--- title: Bill Clinton Testifies in House Epstein Probe description: Clinton told lawmakers on Friday that he stopped associating with the financier long before Epstein's crimes came to light. canonical: https://time.com/7381671/bill-clinton-epstein-files-deposition/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-02-27T18:15:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-27T23:00:41.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bill Clinton Testifies in House Epstein Probe og:description: Clinton told lawmakers on Friday that he had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. og:url: https://time.com/7381671/bill-clinton-epstein-files-deposition/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc886a8c0d66cec44/69b04886caac99cdfbea4eb0/Bill-Clinton-Epstein-Probe.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Clinton Global Initiative Takes Place In New York City og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bill Clinton Testifies in House Epstein Probe twitter:description: Clinton told lawmakers on Friday that he had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc886a8c0d66cec44/69b04886caac99cdfbea4eb0/Bill-Clinton-Epstein-Probe.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # ‘I Would Have Turned Him in Myself’: Bill Clinton Testifies in House Epstein Probe > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Updated: Feb 27, 2026 11:00 PM UTCPublished: Feb 27, 2026 6:15 PM UTC  Former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks onstage during the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York City on Sept. 23, 2024. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks onstage during the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York City on Sept. 23, 2024. Alex Kent—Getty Images by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Updated: Feb 27, 2026 11:00 PM UTCPublished: Feb 27, 2026 6:15 PM UTC Former President Bill Clinton [told lawmakers](https://time.com/7380157/clintons-testify-epstein-depositions-congress/) on Friday that he had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, and had stopped associating with the financier long before his wrongdoing came to light. “I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing,” Clinton said in the opening statement of his deposition in the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee’s Epstein investigation, which he [shared](https://x.com/BillClinton/status/2027424128559452573) on X on Friday. “I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong.” “As someone who grew up in a home with domestic abuse, not only would I not have flown on his plane if I had any inkling of what he was doing—I would have turned him in myself and led the call for justice for his crimes, not sweetheart deals,” he continued. Clinton testified before the House Oversight Committee on Friday after the panel subpoenaed both the former President and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as part of its inquiry into Epstein. Hillary Clinton [appeared](https://time.com/7381451/hillary-clinton-epstein-files-deposition/) before the committee on Thursday. The depositions were conducted behind closed doors, but videos and transcripts of the proceedings will be made public afterwards, a committee spokesperson [confirmed](https://time.com/7380157/clintons-testify-epstein-depositions-congress/). Bill Clinton's testimony concluded early Friday evening following more than six hours of questioning. The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, told reporters in the mid-afternoon that Bill Clinton had so far undergone about two hours of questioning from lawmakers—one hour from Republicans on the panel, and a second hour from Democrats on the panel, [The Associated Press](https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-clintons-epstein-updates-2-27-2026#0000019c-a089-d662-a1fd-feed62990000) reported. Comer added that Oversight Republicans would have another hour to question the former President, after which the committee would take a break. At that point, Bill Clinton’s deposition would be at “the halfway point,” Comer said, indicating that the proceedings would likely last about six hours in total. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who co-authored the [law](https://time.com/7335230/trump-signs-epstein-files-bill/) requiring the Justice Department to release all the government files related to the Epstein case, told TIME on Friday afternoon that Bill Clinton’s deposition was going well, and that he “thought the \[former\] President testified pretty civilly.” He added that Bill Clinton’s testimony “set the precedent” for lawmakers to question President Donald Trump over his ties to Epstein, though Khanna didn’t share any further details on the matter. “We got to wait until the full release of the transcript,” he said. “But I would just say that it highlights the need for Donald Trump to come in and testify. \[Bill Clinton\] set the precedent for Trump to answer questions.” Also on Friday, Trump [told reporters](https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-clintons-epstein-updates-2-27-2026#0000019c-a046-d662-a1fd-fe6f1ba30000), “I like Bill Clinton and I don’t like seeing him deposed.” **Read More:** [_Your Questions About the Clintons Testifying Before Congress, Answered_](https://time.com/7380157/clintons-testify-epstein-depositions-congress/) In January, the Clintons [refused](https://time.com/7345940/bill-clinton-hillary-epstein-deposition-investigation-subpoena-house-contempt/) to testify in the inquiry, saying that they had already shared what little information they had about Epstein and Epstein’s longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, with lawmakers. The couple ultimately [agreed](https://time.com/7365632/bill-clinton-hillary-subpoena-epstein-comer-house-oversight-committee-contempt/) to testify in the panel’s investigation earlier in this month, however, after Republicans sought to hold them in contempt of Congress. Bill Clinton is among a number of high-profile people who had ties to Epstein. The former President’s name and photo appear a number of times in the so-called “Epstein files,” the documents related to the investigations into Epstein that have been released by the Justice Department. While Hillary Clinton’s name also appears in the files, nothing in those records appears to establish a personal connection between her and the disgraced financier. The Clintons have not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein and Maxwell. In his opening statement to the House Oversight Committee, Bill Clinton criticized the panel for calling his wife to testify. “Before we start, I have to get personal,” he said. “You made Hillary come in. She had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Nothing. She has no memory of even meeting him. She neither traveled with him nor visited any of his properties. Whether you subpoenaed 10 people or 10,000, including her was simply not right.” **Read More:** [_Hillary Clinton Accuses Republicans of Compelling Her Epstein Deposition to ‘Distract Attention’ From Trump_](https://time.com/7381451/hillary-clinton-epstein-files-deposition/) He went on to stress that he had no knowledge of the late sex offender's crimes. “Even with 20/20 hindsight, I saw nothing that ever gave me pause,” he said. “We are only here because \[Epstein\] hid it from everyone so well for so long. And by the time it came to light with his 2008 guilty plea, I had long stopped associating with him.” Hillary Clinton also slammed lawmakers in her opening statement on Thursday, accusing the Republican-controlled panel of compelling her to testify “fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump’s actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers.” [NPR](https://www.npr.org/2026/02/24/nx-s1-5723968/epstein-files-trump-accusation-maxwell) and the [New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/us/politics/trump-epstein-files.html) reported earlier this week that the Justice Department didn’t include in its public release of documents a number of files related to a woman who alleged that Trump sexually abused her when she was a minor. After that news broke, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said in a [press release](https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-member-robert-garcia-statement-after-department-of-justice-withheld-epstein-files-includes-allegation-president-donald-trump-sexually-abused-a-minor) that Democrats on the committee “can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor who accused President Trump of heinous crimes.” He said that Democrats on the panel would launch an investigation into the matter. Trump’s name and photo appear in the files released by the Justice Department, and his past relationship with Epstein has generated renewed controversy in recent months as the President and his Administration have faced criticism over their handling of the Epstein files. The President has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has said that he had no knowledge of the financier’s crimes. In a statement to both NPR and the _Times,_ White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said that Trump has been “totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7381671/bill-clinton-epstein-files-deposition/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7381671/bill-clinton-epstein-files-deposition/"},"headline":"‘I Would Have Turned Him in Myself’: Bill Clinton Testifies in House Epstein Probe","datePublished":"2026-02-27T18:15:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-27T23:00:41.000Z","description":"Clinton told lawmakers on Friday that he stopped associating with the financier long before Epstein's crimes came to light.","url":"https://time.com/7381671/bill-clinton-epstein-files-deposition/","keywords":["Congress","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc886a8c0d66cec44/69b04886caac99cdfbea4eb0/Bill-Clinton-Epstein-Probe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chantelle Lee","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc886a8c0d66cec44/69b04886caac99cdfbea4eb0/Bill-Clinton-Epstein-Probe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Clinton Global Initiative Takes Place In New York City","caption":"Clinton Global Initiative Takes Place In New York City","creditText":"Alex Kent—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7381671/bill-clinton-epstein-files-deposition/","name":"‘I Would Have Turned Him in Myself’: Bill Clinton Testifies in House Epstein Probe"}}]}] ```