Chaos erupts as Hillary Clinton HALTS her Epstein testimony after MAGA lawmaker took photo of closed-door deposition

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee… as a former Senator, I respect legislative oversight and expect that oversight to be principled and fearless in its pursuit of truth and accountability, just like the American people.

But as we all know, too often Congressional investigations are partisan political theater; This would be an abdication of duty and an insult to the American people.

The Committee justified its subpoena against me based on the assumption that I had knowledge of investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Let me be as clear as I can. I do not.

As I stated in my affidavit on January 13, I was unaware of the criminal activity. I don’t remember ever meeting Mr. Epstein. I never boarded his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to this.

Like any decent person, I was horrified by what we learned about their crimes. It is inconceivable that the slap on the wrist Mr. Epstein first received in 2008 allowed him to continue his predatory practices for another decade.

Mr. President, your investigation needs to evaluate the federal government’s handling of the investigation and prosecution of Epstein and his crimes. You subpoenaed eight law enforcement officials, all of whom ran the Justice Department or ran the FBI when Epstein’s crimes were investigated and prosecuted. Of these eight, only one appeared before the Committee. Five of the six former attorneys general were allowed to submit brief statements saying they had no information to give.

You have held no public hearings and have not allowed the media to attend, including today, despite advocating the need for transparency dozens of times.

You’ve spent little effort searching for the people most prominent in the Epstein files. And when you did that, not a single Republican member showed up to Les Wexner’s testimony.

This institutional failure is designed to protect a political party and a public official rather than seek truth and justice for victims and survivors and the public who want to get to the bottom of this matter. My heart breaks for the survivors. I’m angry on their behalf too.

I’ve spent my life advocating for women and girls. I have worked hard to stop the horrific abuses faced by many women and girls here and around the world, including human trafficking, forced labor and sexual slavery. For too long these have been largely seen as invisible crimes, or not crimes at all. But survivors are real and they deserve better.

In Southeast Asia, I met twelve-year-old girls who were forced into prostitution and raped repeatedly. Some were dying of AIDS. I met mothers in Eastern Europe who described losing their daughters to human trafficking and not knowing where to turn. In settings around the world, I have met survivors trying to rebuild their lives and help save others; with little support from the people in power and who often turn a blind eye and act nonchalantly.

If you’re new to this, let me just say this: Jeffrey Epstein was a disgusting person, but he’s not alone. This is not a one-off tabloid sensation or political scandal. This is a global scourge causing unimaginable human toll.

My work fighting sex trafficking dates back to my First Lady days. I worked to pass the first federal anti-trafficking law and was proud to see my husband sign the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which expands support for survivors and gives prosecutors better tools to go after traffickers.

As Secretary of State, I appointed former federal prosecutor Lou CdeBaca to step up our efforts to combat global human trafficking. I oversaw nearly 170 anti-trafficking programs in 70 countries and directly pressured foreign leaders to dismantle human trafficking networks in their countries. We publish a global report every year to shine a light on abuses. The findings of these reports triggered sanctions against countries that failed to make progress, thus becoming a powerful diplomatic tool to guide concrete action.

I first insisted that the United States be included in the report in 2011. Because we must not hold ourselves to the same standard as the rest of the world, but to an even higher standard. Sex trafficking and modern day slavery should have no place in America. None.

Frustratingly, the Trump Administration gutted the State Department’s Office of Human Trafficking, laying off more than 70 percent of the civilian and foreign service professionals who work hard to prevent human trafficking crimes. The annual human trafficking report required by law was delayed for months. The Trump Administration’s message to the American people and the world could not be clearer: combating human trafficking is no longer America’s priority under the Trump White House.

This is a tragedy. This is a scandal. It deserves robust research and oversight.

A committee trying to stop human trafficking will seek to understand what specific steps are needed to fix a system that allowed Epstein to get away with his crimes in 2008.

A committee led by elected officials committed to transparency will ensure full release of all files.

This will ensure that legal disposition of the files protects victims and survivors, not powerful men and political allies.

It will get to the bottom of reports that the Justice Department withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accused President Trump of heinous crimes.

This would subpoena anyone who asked which night the “craziest party” would be held on Epstein’s island.

Testimony will be required from prosecutors in Florida and New York about why they made a love deal with Epstein and chose not to pursue others who might have been involved.

This will demand that Secretary Rubio and Attorney General Bondi testify about why this administration abandoned survivors and played into the hands of human traffickers.

He would call the officers on the front lines of this struggle and ask them what support they needed.

He would pass legislation that would provide more resources and force this administration to take action.

But this is not happening.

Instead, in order to divert attention from President Trump’s actions and cover them up despite legitimate calls for response, you forced me to testify, fully aware that I had no information that would assist your investigation.

If this Committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein’s trafficking crimes, it will not rely on press jokes to get answers from our current president about his involvement; He would be questioned directly under oath about his tens of thousands of appearances in the Epstein files.

If the majority were serious, they wouldn’t waste time on fishing trips. There’s so much to do.

What is being held back? Who is protected? So why is it being covered up?

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, my challenge to you is the same challenge I have asked myself throughout my long service to this nation. How can you be worthy of the trust the American people have placed in you? They expect statesmanship, not gamesmanship. Leading is not about showing off. They expect you to use your power to get to the truth and do more to help the survivors of Epstein’s crimes, as well as the millions of victims of sex trafficking.