Lauren Boebert’s unauthorized photo of Clinton deposition draws bipartisan frustration

Rep. Lauren Boebert, Colorado Republican, managed a rare feat Thursday — drawing condemnation from both sides of the aisle after she leaked an unauthorized photo from inside former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s closed-door deposition to a conservative social media influencer, briefly halting the proceedings.

Ms. Clinton appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in Chappaqua, New York, as part of the panel’s probe into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In her opening statement, Ms. Clinton said she had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities and did not recall ever meeting him. “I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices,” she said.

But the substance of her testimony was quickly overshadowed when Ms. Boebert snapped a photo of Ms. Clinton during the proceedings and shared it with right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson, who promptly posted it to X. The deposition was paused while Ms. Clinton’s team raised the violation with the committee.

“The hearing has been paused briefly while we figure out where the photo came from and why possibly members of Congress are violating House rules,” Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill told reporters.

The move drew immediate criticism from Democrats, who called it a breach of the rules the Republican majority itself had established. Ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia, California Democrat, said Ms. Clinton was “completely cooperating” with the deposition and “answering questions in full faith.”

“What is not acceptable is Oversight Republicans breaking their own committee rules that they established with the Secretary and her team,” Mr. Garcia said.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari, Arizona Democrat, was blunter, calling it “an incredibly unserious clown show of a deposition where members of Congress and the Republican Party are more concerned about getting their photo op of Secretary Clinton than actually getting to the truth.”

But Democrats were not alone in their frustration. MAGA supporters who had long anticipated the Clinton deposition as a moment of accountability were equally incensed, accusing Ms. Boebert and Mr. Johnson of torpedoing the hearing for social media clout.

“Way to go. Now they are stopping the proceedings,” wrote one self-identified MAGA account in response to Johnson’s post. Another Trump supporter, going by “Lady Liberty,” fumed that the pair were “purposely torpedoing this hearing for CLICKS.”

Mr. Johnson defended himself, arguing that the deposition was being filmed and that Ms. Clinton had originally requested a public hearing. Ms. Boebert, asked by reporters why she sent the photo to Mr. Johnson, responded simply: “Why not?” She also quipped that she had “installed the BleachBit software” upon returning to her hotel room — a reference to software used to delete emails from Ms. Clinton’s private server during the 2016 campaign — and therefore could not recall taking any photos.

Rep. Wesley Bell, a Missouri Democrat and a former prosecutor, said the episode illustrated exactly what was wrong with the proceedings. “What we’re seeing is political theater,” he said. “We have not learned one new thing.”

House Oversight Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who had himself demanded the deposition remain private, contrary to the Clintons’ wishes, said both sides would have an opportunity to review video of the session. No formal reprimand of Ms. Boebert was announced.