. If you were really innocent, you should be jumping forward.

Ask yourself a simple question. If you were running a business and a man who had served time for sex crimes against minors offered to help, would you welcome him in? Would you schedule meetings? Would you board his plane? Would you strategize about philanthropy or public image?

Most Americans would recoil.

Yet an astonishing number of powerful people did not. They proceeded as if the conviction were a small inconvenience. And some are lying now.

Why?

The path forward is not complicated. Call everyone who associated with Epstein after his conviction. Put them under oath. Follow the money. Release the files, clean. Apply the same standard to Democrats and Republicans, billionaires and celebrities, former presidents and private citizens alike.

The survivors have waited long enough. And they deserve far better than they’re getting.

John Casey was most recently Senior Editor, The Advocate, and is a freelance opinion and feature story writer. Previously, he was a Capitol Hill press secretary, and spent 25 years in media and public relations in NYC. He is the co-author of LOVE: The Heroic Stories of Marriage Equality (Rizzoli, 2025), named by Oprah in her "Best 25 of 2025.”

Clinton spokesperson curses in reply to Nancy Mace’s ‘unhinged’ and ‘screaming’ claims

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's spokesperson had a sharp response Friday after Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) tried to claim that the former First lady was "unhinged" and "screaming" during her testimony before the House Oversight Committee.

During a press conference Friday, just before Clinton's husband and former President Bill Clinton was set to testify before the committee about his relationship with late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Mace made several claims about Clinton's reactions to the lawmakers' questions on Thursday. The former First lady was asked a series of questions — including some related to the Pizzagate conspiracy theory and aliens — during a closed-door deposition in Chappaqua, New York.

Her spokesperson Nick Merrill told CNN that Mace was lying about what she told reporters and that wasn't what happened.

"Clearly, the sparks have been flying," said MJ Lee, CNN senior national enterprise correspondent.

"The political theater has been on full display as it pertains to Hillary Clinton's deposition, including Congresswoman Nancy Mace this morning saying that Hillary Clinton had been screaming and was unhinged as a part of the deposition yesterday," Lee said. "When I asked the Hillary Clinton spokesperson, Nick Merrill, about this. This is what he said. He said 'she is full of s---.' This is talking about Congresswoman Mace and that Hillary Clinton was actually just appalled that the congresswoman wouldn't let the former secretary of state answer a question about 9/11. Obviously, this is all completely out of context, and we're not going to know the context until we get the transcript and the full videos of the deposition."

GOP lawmakers put on notice to 'be careful what they wish for' as Epstein reckoning begins

CNN host Michael Smerconish had a warning Friday for Republicans focusing on Democrats and their ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Smerconish revealed that the House Oversight Committee's GOP lawmakers should remember that once the midterms hit and if Republicans lose majority power — which polls have indicated they could — then they should be ready for Democrats to change the direction of the investigation with a deeper look into the late financier and convicted child sex offender's ties to conservative leaders and public figures. He also raised concerns over forcing the Clintons to testify behind closed doors and the ramifications of the move.

"I think that we're in a realm of a very careful balancing now where people's reputations are being tarnished because of association and not necessarily based on conduct," Smerconish said during a conversation with anchor Wolf Blitzer.

"Candidly, I think it was ridiculous that Secretary Clinton was hauled before the Oversight Committee yesterday, less so, relative to President Bill Clinton. But I thought that that was an excess," Smerconish said. "And Republicans better be careful what they wish for here, because if there's a change in the guard in the midterms, as the polls suggest there will be, that subpoena power is now going to be in the hands of Democrats. And I think there's there's going to be a response that will be in kind."

Smerconish suggested that Republicans targeting the Clintons in the Epstein probe could now have to request that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testify.

"That is the precedent that has just been set," Smerconish said. "I mean, how can you justify bringing the Clintons before this committee yesterday and today and not respond in kind for Republicans who are similarly represented in the Epstein files? I think fairness demands that. And by the way, I don't think it was a good precedent to set for the reasons that I've already stated. But now that that door has been opened, I think it would be hypocritical to say, well, it will only be the Clintons that we call before the committee."

GOP's 'ultimate revenge fantasy' backfires as Boebert screws up Comer's 'big shot': Salon

Republicans, who had planned to grill former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on her relationship with late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, made a serious fumble that has now backfired, an analyst revealed Friday.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY) had anticipated Clinton's closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee would bring his "dream witness in front of them," but the photo taken by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and then sent and posted by MAGA influencer Benny Johnson violated the committee's rules. The move ultimately sabotaged what GOP lawmakers hoped to achieve, Salon's Sophia Tesfaye explained.

"It was supposed to be the Republican Party‘s ultimate revenge fantasy," Tesfaye wrote. "They wanted the base to salivate over the idea that, at long last, the former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee would be forced to answer tough questions. Instead, thanks to their own hubristic overreach and compulsive need for social media clout, the whole thing quickly imploded."

The disruption instead had a crippling impact.

"The committee’s own rules, read aloud at the start of the proceedings, explicitly prohibited photography inside the room," Tesfaye wrote. "The hearing abruptly went off the record as staff scrambled to figure out who had violated House rules. Clinton’s adviser Nick Merrill stepped outside to inform the waiting press, directing reporters to check Johnson’s social media feed to see exactly what had happened. The secretary’s team, which had been pushing for a fully public proceeding from the very beginning — the committee had rejected that request — suddenly had an unambiguous example that Republicans can’t even handle a closed-door session without leaking to their propagandists."

It changed the direction of what Republicans had hoped for, and prompted questions over what GOP lawmakers hoped to achieve.

"This deposition was supposed to be Kentucky Rep. James Comer’s big shot: a marquee moment in the long-running effort to re-litigate the Clinton era and tie it to Epstein in the public imagination," Tesfaye explained. "Instead, it became a cautionary tale about the perils of governing-by-influencer. In the end, Boebert and Johnson did more than briefly derail a deposition. They exposed the hollowness at the core of this latest Clinton crusade. When your investigation can be derailed by a thirst for retweets, it was never about truth in the first place."

Jimmy Kimmel uses Republicans' Epstein ploy against them in push to get Trump under oath

Jimmy Kimmel has criticized the decision to call Hillary Clinton in to testify on the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The talk show host believes the Democratic Party's 2016 presidential candidate can add little to the context of Epstein's files given she swears the two never met, and that she has never visited either the island or his offices. Kimmel instead suggested the Senators seeking further information look to Donald Trump, rather than the former Secretary of State.

Speaking during the opening monologue of his talk show, Kimmel said, "It's embarrassing. It would be embarrassing if they were capable of feeling shame, but it's embarrassing- why are they questioning Hillary Clinton about Jeffrey Epstein? She's never met him.

"They're not even challenging that; they know she's never met him. There's not a single email or anything in the Trump-Epstein files that says she ever met him. Maybe they should just start subpoenaing random people who never met him.

"Or they could bring in someone who actually knew him, someone who Epstein called his closest friend. Someone who said he's a terrific guy who likes beautiful women on the younger side." A clip of Trump standing with Epstein then plays.

Clinton released her statement on the hearing and her relationship with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell on X. Her statement reads, "I had no idea about their criminal activities.

"I do not recall ever encountering Mr Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that."

Kimmel continued, "Details of the specific allegations levied against the president have disappeared from the database." Also absent from the database, Kimmel says, is a picture of Commerce Secretary Howard Luntick with Epstein.

There is no suggestion that appearing in the millions of Justice Department documents relating to the late sex offender implies any wrongdoing.

Chairman James Comer was also criticized by Kimmel for not pushing for the president to testify at the hearing. Comer has spoken of why Trump has not been called to speak under oath.

He said, "They've [Hillary and Bill Clinton] never answered questions, unlike President Trump who gets questioned every day by just about every one of you about his knowledge or involvement with Epstein."

New Epstein testimony set to 'backfire on GOP' and 'discomfort Trump's inner circle': CNN

Testimony given by Hillary Clinton, and a further statement to be given by former president Bill Clinton on his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, may worry Donald Trump's close allies.

The 42nd President of the United States is set to testify later today (February 27), and it may give Trump and his team something more to worry over when it comes to the Epstein files. While Trump has tried to defer the Epstein files issue onto the matter of Clinton's mention in documents, it could backfire, according to CNN political analyst Stephen Collinson.

The analyst suggests the gamble made by the president, to hone in on the Clintons and their relationship with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, could backfire.

He wrote, "The battle by Trump’s allies to draw the Clintons into their investigation was always destined to create bitter political theater, given their enormously high profiles and decades-long histories of fierce duels with Republicans.

"But their arrival before the committee also has the potential to backfire on the GOP. First, their involvement is offering new fuel to the Epstein saga, which the White House has been trying unsuccessfully to quell for months.

"And the testimony of the Clintons is raising uncomfortable parallels that will discomfit Trump and his inner orbit. For instance, if the standard for required testimony is being mentioned in the Epstein files, why are prominent Republicans also mentioned in the files not being hauled before the committee?

"Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s descriptions of his past interactions with Epstein were undercut by files released by the DOJ — but he has not so far received a subpoena to match those sent to the Clintons. There is no allegation of criminal wrongdoing against Lutnick."

Collinson went on to observe the clear double standard set by the committee, and says it could pull Trump further into a formal hearing, rather than away.

The analyst added, "Bill Clinton’s past contact with Epstein will surely interest the committee. But isn’t there a double standard if Trump, who was mentioned in the files numerous times, is not also put under oath?

"And former Secretary Clinton’s appearance — although, in her telling, she had no information about Epstein’s conduct — creates a model of a spouse being asked about her husband’s links to the accused sex trafficker.

"Some observers might wonder whether first lady Melania Trump might have similar insight about the times her husband and Epstein moved in similar orbits before and after their marriage in 2005."

How the GOP stopped Hillary exposing Epstein links — and more notes from a Trump resister

Notes from a resister:

The idea that lawmakers should have been deposing Bill and Hillary Clinton over the past few days is particularly ludicrous given how loudly, and absurdly, Donald Trump is claiming complete exoneration with regard to the Epstein Files despite having his fingerprints all over them. Hillary testified to the House Oversight Committee that she had no information for them and couldn’t recall meeting Jeffrey Epstein. Bill obviously met him. But what is it Republicans are fishing for? It feels like the Clintons are a step ahead of them, maybe two or three.

I think Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) leaked photos of Hillary in her closed-door deposition in order to shut down the charade and prevent her from speculating about things the Republicans didn’t want discussed — like, everything being hidden from view. Hillary argued that reporters should be let in to make the proceedings open and transparent: the two words those running the deposition feared most.

Meanwhile, the massive coverup of Trump’s involvement with Epstein — or more specifically, his alleged sexual assault of a young girl, per her accusation — continues apace. The files are suddenly missing several key records about the claim in question. This is puzzling only in that the disappearance of these documents has turned such a vivid spotlight upon them. It’s something you might do if you were purposely trying to, I don’t know, make the Department of Injustice look like it was hiding something.

Elsewhere, the unqualified bozo the administration is pushing to be the next U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Casey Means, doesn’t hold an active license to practice medicine and identifies as a “wellness influencer.” By that definition, anyone who recommends Ibuprofen for a headache is a wellness influencer — including me. Once again, Trump and Co insist on choosing the worst imaginable candidate for a once-respected position.

Why does Trump choose such imbeciles to be in charge of everything from medicine to law to the military? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was hellbent on destroying the country. Or to put it another way, I’d say he was doing Vladimir Putin’s bidding by purposefully demolishing our institutions.

One of the most annoying things regularly spouted by the MAGAsphere is, “Well, Obama deported a zillion people, and you didn’t care.” Actually, we didn’t know about it because Obama didn’t turn it into a national embarrassment. It was a necessary action, not a sadistic spectacle.

Oh, and another difference between Obama and Trump in the current Homeland Security/ICE horror show: the former president opened no detention camps. What is the point of these? One strong suspicion is that they’re designed to line the pockets of Trump’s billionaire cronies and provide kickbacks to the Trump Crime Family too.

I believe Trump is determined to launch strikes on Iran, no matter what talks designed to tamp down nuclear fears may produce. If the president claims to prefer diplomacy to war, I take that to mean the precise opposite is true.

The fallout from Trump’s State of the Union monstrosity continued throughout this week. The general consensus in my admittedly completely biased circle was that he appeared to be doing everything in his power to reduce Republican chances of winning the midterms.

In fact, I think Trump has long since given up on winning the House and Senate in November through playing by the rules and is putting all of his energy into the most effective ways to cheat.

I’m questioning if the resignation of Larry Summers — a Harvard University economist and a former school president — due to his past relationship with Epstein could also have been tied to the Trump administration’s lawsuit against the school and attempted extortion. Specifically, I wonder if Summers’ situation could help explain Harvard’s initial capitulation.

Every time I look at House Speaker Mike Johnson’s face, I’m reminded of the kid in middle school who regularly reminded our English teacher about the homework assignment — and who paid for this unforgivable transgression during recess.

Headline: “New A.C.A. Plans Could Increase Family Deductibles to $31,000.” Reaction: This is Dr. Mehmet Oz’s genius solution to the health care affordability crisis. Thanks, Doc.

The Democrats better figure out a way to pare down the number of Dems running for governor of California. The fact there are nine creates a perfect vote-splitting storm that could well end up with a pair of Republicans facing off in November. Having a Trump disciple running the nation’s most populous state would be disastrous.

I’ve never seen anyone with crazier eyes than FBI Director Kash Patel. If this were a sci-fi flick, they would fire beams that made heads explode.

Speaking of Patel and heads exploding, why is it OK that the man leading the nation’s foremost criminal investigatory agency openly drank and partied while in Italy on “official business”? Oh yeah, because he can do whatever he wants because the rule of law doesn’t apply to some.

Never has the phrase “Everything Trump touches dies” been truer than with the gold medal-winning USA Olympic men’s hockey team, who tumbled from conquering heroes to partisan morons within days after permitting themselves to become Trump’s eager pawns.

I loved James Carville’s expletive-laden and utterly disrespectful takedown of Trump in a Tuesday video, starting with telling the president he’s a “sorry sack of s—t.” It’s precisely the kind of crude and obnoxious attack Trump deserves.

All of the places and things currently being renamed to honor Trump will revert after he leaves office and certainly after his death. It will be just like in Germany after the fall of Hitler.

Don’t judge me, but I’m briefly feeling more optimistic. I’m sure it’ll pass.

Ray Richmond is a longtime journalist/author and an adjunct professor at Chapman University in Orange, CA.

Dem floored as Hillary Clinton 'ran circles around Republicans' during Epstein deposition

A Democratic lawmaker Thursday revealed several insights about what happened inside the room where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was pressed by the House Oversight Committee about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein — explaining she did not know him.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) told CNN anchor Jake Tapper that Clinton explained she had never met the late financier and convicted child sex offender, and she did not have a relationship with his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.

"We would like the transcript to be released within 24 hours because the reality is she ran circles around the Republicans the entire time," Subramanyam said. "It's still going and she's answering every single question being asked. But the reality is we should be interviewing people who actually had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, who knew the guy, who at least met the guy and know about his crimes. There's so many people in the files and Hillary Clinton is not someone we should be focusing on."

Subramanyam brought up how zero Republicans attended Les Wexner's testimony in Ohio last week, yet 11 Republicans were in upstate New York on Thursday. He also called out Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) for taking photos and sending them to a MAGA influencer who posted them during the closed-door meeting and violating the committee's rules, and pausing the entire testimony.

"This is a closed-door deposition. This isn't a family vacation. I don't know why she's secretly snapping photos," Subramanyam said.

"She demanded that if you're going to snap photos privately, why not let the entire media in? That was their demand, actually, to make up for it, but again, Republicans refused to do that," Subramanyam said. "This is a political sideshow. This did not help our investigation at all."

Subramanyam said it was time for the Trump administration to release the full files and that the president should testify, along with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

"I wish the press could have come in and just watched the whole thing," Subramanyam said. "I think what they would have seen and what the American public would have seen was basically Republicans embarrassing themselves. Some of the questions had nothing to do with Epstein and Maxwell, and our investigation, and were very much irrelevant to it. And so, again, this was perhaps part of the plan, was to sort of shift the blame and shift the tension from [President Donald] Trump and the Republicans to a Democrat like Hillary Clinton. But the reality was that she simply never met the guy, and it was a waste of our time."

Tapper mentioned that there were reportedly questions from lawmakers about the Pizzagate conspiracy theory and UFOs, and asked if those were actual questions in the hearing. Subramanyam said he could not reveal what was said, but that the video transcript could shed more light on what happened in the closed-door testimony.

"The transcript will be very revealing about that," Subramanyam said.

'Why not?' Boebert defiant over breaking big rule at Clinton's Epstein hearing

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who violated rules of the House Oversight Committee during its deposition of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and took photos during the closed-door hearing, shrugged off questions about it Thursday.

Lawmakers were meeting with Clinton in her hometown of Chappaqua, New York, questioning her about her knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted child sex offender. Boebert, who is a member of the committee leading the congressional investigation, reportedly took two photos during the questioning, which were sent to right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson and posted on social media.

Reporters later questioned her about what happened.

"She walked by our camera just a few moments ago, and a number of us asked her about her decision to take those photos and share them, and she said, 'Why not take those photos? I haven't been reprimanded,'" relayed MJ Lee, CNN senior national enterprise correspondent.

Lee asked Boebert if there was anything from the deposition that stood out. The Congresswoman said she admired Hillary Clinton's blue suit, Lee said.

Clinton responded to questions from lawmakers for several hours and urged leaders to talk with President Donald Trump, whose name appeared in the Epstein files more than 38,000 times. Democrats demanded that the full video transcript of Clinton's responses be released without any edits.

Clinton delivered her opening statement before the committee investigating ties between the Clintons and Epstein. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, was slated to testify Friday before the committee.

"I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island home or offices," Clinton said. She also posted the statement on X.

Neither of the Clintons has been accused of any wrongdoing.

'Clown show': Dem appalled by GOP lawmakers at Clinton-Epstein deposition

Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) had a scathing message for her Republican colleagues in the House Oversight Committee following a closed-door deposition for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Chappaqua, New York on Friday.

Ansari told reporters she was appalled by Republicans and their behavior during the hearing, calling it "a clown show of a deposition." She claimed that Republican lawmakers in the room were not taking the investigation into the Epstein files seriously.

She cited the incident in which Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) had taken two photos, which were sent and posted by right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson. The move paused the hearing and derailed the proceedings because it violated the rules of the testimony, a Clinton spokesperson said.

"We now know that the DOJ, in their ongoing cover-up, intentionally seem to have redacted or withheld more than 50 pages of allegations from a minor against President Trump," Ansari said. "Do not forget that Kash Patel went in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and said, under oath that the FBI had no credible allegations of any other people being involved."

"These documents that the DOJ intentionally has withheld from the American public in regard to the allegations against President Trump, came from the FBI," Ansari said. "The FBI had interviewed this witness many times. You do not do that if it is not serious. So Kash Patel needs to be immediately brought back before the Oversight Committee. He needs to answer these questions again, and we need answers immediately."

Clinton delivered her opening statement before the committee investigating ties between the Clintons and late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, was slated to testify Friday before the committee.

"I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island home or offices," Clinton said, which she also posted on X.

Neither of the Clintons has been accused of any wrongdoing.

Ansari: We now know that the DOJ, in their ongoing cover up, intentionally seem to have redacted or withheld more than 50 pages of allegations from a minor against president trump. Do not forget that Kash Patel went in front of the senate judiciary committee and said, under oath… pic.twitter.com/kMt7ZrfX8Y
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 26, 2026