JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have released videos of the depositions of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Clintons separately testified for hours behind closed doors last week as part of the committee's ongoing investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein files. For months, the Clintons fought a committee subpoena but relented after they were threatened with contempt of Congress. NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales is here with more. Hi.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.
SUMMERS: So Claudia, the House Oversight Committee traveled to upstate New York to interview the Clintons. What did the former president and former secretary of state have to do with the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein?
GRISALES: Well, former President Clinton is mentioned several times in the files. He even appears in some of the photos. The two men did have a relationship for a time, mostly right after Clinton left the White House. And Clinton talked about taking trips abroad on Epstein's plane during this deposition. It was part of work with the Clinton Foundation. His voice is a bit raspy, but you can listen to a bit here.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BILL CLINTON: I thought we had an understanding about the airplanes - that he would let me use the airplane to set up my AIDS programs around the world if I agreed to talk to him for an hour about economics and politics.
GRISALES: So Clinton said he kept his word, but they never talked about sensitive government topics. He also said he cut ties long before Epstein's conviction in 2008.
SUMMERS: OK, so that's the former president. But what about Hillary Clinton?
GRISALES: Well, the former secretary of state has said that Epstein's longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell was a casual acquaintance of hers, but she never met Epstein herself.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
HILLARY CLINTON: I don't recall ever talking about Mr. Epstein. He was not on my radar. He was not somebody that I had any connection to.
GRISALES: And we should note the Clintons have repeatedly said appearing in the files does not equate to wrongdoing, and so far, investigators have not uncovered evidence proving otherwise.
SUMMERS: But former President Clinton did have a relationship with Epstein. What did he have to say?
GRISALES: Well, he told lawmakers, quote, "I saw nothing. I did nothing wrong." He also criticized Republicans for roping in his wife, Hillary, who he said had nothing to do with Epstein. And he said that he testified to what little he knew so, quote, "it might prevent anything like it from happening again." He also said he testified because no person is above the law, especially presidents.
SUMMERS: But, I mean, this is unprecedented, though, for a former president to testify in front of a congressional committee under subpoena, correct?
GRISALES: Right. And Democrats are saying this should set a new precedent. President Trump himself appears in these files. He's also denied any wrongdoing, but Democrats want to talk to him, too. They say they have a lot of questions, especially after NPR reported last week on Epstein files related to Trump specifically missing from the public record. But it's really unclear if that will happen under a GOP-led committee.
SUMMERS: Yeah. And I mean, there are a lot of people who have been named in the Epstein files. Republicans on this committee, though, they've been very focused on the Clintons. Why is that?
GRISALES: Yes, they have been intensely focused on the Clintons and other prominent Democrats who appear in the files. And the Clintons have been a favorite target for the right for decades now. But going forward, the committee has said they want to bring more people in to testify. They're still investigating. So they're focused on people who maintained ties to Epstein even after his conviction.
SUMMERS: NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales, thank you.
GRISALES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
