Where things stand
• Deposition underway: Bill Clinton is answering questions from House Oversight Committee members as part of its Jeffrey Epstein investigation. The former president said in his opening statement that he “saw nothing” and “did nothing wrong.”
• What to expect: The deposition is happening behind closed doors in Chappaqua, New York, although Republicans are aiming to release video of the testimony within days, a source told CNN. The appearance comes one day after the committee interviewed Hillary Clinton.
• What’s in the Epstein files: Clinton traveled on Epstein’s private plane at least 16 times, according to a CNN review of the documents, and was pictured with women in a jacuzzi in files released by the US Department of Justice. He was also pictured with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and accomplice in trafficking victims.
• The panel’s focus: Lawmakers are investigating whether Epstein was part of an “intelligence gathering operation” that targeted presidents and people in power, GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said today.
Top Oversight Democrat: "We have serious questions for President Trump”
The top Democrat on the House Oversight panel told reporters that Democrats have “serious questions” for President Donald Trump as the committee investigates Jeffrey Epstein.
Meanwhile, after Epstein revelations, UCSD says Chopra's role will end
Jeffrey Epstein had a closer friendship with best-selling author and wellness guru Deepak Chopra than was previously known, according to files released by the Justice Department. CNN reviewed hundreds of messages between the two men.
The University of California, San Diego said bestselling author and wellness guru Deepak Chopra’s association with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was “regrettable,” and that Chopra’s affiliation with the school will end in June, on the heels of CNN’s reporting about Chopra and Epstein’s close relationship.
“UC San Diego is aware that Deepak Chopra, MD, has been mentioned in files that were recently released by the Department of Justice. Dr. Chopra currently has a Voluntary Clinical Professor (without salary) appointment in the School of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine with an expected job end date of 6/30/26,” the school told CNN. “While we are not able to comment further on personnel matters, the crimes Jeffrey Epstein committed were horrific, and any association with him is regrettable.”
CNN has asked UCSD whether Chopra is currently teaching at the school in his voluntary clinical professor role. CNN has also reached out to Chopra for comment.
The school’s comment came in response to CNN’s examination of hundreds of messages in the Justice Department’s Epstein files that Chopra and Epstein exchanged between 2016 and 2019 — the year that Epstein was arrested on federal charges of operating a sex-trafficking ring and of sexually abusing underage girls. The two men were found to have had a close relationship, with Chopra affectionately signing some of his messages to Epstein with “Love” or “XO,” expressing gratitude for their friendship and in two instances, asking Epstein to bring “your girls” on trips.
Chopra wrote on X earlier this month that he was “deeply saddened by the suffering of the victims in this case,” adding: “I was never involved in, nor did I participate in, any criminal or exploitative conduct. Any contact I had was limited and unrelated to abusive activity.”
The presence of a person’s name in the Epstein files is not indicative of wrongdoing. Approached recently and asked to comment about his relationship with Epstein, Chopra said: “No misconduct.”
Garcia disputes GOP characterization of Clinton's comments on Trump
Former President Bill Clinton told lawmakers during his deposition that it’s up to them to decide if President Donald Trump should be called to answer questions as part of the panel’s Jeffrey Epstein probe, Oversight Chairman James Comer told reporters – an assertion the panel’s top Democrat disputed.
Comer said, “I wanted to make a statement, because they’ll probably not mention this when they come out here. Ranking Member Garcia asked President Clinton, ‘should President Trump be called to answer questions from this committee?’ And President Clinton said that’s for you to decide. And the president went on to say that the President Trump has never said anything to me to make me think he was involved.”
But when CNN asked Rep. Robert Garcia, the panel’s ranking member, about Comer’s characterization of what he and Clinton said during the closed-door deposition, Garcia said, “I don’t think it’s a complete accurate description.”
“President Clinton did bring up some additional information about some discussions with President Trump. I think that the way Chairman Comer described it, I don’t think it’s a complete accurate description of what actually was said.”
Democrats say that Clinton has answered tough questions from lawmakers
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee said lawmakers were thankful that former President Bill Clinton came in for questioning today and that he had fielded “tough questions” from both parties in their Jeffrey Epstein probe.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico told reporters that the eventual public release of the recorded deposition will show that hard questions were posed.
“You will see that we asked all of the hard questions, centering the survivors, making sure that we get to the bottom of where there are discrepancies in the record, and understanding how, not only the crimes that Jeffrey Epstein committed could go on, but why there was a culture that surrounded him, wherein the rich and powerful turned the blind eye on,” she said.
Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam added that the transcript of the deposition, once made public, will show Democrats “are treating this investigation in a nonpartisan way.
“We’ve been asking the former president the hard questions. To his credit, he has answered every single question, he’s not taking the Fifth Amendment. He’s been actually quite comfortable, and he’s actually given very long deliberate answers to all these questions,” he said.
Top Republican says questioning of Clinton will continue into the afternoon
House Oversight Chairman James Comer told reporters that both Republicans and Democrats have asked Bill Clinton questions under oath and the former president’s deposition will continue into the afternoon.
Clinton is answering questions behind closed doors in New York as part of the congressional panel’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Trump "doesn't like" seeing Bill Clinton deposed in Epstein probe
President Donald Trump said Friday that he doesn’t like how former President Bill Clinton is being deposed by the House Oversight Committee.
Asked by CNN’s Kristen Holmes about the former president sitting for questioning in the panel’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation, Trump said he likes Clinton and weighed in on how he feels he’s personally been treated.
Trump didn’t express great concern that the deposition of a former president would set a precedent for him and his family.
Trump later distanced himself from Epstein, adding, “I don’t know anything about the Epstein files, you know, I’ve been fully exonerated.”
Trump has long denied any wrongdoing related to the late convicted sex offender.
Luna says panel trying to learn if Epstein was part of "intelligence gathering operation"
GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna acknowledged that there has been “a bit of partisan smear” in the Oversight Committee’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein without getting specific, but said that the bigger picture is that the panel is trying to learn more about whether Epstein was part of an “intelligence gathering operation” that targeted presidents and people in power.
This is a line of questioning that Democrats have also said they plan to ask former President Bill Clinton.
“I do think that there is a bit of partisan smear attempts in this whole investigation but it’s important to note that Jeffrey Epstein does have all of the telltale signs of intelligence gathering operation. I think we all know that. I do believe that because of the people in power and influence specifically, presidents’ etc. that he was targeting, that there is an aspect of, you know, foreign governments, some of us against each other, using this topic,” Luna said.
GOP lawmaker: Clinton is cooperating and answering questions
Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida told reporters amid Bill Clinton’s ongoing deposition that the former president was cooperating.
“President Clinton is cooperative and answering all of our questions,” Luna said.
Clinton is answering questions from lawmakers in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein probe, but he has already said “I don’t recall” to at least some of them, according to a source familiar with the testimony.
The former president indicated in his opening statement that he may not remember some information given his interactions with Epstein were at least 20 years ago.
READ: Former President Bill Clinton's opening statement to the House Oversight Committee
Former President Bill Clinton released his opening statement, as prepared for delivery, in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein probe. Read his full statement below.
Bill Clinton in deposition: "I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong"
Former President Bill Clinton said he only had a “brief acquaintance with [Jeffrey] Epstein” that ended “years before his crimes came to light” and that he never saw “what was truly going on” with the late convicted sex offender, according to his opening statement to lawmakers Friday morning in the House’s Jeffrey Epstein probe.
Clinton also 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.”
Clinton previewed that he would “often” say “I don’t recall” on Friday, given how many years it has been since his interactions with Epstein, and he predicted that that would be “unsatisfying” to lawmakers.
Clinton also told the panel that it was “simply not right” to bring in his wife, Hillary Clinton, for a deposition the previous day.
Questioning of Bill Clinton is underway in congressional Epstein probe
Questioning of Bill Clinton has begun in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein probe, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Clinton is sitting for the deposition in Chappaqua, New York, after months of back-and-forth with the panel over the terms of his appearance.
Former secretary of state and first lady Hillary Clinton was behind closed doors for questioning on Thursday for more than six hours.
Clinton rep on Mace's "screaming" and "unhinged" allegation: "She is full of sh*t"
Hillary Clinton’s spokesperson Nick Merrill told CNN that Rep. Nancy Mace is “full of sh*t” after the South Carolina Republican said Friday morning that Clinton had started “screaming” and was “unhinged” during parts of her deposition about Jeffrey Epstein on Thursday.
It was not clear what question the former secretary was asked by Mace behind closed doors about September 11. Leaders of the House Oversight Committee have said they hope to release the full video of Hillary Clinton’s deposition as soon as Friday.
The exchange marks one more example of the political theatrics that have already consumed the Clintons’ depositions.
Bill Clinton is testifying in Chappaqua on Friday. He has appeared numerous times in the Epstein files, and has denied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
Bill Clinton is delivering his opening statement to lawmakers
Former President Bill Clinton is reading his opening statement to lawmakers in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The former president’s appearance under oath in New York comes a day after his wife – former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – was behind closed doors for more than six hours for questioning.
Top Democrat: We don't want a sideshow today
The top Democrat on the Oversight Committee slammed Republicans for asking former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton questions about UFOs and old conspiracy theories like “pizzagate” during her deposition yesterday.
On Thursday, Clinton said that toward the end of the hearing, GOP lawmakers inquired about UFOs and “Pizzagate,” a conspiracy theory that gained traction in the final days before the 2016 US presidential election that centered on a pedophilia ring supposedly being run out of a Washington, DC, pizza shop.
The questioning, she said, was “quite unusual.”
Top Democrat calls for Trump to sit for questioning in congressional Epstein probe
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee called for President Donald Trump to also sit for questioning in the panel’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Trump has long denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
The call for the president to testify in the probe comes as former President Bill Clinton is facing off with members of the panel about his past ties to the late convicted sex offender. Clinton denies knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said he distanced himself from him long before he was federally charged in 2019.
Garcia said Trump should answer for what he called “a White House cover up” in the case.
Bill Clinton's deposition is underway in congressional Epstein investigation
Former President Bill Clinton’s deposition is underway in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein probe, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Clinton is facing congressional investigators a day after former first lady Hillary Clinton was behind closed doors for questioning for more than six hours.
He is testifying under oath in the Clintons’ hometown of Chappaqua, New York.
Republican lawmaker says Hillary Clinton was "unhinged" in her deposition
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina told reporters that Hillary Clinton had acted “unhinged” during her deposition yesterday in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein probe.
Asked by CNN how Hillary Clinton reacted to questions related to photos of her husband in the Justice Department’s Epstein case files, Mace claimed Clinton was “screaming” and “unhinged.” The top Democrat on the committee, however, swiftly disputed the characterization.
The former secretary of state and first lady was behind closed-doors with congressional investigators for more than six hours yesterday in Chappaqua, New York, where the Clintons live.
This post has been updated with additional details.
House lawmakers hope to release video of Hillary Clinton's deposition today
The chairman of the House Oversight Committee said he hopes to release the video of Hillary Clinton’s deposition in the panel’s Jeffrey Epstein probe today.
Following the more than six-hour deposition on Thursday, Republican Rep. James Comer said he hoped to have the recording out within 24 hours.
Former President Bill Clinton is sitting for his own deposition today in the committee’s investigation.
SOON: Bill Clinton testifies in House Epstein probe
Bill Clinton will soon begin his testimony before the House Oversight Committee in a deposition related to its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
The former president and his lawyers are heading into today’s session with the expectation that he could be in for a long day of questioning, according to a source familiar with the process, possibly even longer than the five hours that Epstein associate Les Wexner sat for last week.
The deposition is happening in Chappaqua, New York, where the he and Hillary Clinton live. Hillary Clinton appeared before the House panel yesterday.
The location for the testimony was negotiated David Kendall, one of the Clintons lawyers, and Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, in hopes of avoiding the indignity and precedent-setting move of summoning a former president to Capitol Hill for questioning.
The depositions will be videotaped and Republican committee staff are aiming to release the video in a matter of days after the interviews are completed, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
Top Republican lays out what he wants to ask Bill Clinton under oath
The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee outlined what he wants to ask former President Bill Clinton today.
The panel is questioning the former president in Chappaqua, New York, as part of its investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein.
