Top moments in Hillary Clinton's Epstein deposition — Transcript

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1. 0:00Let me be as clear as I can. I do not.
2. 0:04As I stated in my sworn declaration on
3. 0:07January 13th, I had no idea about their
4. 0:11criminal activities. I do not recall
5. 0:14ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never
6. 0:17flew on his plane or visited his island,
7. 0:21homes, or offices. I have nothing to add
8. 0:24to that.
9. 0:25Like every decent person, I've been
10. 0:28horrified by what we have learned about
11. 0:30their crimes.
12. 0:32It's unfathomable that Mr. Epstein
13. 0:35initially got a slap on the wrist in
14. 0:382008,
15. 0:40which allowed him to continue his
16. 0:42predatory practices for another decade.
17. 0:46Mr. Chairman, your investigation is
18. 0:48supposed to be assessing the federal
19. 0:49government's handling of the
20. 0:51investigations and prosecutions of
21. 0:54Epstein and his crimes.
22. 0:56You subpoenaed eight law enforcement
23. 0:58officials, all of whom ran the
24. 0:59Department of Justice or directed the
25. 1:02FBI when Epstein's crimes were
26. 1:04investigated and prosecuted.
27. 1:07Of those eight, only one appeared before
28. 1:10the committee.
29. 1:11Five of the six former attorneys general
30. 1:14were allowed to submit brief statements
31. 1:17stating they had no information to
32. 1:19provide.
33. 1:20You have held zero public hearings,
34. 1:23refused to allow the media to attend
35. 1:25them, including today, despite espousing
36. 1:28the need for transparency on dozens of
37. 1:31occasions. You have made little effort
38. 1:34to call the people who show up most
39. 1:36prominently in the Epstein files. And
40. 1:39when you did, not a single Republican
41. 1:43member showed up for Les Wexner's
42. 1:46deposition.
43. 1:47This institutional failure is designed
44. 1:50to protect one political party and one
45. 1:53public official, rather than to seek
46. 1:56truth and justice for the victims and
47. 1:58survivors, as well as inform the public
48. 2:01who want to get to the bottom of this
49. 2:03matter.
50. 2:04Instead, you have compelled me to
51. 2:06testify fully aware that I have no
52. 2:08knowledge that would assist your
53. 2:10investigation in order to distract from
54. 2:13President Trump's actions and to cover
55. 2:15them up despite legitimate calls for
56. 2:18answers.
57. 2:19If this committee is serious about
58. 2:21learning the truth about Epstein's
59. 2:23trafficking crimes, it would not rely on
60. 2:26press gag gaggles to get answers from
61. 2:29our current president on his
62. 2:30involvement. It would ask him directly
63. 2:33under oath about the tens of thousands
64. 2:36of times he shows up in the Epstein
65. 2:38files. If the majority was serious, it
66. 2:41would not waste time on fishing
67. 2:43expeditions. There is too much to be
68. 2:45done. What is being held back? Who is
69. 2:48being protected? And why the cover-up?
70. 2:52So, my challenge to you, Mr. Chairman
71. 2:54and members of this committee, is the
72. 2:56same challenge I put to myself
73. 2:59throughout my long service to this
74. 3:01nation.
75. 3:02How to be worthy of the trust of the
76. 3:04American people that they have given to
77. 3:06you.
78. 3:07They expect statesmanship, not
79. 3:10gamesmanship, leading, not
80. 3:12grandstanding. And they expect you to
81. 3:15use your power to get to the truth and
82. 3:19to do more to help survivors of
83. 3:21Epstein's crimes, as well as the
84. 3:23millions more who are victims of sex
85. 3:25trafficking in this country and around
86. 3:28the world. Are you aware that both
87. 3:31Republicans and Democrats voted to
88. 3:32subpoena you and your husband?
89. 3:34I am here. Okay. Are you aware both
90. 3:36Republicans and Democrats voted to hold
91. 3:38you in contempt when you didn't show up?
92. 3:40I am here. Is that partisan when both
93. 3:43parties vote to do something together?
94. 3:44Is that partisan or non-partisan? I
95. 3:46think it's standing up for the
96. 3:48institution, but there are many other
97. 3:49aspects of the committee's work that
98. 3:52strikes me as avoiding the main issues
99. 3:54about who should be sitting here, who
100. 3:56has actual information that might be
101. 3:59useful to your investigation.
102. 4:01>> If it was not in your purview when you
103. 4:03were Secretary of State, then why is it
104. 4:04today in Secretary Rubio's purview?
105. 4:06>> Because what's happened is that the
106. 4:08office that was actually following what
107. 4:11was going on around the world has been
108. 4:14decimated. 70% of the staff is gone.
109. 4:17It's impossible to carry out the
110. 4:20functions of that office if you don't
111. 4:23have a critical number of people. So, my
112. 4:26question would be to Secretary Rubio, is
113. 4:29there more that can be done?
114. 4:31>> out of time here. Um, you were clothed
115. 4:33with immense power as Secretary of
116. 4:35State. You've stated on the record in
117. 4:36your opening statement that that uh
118. 4:38child sex trafficking, sex trafficking
119. 4:40in general, human trafficking,
120. 4:41trafficking of all kinds was a priority.
121. 4:43You were clothed with immense power.
122. 4:45Your husband was clothed with immense
123. 4:46power. And until you got the subpoena,
124. 4:49and until these files were out in the
125. 4:50open, you did nothing to try to
126. 4:52effectuate all of these things you say
127. 4:54that should have been done. Is that
128. 4:55correct?
129. 4:56>> No, it's totally incorrect. I mean, all
130. 4:57of your assumptions are ones that I
131. 4:59reject. Um,
132. 5:01when you saw photos of your husband in a
133. 5:02hot tub laying on a beach and getting
134. 5:04massaged by other women, and you knew
135. 5:05that Jeffrey Epstein was involved in
136. 5:07some of these trips and these things,
137. 5:09did it concern you at all? I'm here not
138. 5:11to offer my opinions. I'm here to answer
139. 5:13specific questions to the best of my
140. 5:15ability.
141. 5:15>> saw your husband in these photos with
142. 5:16young women being massaged, what went
143. 5:18through your mind?
144. 5:19I am not going to speculate.
145. 5:22You didn't have any feelings about young
146. 5:24women massaging your husband?
147. 5:26I am not going to offer opinions or
148. 5:29speculation about anything that I have
149. 5:31no context for and was not there.
150. 5:35Um,
151. 5:37after you learned that Jeffrey Epstein
152. 5:39was convicted of sex crimes, sex crimes
153. 5:40with kids, did any of these photos of
154. 5:42your husband with women being massaged
155. 5:44on the beach, did it concern you?
156. 5:47I I have no context for even answering
157. 5:50that question and I think, you know,
158. 5:52obviously the innuendo, all the rest of
159. 5:54it. I'm asking a black and white
160. 5:56question. I'm not putting any leading
161. 5:57statements into it or adjectives. Did
162. 5:59you do anything to determine what was
163. 6:00happening in those images or on those
164. 6:02trips that you once you saw these
165. 6:04photos, once you realized Jeffrey
166. 6:05Epstein was a convicted sex offender of
167. 6:07children, did you do anything to
168. 6:08determine what was happening on these
169. 6:10trips with your husband?
170. 6:13I don't find any of your questions to be
171. 6:16relevant to the investigation.
172. 6:18>> a former president was traveling around
173. 6:20with young women?
174. 6:21>> Well, you'll have a chance You'll have a
175. 6:22chance to talk to him tomorrow. Excuse
176. 6:24me, can I interrupt?
177. 6:26I have another
178. 6:27>> that are being released
179. 6:29of the secretary as she is testifying
180. 6:31from inside this room. Can you please
181. 6:33advise me as to whether or not that's
182. 6:35permissible and consistent with the
183. 6:36rules, particularly given that we have
184. 6:39asked for a public hearing. If there are
185. 6:41photos that are being released of the
186. 6:42secretary as she is testifying, can you
187. 6:45please explain how that
188. 6:46>> with this. If you guys are doing that, I
189. 6:47am done. You can hold me in contempt
190. 6:49from now until the cows come home. This
191. 6:51is just typical behavior.
192. 6:53>> We will go off the record.
193. 6:54>> Oh, for heaven's sake.
194. 6:56>> like to understand how that's
195. 6:57permissible.
196. 7:00It doesn't matter. We all are abiding by
197. 7:02the same rules. I I will take that down.
198. 7:05Yeah, well.
199. 7:06>> to take a break at this moment. I would
200. 7:07like to have a conversation for now.
201. 7:10Go off the record. Go off the record.
202. 7:15more transparent than a public hearing
203. 7:17cameras on. Secretary Clinton, why is it
204. 7:20important for you to testify before this
205. 7:22committee in a public setting?
206. 7:24Well, first of all, I believe in public
207. 7:26testimony. I believe that the public has
208. 7:30a right to know what it selected members
209. 7:34of Congress are investigating and
210. 7:36legislating.
211. 7:37Having served for 8 years, I think it
212. 7:41is useful as a member
213. 7:44to do a hearing in public because you're
214. 7:46going to learn things
215. 7:49by the coverage of it, by the response
216. 7:51that you get from people. You know, this
217. 7:53hearing if it were in public, maybe
218. 7:55somebody your question about
219. 7:57intelligence, maybe somebody watching it
220. 7:58would have said, "Oh my gosh, I just
221. 8:01remembered having a conversation with
222. 8:03Foreign Minister X or Prime Minister Y
223. 8:06and that person mentioned Jeffrey
224. 8:07Epstein." Most people are not going to
225. 8:09look at the video, they're not going to
226. 8:11read the transcript, but they will
227. 8:12follow
228. 8:14a live public hearing. So, I think it
229. 8:17actually enhances the work that those of
230. 8:20us who've been privileged to serve
231. 8:23uh are doing and can do. So,
232. 8:25to me it it it is just a
233. 8:28an absolute uh
234. 8:30prerequisite for doing the kind of
235. 8:33legislative and investigative work as
236. 8:36effectively as possible by doing it in
237. 8:38public. And did you know that you would
238. 8:40be photographed today?
239. 8:43No.
240. 8:44And is that
241. 8:46at all part of what you had understood
242. 8:47about the terms of the agreement for
243. 8:49today's deposition?
244. 8:50>> Well, I will confess that I
245. 8:52had some concerns about whether the
246. 8:55majority on the committee would treat me
247. 8:57fairly and would, you know, fairly
248. 9:00convey what I say and what I did and how
249. 9:03I looked and how I responded.
250. 9:07So, yes, I did have a concern and when
251. 9:09we learned about uh the photos being
252. 9:11taken not by a staff member, but by a
253. 9:13member, it was shocking and very
254. 9:16disappointing. So,
255. 9:18if it were in public, we wouldn't have
256. 9:19that debate. You know, everybody could
257. 9:21see the same thing that the
258. 9:22congresswoman saw. I'm sitting here,
259. 9:24sometimes I'm smiling, sometimes I'm
260. 9:26frowning, sometimes I look good,
261. 9:27sometimes I don't.
262. 9:29That's all in public. Everybody can have
263. 9:31the same view rather than, you know, an
264. 9:34angled photo and all the rest of it. So,
265. 9:37it was disappointing and I I regret that
266. 9:39it happened and it violated your rules,
267. 9:42but
268. 9:43that's not the real concern I have. The
269. 9:45real concern is
270. 9:47get busy. Focus on the people that have
271. 9:49something to tell you that can tell you
272. 9:51about intelligence, money, and crimes.
273. 9:54And get them before you and
274. 9:56whenever possible, do it in public.
275. 9:59Having observed President Trump
276. 10:02up close and personal for a number of
277. 10:04years now since I ran against him,
278. 10:06he has a tell.
279. 10:08He has a behavioral tell.
280. 10:11Whenever he is worried about being found
281. 10:14out himself, he accuses somebody else of
282. 10:17doing what he actually has done.
283. 10:20And it's just a pattern with him. So,
284. 10:23it's no surprise to me that all of a
285. 10:26sudden what he promised in his campaign
286. 10:29to reveal
287. 10:30everything about the files and then when
288. 10:33his people began looking in the files
289. 10:35and realized how potentially
290. 10:38incriminating they were of him, all of a
291. 10:41sudden that was no longer the focus. It
292. 10:45was blaming Democrats, talking about a
293. 10:47hoax, saying move on, there's nothing to
294. 10:50see here.
295. 10:51That is
296. 10:52a typical pattern
297. 10:55of
298. 10:56President Trump's behavior which speaks
299. 10:59louder than all the words that he speaks
300. 11:02and all of the truth social posts that
301. 11:04he makes. He clearly knows what he did.
302. 11:09He knows what others did because
303. 11:11remember, one of the emails that has
304. 11:13come out recently
305. 11:14is he called the police chief of Palm
306. 11:18Beach
307. 11:20at the time Epstein was arrested
308. 11:21according to reporting
309. 11:24to say, "I'm so glad you got him. I'm so
310. 11:26glad you're stopping him." Well, how
311. 11:28would he know that?
312. 11:30And finally, do you think that Donald
313. 11:31Trump should be deposed by this
314. 11:32committee?
315. 11:33>> Absolutely. You know,
316. 11:36I was a lawyer
317. 11:39and as a lawyer you would look for
318. 11:41pattern and practice.
319. 11:43If you were deposing
320. 11:46uh a witness in a case that you were
321. 11:48trying, if you were in court, what did
322. 11:50you know about this person?
323. 11:53What you knew could influence how you
324. 11:56question that person, how you tried the
325. 11:59case.
326. 12:01Donald Trump has been
327. 12:04held civilly liable for sexual assault
328. 12:08by a jury of his peers. Nine members of
329. 12:12a jury found him liable in the sexual
330. 12:16assault of E. Jean Carroll. That is
331. 12:20behavior that fits a pattern if one were
332. 12:23looking for a pattern.
333. 12:25He has also been convicted
334. 12:28on 34 felony counts for attempting to
335. 12:33hide his relationship with a escort and
336. 12:37then to commit business fraud to prevent
337. 12:41it from becoming public in the 2016
338. 12:44campaign which was ultimately election
339. 12:48interference. So, if I were running the
340. 12:51committee or I were involved in this
341. 12:53investigation, I would be looking for
342. 12:56people who maybe had some prior conduct
343. 13:00that might be relevant to either money
344. 13:04or crimes.
345. 13:06And yes, I think that uh
346. 13:09it would be in keeping uh with the
347. 13:13scope of the investigation of this
348. 13:16committee to uh
349. 13:18set up a deposition
350. 13:20uh with President Trump. I know he's
351. 13:22been deposed many, many, many times.
352. 13:24He's taken the Fifth Amendment many,
353. 13:26many hundreds of so I'm not saying
354. 13:29you're going to get a lot of
355. 13:30information.
356. 13:32But given what's in the files
357. 13:36and given
358. 13:37past
359. 13:39and prior conduct
360. 13:41he would be on my witness list.
361. 13:44Um by this standard of behavior,
362. 13:45multiple credible accusers, including
363. 13:47Juanita Broaddrick, who alleged rape
364. 13:48against your husband, your husband was
365. 13:50disbarred in Arkansas, lost his license,
366. 13:52law license before the Supreme Court,
367. 13:54flew on Epstein's plane dozens of times,
368. 13:57visited Epstein's island. That is not
369. 13:59true.
370. 14:01That is absolutely untrue. Well, there
371. 14:03is documentation in the DOJ files. I'm
372. 14:05not sure you're aware your attorneys
373. 14:06have told you, but Jeffrey Epstein told
374. 14:09one of the victims to lie to
375. 14:11investigators, to lie that Bill Clinton
376. 14:13was ever on Epstein Island. I can
377. 14:15provide that document to your attorneys.
378. 14:16>> that document, please. Yeah, counsel,
379. 14:18because it actually the files say just
380. 14:20the opposite. Epstein himself denied he
381. 14:21was there.
382. 14:22>> These are FBI notes from an interview
383. 14:24with a victim, and I can get you the
384. 14:26victim number and the case number in the
385. 14:27files. These are notes from a 302
386. 14:29interview. We would like those Are you
387. 14:30going to provide those now?
388. 14:31>> I I I don't That's not my line of
389. 14:32questioning. She brought it up, but I
390. 14:33have a document I can get to you.
391. 14:34>> making a representation as to the fact
392. 14:36that your husband was there.
393. 14:37>> as an exhibit. It's un- But it's
394. 14:39factually inaccurate.
395. 14:40>> No, I can give it to you later. I can go
396. 14:41find the document, make copies of it,
397. 14:42and give it to you this afternoon. Thank
398. 14:44you so much.
399. 14:44>> Okay.
400. 14:46By your standard of pattern of behavior,
401. 14:48um
402. 14:48according to documents released by the
403. 14:50Department of Justice, your husband
404. 14:52appears in photos in swimming pools, hot
405. 14:55tubs, aboard Jeffrey Ep- aboard Jeffrey
406. 14:57Epstein's private plane with
407. 14:59unidentified young women. We came here
408. 15:01today
409. 15:02and told this committee you told this
410. 15:04committee that a pattern of behavior
411. 15:05demands accountability, correct? I said
412. 15:08that I believe the committee should call
413. 15:11anyone who had a substantial pattern and
414. 15:14practice of contact with Jeffrey Epstein
415. 15:17and his crimes before they they to light
416. 15:20and after that
417. 15:21>> your husband? and after they came to
418. 15:23light, you're going to have a chance to
419. 15:24question him tomorrow.
420. 15:26So, I'll ask you again by the standard
421. 15:27you just set in your own words just now.
422. 15:31Does this standard apply equally to your
423. 15:33husband or only President Trump? I have
424. 15:36said that my husband has been
425. 15:37subpoenaed. He will appear. He will
426. 15:40answer your questions to the best of his
427. 15:42ability, but there is no evidence
428. 15:45whatsoever of any
429. 15:48connection with Jeffrey Epstein's
430. 15:50crimes, and I think that that will be uh
431. 15:53obviously uh apparent in the
432. 15:55questioning.
433. 15:57What makes you so sure of that then? I
434. 15:59mean, he's he's photographed Objection.
435. 16:02You can't speculate on something that's
436. 16:03not Yeah, I I
437. 16:05It is so speculative. I mean, swimming
438. 16:07in a pool, sitting in a hot tub, there
439. 16:10are millions of people who do that
440. 16:11without any improper behavior or
441. 16:14certainly committing any crimes. So, uh
442. 16:17I think
443. 16:18>> of the men are like your husband that
444. 16:19didn't do anything wrong by by were they
445. 16:20being surrounded by young women giving
446. 16:22them massages
447. 16:24on Jeffrey's private estate or private
448. 16:26plane? Are they all innocent then? You
449. 16:28know, you are making assumptions in your
450. 16:30questions that have not been proven, and
451. 16:31I don't believe are provable.
452. 16:34"Thank you for a fun night. Your
453. 16:36littlest girl was a little naughty."
454. 16:39How does that make you feel? Makes me
455. 16:40sick.
456. 16:42Um if you can also read the EFTA
457. 16:4400878421.
458. 16:48Um this is also another email.
459. 16:51Can you just please provide the context?
460. 16:53It's an email to Jeffrey Epstein. Um
461. 16:56if you could just read the
462. 16:58the context of what it is.
463. 17:01Of course, the
464. 17:04"OH Jesus Ohio Jesus, I'm coming trick."
465. 17:09And the just the main body of the
466. 17:10context of the email. Said that she felt
467. 17:12God's presence next to her when she was
468. 17:14in bed. She knows that Jesus watches
469. 17:16over her, and he helped save her life.
470. 17:18Whoops. How does that make you feel?
471. 17:21Bizarre. I don't know what it means.
472. 17:23The reason I asked you to read both of
473. 17:26these is cuz these emails were both sent
474. 17:27by um
475. 17:29co-conspirators that were then given the
476. 17:31plea deals and now have been given
477. 17:34victim status.
478. 17:36Uh both of these women were also named
479. 17:39in FBI documents.
480. 17:41Um and they're on a number of other
481. 17:43emails.
482. 17:45Do you believe that the Department of
483. 17:46Justice should re-evaluate the plea
484. 17:48deals for some of these women
485. 17:51given that as you can see they have um
486. 17:56they have
487. 17:57clearly done some things probably that
488. 17:59they shouldn't have.
489. 18:01I I don't know the status uh of whether
490. 18:04that would be legally possible. So, I
491. 18:07have no opinion. I think um outside of
492. 18:09the statute of limitations they might be
493. 18:11able to reinvestigate under the um civil
494. 18:14rights violations. Would you be in favor
495. 18:16of that or looking into any of the
496. 18:17co-conspirators that were given plea
497. 18:18deals down to victim status if there's
498. 18:21credible evidence that they were
499. 18:22trafficking young girls? I think it
500. 18:24should be pursued.
501. 18:25All right. Thank you, Attorney General.
502. 18:26How do you feel about your husband being
503. 18:28named in the Epstein files?
504. 18:31Well, I I think it's uh
505. 18:34you know, something that uh is
506. 18:36unfortunate um
507. 18:38and I'm sure that he will tell you that
508. 18:40he wished he had not uh flown on
509. 18:42Epstein's plane.
510. 18:45So, that's you know, it's it's uh
511. 18:46unfortunate uh in my opinion. Is is how
512. 18:49do we determine
513. 18:51whether or not Epstein was a spy,
514. 18:53whether or not Epstein was trading
515. 18:55secrets cuz he had people on that on the
516. 18:57inside uh especially in the Obama
517. 19:00administration. Um um we're not saying
518. 19:02you, but uh the Obama's uh former
519. 19:05counsel that that then went to uh
520. 19:08Goldman Sachs.
521. 19:09What
522. 19:11where do we go in this investigation to
523. 19:13try to determine whether or not
524. 19:16he was an asset?
525. 19:18You know, Mr. Chairman, I really
526. 19:19appreciate that question and I can't say
527. 19:21that about many of the questions, but I
528. 19:23really do appreciate that question. And
529. 19:25I think it's
530. 19:27an absolutely essential question for you
531. 19:29to try to
532. 19:30uh examine and find answers for.
533. 19:33And I think you said that you had uh
534. 19:37either document requests or uh maybe
535. 19:40even a subpoena to the CIA. Um the I
536. 19:44would also include the DNI. I would
537. 19:46include um you know, any
538. 19:49uh counterintelligence or
539. 19:52uh appropriate um unit within the
540. 19:55Justice Department. I think you have to
541. 19:57cast a wide net. And now that um as you
542. 20:02describe uh the government in the UK is
543. 20:06investigating
544. 20:08um both
545. 20:09uh Andrew Mountbatten and uh Peter
546. 20:13Mandelson, maybe they would cooperate
547. 20:15with you in their investigation. And
548. 20:17maybe
549. 20:18you know, you could reach out to the
550. 20:20intelligence agencies of other countries
551. 20:23that you're
552. 20:24looking at. Israel has been mentioned,
553. 20:26perhaps that is one to be I don't think
554. 20:28Iran is going to cooperate, but I think
555. 20:30or Russia, but I think you could, you
556. 20:32know, certainly go to the UK and go to
557. 20:35Israel and see if they would be at all
558. 20:36helpful to you.
559. 20:37>> In in in your experience as Secretary of
560. 20:39State and and I know you were First
561. 20:41Lady, but you were more active
562. 20:44in my opinion than
563. 20:46most First Ladies in in the
564. 20:49President Clinton's administration.
565. 20:51Does he
566. 20:53exhibit characteristics
567. 20:55is there a pattern that would lead
568. 20:57you and your expertise to believe that
569. 21:00he was an asset?
570. 21:02Well, there certainly is in the files
571. 21:04and and I I do commend you for getting
572. 21:07as much released as you you can. I I
573. 21:09hope you can get it all released. Uh
574. 21:13you know, hints of relationships with
575. 21:16powerful foreign leaders, pictures, uh
576. 21:19emails, meetings, uh
577. 21:24he he was clearly somebody who traded
578. 21:26off of information.
579. 21:27>> Exactly. He liked to collect it and then
580. 21:30he liked to use it. I don't know any
581. 21:32more details than that, so
582. 21:35uh he is certainly I said earlier, you
583. 21:39know, the intelligence connections, the
584. 21:42money connections, the crimes, those
585. 21:44seem to me to be the
586. 21:46you know, the three major elements of
587. 21:47your investigation.