Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said House Republicans investigating the Epstein files are using her and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, to divert attention away from President Donald Trump's relationship with the late disgraced financier.
In an interview with the BBC in Berlin, where she attended the annual World Forum, Clinton said she believed the renewed focus on her family is political.
The House Oversight Committee, led by Chair James Comer, R-Ky., has demanded testimony from the Clintons as part of a broader inquiry into Jeffrey Epstein's political and financial network.
The committee recently agreed to drop a planned contempt vote after the Clintons agreed to appear for closed-door depositions.
"Look at this shiny object. We're going to have the Clintons, even Hillary Clinton, who never met the guy," she told the BBC, while acknowledging she met Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell "on a few occasions."
Bill Clinton, who is mentioned in the files, has acknowledged knowing Epstein but said he cut off contact more than 20 years ago.
Neither Bill Clinton nor Hillary Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing by Epstein's victims, and both have denied knowing about his sex trafficking.
Trump, who is also mentioned in the files, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said he severed ties with Epstein decades ago.
Asked about Hillary Clinton's accusations, Trump told the BBC he had "nothing to hide," adding that Democrats were being "pulled in" by the scandal.
Hillary Clinton is scheduled to testify on Feb. 26, followed by Bill Clinton on Feb. 27 — a rare moment in congressional history. The last time a former president testified before a congressional panel was Gerald Ford in 1983.
In her BBC interview, Hillary Clinton also accused the Trump administration of a "cover-up" over its handling of the Epstein files and urged officials to release more material.
"Get the files out. They are slow-walking it," Clinton said.
The White House rejected the accusation, saying the administration had already released thousands of pages and had "done more for the victims than Democrats ever have."
Millions of pages of new documents tied to Epstein were made public earlier this month by the Department of Justice after Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
However, the DOJ acknowledged that roughly three million pages were not released due to privacy concerns, including personal medical records, graphic depictions of child abuse, and other material that could jeopardize investigations.
The latest release has triggered bipartisan criticism that the government is still withholding key information.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who co-wrote the law, has urged the DOJ to release internal memos explaining past charging decisions involving Epstein and his associates.
On social media earlier this month, Hillary Clinton echoed her BBC comments and accused Republicans of turning oversight into a distraction.
In posts on X, she challenged Comer to hold a public hearing rather than a closed-door deposition.
Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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