Bill Clinton insists ‘I did nothing wrong, no matter what 20-year-old photos show’

The former US President faced questions from the House Oversight Committee on Friday in behind-closed-doors testimony, denying any knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes

Bill Clinton has insistes he did “nothing wrong” as his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein comes under the microscope. The former American president gave his testimony to the Oversight Committee on Friday, which is being held behind closed doors.

He stated: “I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing. No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that at the end of the day matter more than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos.

“I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn’t see. I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn’t do. I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong.”

Posting his statement on X, Clinton wrote: “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.”

In his opening statement, Mr Clinton also defended his wife Hillary and said: “But before we start, I have to get personal. You made Hillary come in. She had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Nothing. She has no memory of even meeting him. She neither travelled with him nor visited any of his properties. Whether you subpoenaed 10 or 10,000 including her was simply not right.”

He then also added he “had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing”. “No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that at the end of the day matter more than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos. I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn’t see. I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn’t do. I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,” he said.

The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, ⁠said the Clintons are not accused of wrongdoing but must answer questions about Epstein’s involvement with their charitable foundation, Sky News reported.

The statement comes after the former president was pictured multiple times in the first batch of files released by the Department of Justice in January, including a picture of him swimming in a pool, and another which showed him lying back with his hands behind his head in a hot tub.

Yesterday, Hillary Clinton was questioned about her feelings over claims young women had massaged her husband, a source told CNN.

Sources said Mrs Clinton replied that she would not speculate about things she was not present for – and that she was not there to talk about feelings. Defending his wife today, Bill told the committee that including Hillary in the discussion about Epstein “was simply not right”.

Bill said his “brief acquaintance” with Epstein ended “years before” Epstein’s crimes came to light. “Though I never witnessed during our limited interactions any indication of what was truly going on, I am here to offer what little I know so that it might prevent anything like this from every happening again,” he said.