Clinton becomes the first former president compelled to testify before Congress, and his answer about Trump is already being disputed
“Bill Clinton” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Not what many were expecting to hear.
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Former President Bill Clinton made history when he became the first former president ever compelled to testify before Congress. He gave a deposition to the House Oversight Committee in New York as part of the ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. His comments about President Trump are now at the center of a dispute between lawmakers.
Representative James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, spoke to reporters during a break from the closed-door session. He said that when Clinton was asked whether Trump should also be called to testify in the Epstein investigation, Clinton responded, “That’s for you to decide.” Comer added that Clinton also said Trump had “never said anything to me to make me think he was involved” with Epstein.
Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, called this response “interesting.” According to Newsweek, he also said there is “a lot of obsession about President Trump from the media, a lot of curiosity about President Trump from the media.”
Lawmakers are now openly disputing what Clinton actually said about Trump
Representative Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California, pushed back on Comer’s account, telling reporters that Comer had mischaracterized what Clinton said about Trump during the deposition. Garcia urged everyone to “view the complete record of what actually he said,” rather than relying on Comer’s summary.
He accused Republicans of “breaking the rules” by sharing their version of events. Hillary Clinton has also denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes and has separately called on Congress to question Trump. Garcia said Clinton did provide “additional information” about his discussions with Trump, and that Comer’s description was not accurate.
He called for the full transcript to be released, saying it would give everyone “a full record of what was actually said, which brings up some very important new questions about comments President Trump has actually said in the past.”
Clinton, who is 79 years old, used his deposition to deny any wrongdoing in his relationship with Epstein. He stated that he saw no signs of sexual abuse during his time with the disgraced financier. “First, I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing,” Clinton said in a statement.
He went on to say, “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. 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.”
Hillary Clinton’s own deposition also drew attention after Republicans questioned her on UFOs and conspiracy theories during her session, in what many described as an unusual turn. With the dispute already brewing over Clinton’s comments about Trump, and calls for the full transcript to be made public, it is clear that more details from this deposition are likely to come out in the days ahead.
Published: Feb 28, 2026 02:45 pm