In a heatseeking opening statement to her deposition on Jeffrey Epstein, Hillary Clinton tore into the Trump administration and the GOP over their handling of the Epstein files and human trafficking cases.
The opponent of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election charged the House Oversight Committee with using the Epstein files as a means to settle political scores. She accused the committee of a lack of transparency and dinged the Trump administration for limiting the federal government’s ability to investigate human trafficking.
“Your investigation is supposed to be assessing the federal government’s handling of the investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and his crimes. You subpoenaed eight law enforcement officials, all of whom ran the Department of Justice or directed the FBI when Epstein’s crimes were investigated and prosecuted. Of those eight, only one appeared before the Committee,” she said. ” You have made little effort to call the people who show up most prominently in the Epstein files. And when you did, not a single Republican Member showed up for Les Wexner’s deposition.”
The former Secretary of State said that Trump’s administration had “gutted the Trafficking in Persons Office at the State Department.”
“The message from the Trump Administration to the American people and the world could not be clearer: combatting human trafficking is no longer an American priority under the Trump White House,” she said.
Clinton noted a lack of public hearings and the media blackout surrounding depositions, including her own. She added that a true commitment to justice would require the release of an unadulterated version of Epstein’s case files.
“A committee run by elected officials with a commitment to transparency would ensure the full release of all the files. It would ensure that the lawful redactions of those files protected the victims and survivors, not powerful men and political allies,” she said. “It would get to the bottom of reports that DOJ withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accuses President Trump of heinous crimes.”
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Clinton’s deposition was briefly halted after Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., leaked a photo of Clinton to right-wing commentator Benny Johnson. Read her entire opening statement below:
Here is my opening statement to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today. pic.twitter.com/NZSF2epcI5
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 26, 2026
Former President Bill Clinton, Hillary’s husband, appeared in photos released by the Department of Justice along with millions of pages of Epstein case files. Bill Clinton has also agreed to testify before Congress and is scheduled to do so on Friday.
