Bill Clinton tells congressional committee he had 'no idea' about Jeffrey Epstein's crimes

Bill Clinton says he had no inkling of Jeffrey Epstein's criminal behaviour during their "brief acquaintance" and he would have reported the paedophile to police if he did, according to his opening statement to a congressional hearing.

The former US president was questioned for more than six hours by the House Oversight Committee, which is looking into the US government's handling of the Epstein case. 

Afterwards, Republicans on the committee praised Mr Clinton's candour and said they "picked up some new facts".

Mr Clinton was subpoenaed after featuring prominently in the first release of select "Epstein files" documents last year, including in undated photographs with Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

"I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing," Mr Clinton's opening statement, posted to X, says.

"Not only would I have not 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.

"But even with 20/20 hindsight, I saw nothing that ever gave me pause. We are only here because he 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."

Mr Clinton's deposition in New York took place a day after his wife, Hillary Clinton, appeared before the committee. 

After her deposition, Ms Clinton criticised the committee's "repetitive" and "unproductive" questioning, its refusal to open the hearing to media, and its failure to force US President Donald Trump to answer questions.

Mr Clinton said his wife should never have been forced to testify.

"Before we start, I have to get personal," Mr Clinton's opening statement says.

"You made Hillary come in. She had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein … including her was simply not right."

The committee has promised to release transcripts and video from both depositions.

'The Clinton rule'

Mr Clinton's appearance marks the first time a former US president has appeared before a congressional committee under subpoena.

The Clintons initially resisted moves to subpoena them, but agreed to testify after a push, supported by some Democrats, to hold them in contempt of Congress.

"Jeffrey Epstein was in the White House 17 times while Bill Clinton was president," the committee's Republican chairman, James Comer, said before the hearing.

"We know that Bill Clinton flew on Jeffrey Epstein's plane at least 27 times. So those are questions that we're going to ask."

Democrats on the committee said they would keep pushing to depose Mr Trump as well.

Ro Khanna, who co-sponsored the bipartisan legislation that forced the release of the Epstein files, said Mr Clinton's appearance set a precedent Mr Trump should follow.

"Before this, we had the Trump rule," he said, pointing to Mr Trump's past defiance of a congressional subpoena to testify about the January 6 insurrection. 

"Now we have the Clinton rule, which is that presidents and their families have to testify when Congress issues a subpoena."