House Democrats attending former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s deposition on Jeffrey Epstein said President Trump must testify in front of Congress about own relationship with the sex trafficker.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Republicans have set “a new precedent” by forcing former President Bill Clinton to provide a closed-door deposition about his relationship with Epstein. Now they must also interview Mr. Trump, he said.
“We’re demanding immediately that we ask President Trump to testify in front of our committee and be deposed in front of Oversight Republicans and Democrats. He is the person that appears almost more than anyone else” in the Epstein files, said Mr. Garcia, of California.
Mr. Garcia and other Democrats Thursday participated with Republicans in a closed-door deposition of former Secretary Hillary Clinton, who said she never met Epstein and had no relationship with his associate, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
Democrats updated reporters outside of the deposition held at the Performing Arts Center in Chappaqua, New York. Democrats said Mrs. Clinton “is completely cooperating with the deposition and is answering questions in good faith.”
“She never met Jeffrey Epstein, she never visited the island, she never flew on his plane. She also has no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s horrific crimes, so zero knowledge of any wrongdoing,” Mr. Garcia said.
SEE ALSO: Hillary Clinton tells panel ‘I have no knowledge’ of Epstein crimes
Democrats say the GOP and Trump administration are the ones conducting a cover-up. The Justice Department has withheld the disclosure of some of the Epstein files, among them documents that include never-proven allegations by a woman who said Mr. Trump sexually assaulted her when she was a minor.
“The FBI interviewed this witness four times. You do not do that if it is not serious,” Rep. Yassamin Ansari, Arizona Democrat, said.
They also called on Republicans to summon Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a former financial services CEO who associated with Epstein before and after the late convict served jail time on a charge of soliciting prostitution with a minor. Mr. Lutnick claimed he cut off contact with Epstein earlier than newly disclosed records indicate.
Oversight Chairman James Comer, Kentucky Republican, said Thursday it is “very possible” the committee will seek an interview with Mr. Lutnick.
Mr. Clinton is slated to provide a closed-door deposition on Friday. He’ll become the first former president in decades to testify before Congress and the first to do so under subpoena.
Mr. Clinton was chummy with Epstein for several years after his second term ended in 2001. The former president said he cut ties with Epstein long ago and has never been accused of wrongdoing.
Mrs. Clinton, in her opening statement to the committee, said she knew nothing about Epstein or Maxwell engaging in sex trafficking.
Maxwell was a guest at Chelsea Clinton’s 2010 wedding, but Mrs. Clinton told the panel she had “no relationship” with Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
“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,” Mrs. Clinton said in her opening statement.
The deposition was briefly paused after a Republican on the panel leaked a photo of Mrs. Clinton under questioning, which ended up on social media.
Democrats called the deposition of Clinton a scam that diverts the investigation away from wealthy and powerful individuals who victimized girls lured into Epstein’s sex trafficking ring.
