'Absolutely': Hillary Clinton says Trump should testify in Epstein investigation

During her closed-door testimony in connection with the Epstein files, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the House Oversight Committee to depose President Donald Trump as part of its ongoing investigation into the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in his prison cell in 2019. When asked whether Trump should be called to testify, Clinton said, "Absolutely!" "Donald Trump has been held civilly liable for sexual assault by a jury of his peers. Nine members of a jury found him liable for the sexual assault of E. Jean Carroll. That is behavior that fits a pattern, if one were looking for a pattern," Clinton averred. 

"He has also been convicted on 34 felony counts for attempting to hide his relationship with a—escort, and then to commit business fraud to prevent it from becoming public in the 2016 campaign, which was ultimately election interference. So if I were running the committee…I would be looking for people who maybe had some prior conduct that might be relevant to either money or crimes. And yes, I think that it would be in keeping with the scope of the investigation of this committee to set up a deposition with President Trump," the former Secretary of State added.

Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein's sex trafficking crimes. In a statement in January, the Department of Justice noted that some of the documents in the Epstein files contain "untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 elections."  

While Clinton's suggestion on deposing the President was a key moment in her testimony, backing other Democrats making similar demands, she also spent significant time answering questions from the committee's Republican chairman, James Comer, and other lawmakers about her knowledge of Epstein.

"I have no recall of ever meeting Mr. Epstein," Clinton affirmed. "Let me be as clear as I can. As I stated in my sworn declaration on January 13th, 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…It's unfathomable that Mr. Epstein initially got a slap on the wrist in 2008, which allowed him to continue his predatory practices for another decade," she said.

During the testimony, she was also asked about her husband and former president, Bill Clinton's photo of "getting massaged" by other women. "I'm here not to offer my opinions. I'm here to answer specific questions to the best of my ability," Hillary responded, later dismissing a question on whether she did anything to "determine what was happening in those images" as irrelevant to the investigation.