Bill Clinton deposed in House Epstein investigation

Most congressional decisions come from Capitol Hill.

Many of the presidential precedents emerge from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

But a precedent that could echo in the halls of Congress and the White House for years to come occurred recently in the snow-covered, forested village of Chappaqua, New York.

It was here that former President Bill Clinton testified under subpoena to the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Lawmakers said the panel’s ability to extort testimony from a former president could set a new precedent going forward, including on issues related to President Trump and the Epstein files.

According to congressional historians, no congressional committee has ever impeached a former president. It was rare enough that former First Lady and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified the other day. Republicans noted that former President Clinton previously acknowledged knowing Epstein and traveling on trips involving him.

“I don’t recall ever meeting Mr. Epstein. I never got on his plane or visited his island, his homes or his offices,” Hillary Clinton said after nearly six hours of closed-door testimony before the panel.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Hillary Clinton said “‘You’ll have to ask my husband'” “more than a dozen” times before Bill Clinton’s testimony the next day.

There are no criminal charges against any of the Clintons in connection with Epstein. But the former president’s past ties to Jeffrey Epstein have raised questions from lawmakers.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: BONDI’S BINDER STRATEGY TURNS HOME HEARING INTO POLITICAL FIRE

“It’s very difficult to get people involved in these trusts of great power and great wealth,” Comer said. “It took seven months and seven months to get the Clintons here. But we got them here.”

“Here” was Chappaqua, about an hour north of New York City. The Clintons have resided in Chappaqua since President Clinton left office in 2001 and Hillary Clinton ran for the Senate from New York in 2000. Hillary Clinton served as a senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, when she became President Obama’s first Secretary of State.

Former US President Bill Clinton speaks during the 2025 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York, USA, on September 24, 2025. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)

More specifically, the “here” of the Clintons’ testimony was not a drab office in the Rayburn House Office Building. Council members questioned the Clintons at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, known locally as “ChappPAC,” a white structure with simple arcades and Greek columns on a hillside above the Saw Mill River.

The Epstein investigation is serious, and the unusual venue underlined the extraordinary nature of the proceedings.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., took a photo of Hillary Clinton during testimony and then shared it with conservative media outlets.

“I love (Hillary Clinton’s) blue suit. So I wanted to photograph it for everyone,” Boebert said outside the venue.

“Why did you send the photo?” he asked a reporter.

“From where?” replied Boebert.

“We are faced with an incredibly frivolous, clownish display of expression in which Members of Congress and the Republican Party are more interested in taking a picture of Secretary Clinton than in getting to the truth and holding anyone accountable,” Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., charged.

BILL CLINTON SAID HE DID NOT RECOGNIZE THE WOMAN IN THE FAMOUS JACUZZI PHOTO DURING HIS CLOSED DOOR EPSTEIN TESTIMONY

After completing her testimony, Hillary Clinton told reporters that she found the “ending” of the testimony quite unusual, “because I started being asked a series of questions about UFOs and Pizzagate, which is one of the most vile, bogus conspiracy theories ever to spread on the Internet.”

This is a reference to a conspiracy theory that emerged during the 2016 presidential campaign between Hillary Clinton and President Trump. Supporters falsely claimed Democrats were running a child sex trafficking ring out of the Comet Ping Pong pizza shop in Washington. A North Carolina man then drove to Washington, D.C., and fired shots inside the restaurant, telling authorities he was there to save the children.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-N.C., claimed Hillary Clinton “screamed” at lawmakers during testimony.

“He was out of his mind,” Mace said. “And I hope President Clinton is less unstable today than his wife was yesterday.”

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., emerged from the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center about 90 minutes after former President Clinton’s deposition to speculate about what might be behind Epstein and his sex trafficking operation. Luna stated that he was speaking only for himself and not other members of the committee.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, left, and former President Bill Clinton arrive at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. At today’s inauguration ceremony, Donald J. Trump becomes the 45th president of the United States. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

“Interrogations over the last 24 hours have made it clear that Jeffrey Epstein was conducting an intelligence gathering operation,” Luna said. “I believe this is a honeypot operation.”

Luna added that an ally of the United States may have been involved, although he did not provide any evidence for the claim.

One of the Clintons’ five agreed-upon areas of questioning was how Epstein used his connections to powerful figures to conceal his crimes. That’s why people like former President Clinton and President Trump appeared in previously released documents related to Epstein.

The presidency is a unique office, and even President Trump expressed sympathy for Bill Clinton’s appearance before the Oversight Committee.

“I don’t like to see him dethroned. But there’s definitely a lot more coming after me,” the president said.

When pressed on Friday, President Trump said he was not familiar with the Epstein files.

President Trump said, “I don’t know anything about the Epstein files. I’ve been completely cleared.”

Oversight Committee Republicans were asked whether they agreed with that assertion.

“Based on all the evidence I’ve seen, he’s been exonerated for a long time,” Comer replied.

“President Trump was exonerated by the Epstein victims. That’s an innuendo for you; it’s a rabbit hole you go down. But he’s been exonerated over and over again by the Epstein victims,” ​​Mace said.

But Democrats questioned why the committee wanted testimony from former President Clinton and not President Trump.

“There’s a lot of email correspondence involving President Clinton,” Comer said.

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the oversight panel’s top Democrat, argued the move sets a broader standard.

“There is precedent now,” Garcia said. “We now want President Trump to come and testify under oath before the Oversight Committee. We also want the First Lady, who we know had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, to testify under oath before the Oversight Committee. This is the new precedent that Republicans want to set here.”

Garcia added that President Trump “has not been acquitted and we have serious questions for President Trump.”

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., argued that the committee was talking to the “wrong chairman.”

It is unclear whether the panel will seek testimony from President Trump. Democrats have indicated they would consider doing so if they gain control of the House of Representatives in the fall midterm elections.

CLICK TO REACH THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION

Separation of powers is an important component of America’s constitutional system. Only a handful of presidents have testified before Congress, and none has ever been impeached as a former president.

The country’s history includes small communities that gained great political importance. Lawmakers and legal observers say Chappaqua could now join that list if it becomes more common for the president to testify before Congress.

Related Article