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Former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has condemned the conduct of a Republican-led panel investigating links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, accusing congressional lawmakers of trying to “protect one political party and one public official”.
Clinton had been subpoenaed to testify before the panel, made up of members of the House of Representatives, on Thursday.
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But before her appearance, she published her opening statement online, which criticised an “institutional failure” in the US government to “seek truth and justice for the victims and survivors”.
Clinton’s husband, former US President Bill Clinton, is set to testify before the same panel on Friday. Both are Democrats.
The pair have maintained they had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity and have long said they have provided all relevant information to the lawmakers on the panel.
In her statement, Clinton also accused the Republicans of using the hearings as a red herring to divert blame away from the administration of President Donald Trump.
“You have compelled me to testify, fully aware I have no knowledge that would assist in your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump’s actions and to cover them up,” Clinton wrote.
She also questioned why the panel has allowed other subpoenaed individuals to provide answers in writing, and why its hearings have taken place behind closed doors.
Clinton and her husband, meanwhile, were threatened with charges of contempt, after they resisted the subpoena to appear in person.
The conflict centres around a long-running push to pursue accountability for those who may have been involved in shielding Epstein from justice.
Epstein, a wealthy financier, had cultivated contacts with high-powered individuals in politics, academia and the arts. His circle of friends included both Bill Clinton and Trump.
But he was also a convicted sex offender, whose victims, experts say, number in the hundreds.
In 2008, he was convicted in Florida of soliciting a minor for prostitution, but he served only 13 months of an 18-month sentence, as part of a plea deal criticised as overly lenient.
In 2019, federal prosecutors charged Epstein with running a sex-trafficking ring, but Epstein, 66, died by apparent suicide while in custody, awaiting trial.
Speculation has continued to grow over how his influential social circle may have aided his crimes.
But the scandal has been a thorn in the side of the Trump administration, which faced backlash over its initial resistance to publishing the government’s full Epstein file.
Media reports over the last year have also highlighted elements of Trump’s past relationship with Epstein, including a sexually suggestive birthday note the Republican leader appeared to have written.
In her statement, Clinton said that, if the House panel were committed to a fair investigation, “it would ask [Trump] directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files”.
She also made a reference to an email exchange between Epstein and billionaire Elon Musk, released in a trove of documents by the Department of Justice.
If the panel were “serious”, she wrote, “it would subpoena anyone who asked on which night there would be the ‘wildest party’ on Epstein Island”.
‘A full-blown coverup?’
New details emerged about Epstein and his associates on January 30, when the Department of Justice published nearly 3.5 million government documents related to the convicted sex offender.
A law, passed in November, had compelled the Trump administration to release all its Epstein files within 30 days.
But critics have continued to accuse the administration of failing to release all of the investigative files, as required.
The Justice Department has said it would review claims it has illegally withheld documents containing allegations against Trump.
A person’s appearance in the files does not necessarily imply criminal conduct. But survivors, sexual violence advocates and some politicians have called for greater accountability and transparency, given the scale and nature of Epstein’s crimes.
Speaking on Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for further action.
“What else is the administration keeping behind a lock and key? Is this incompetence or is it a full-blown coverup?” he said. “Pam Bondi owes the American people some answers.”
For his part, House Oversight Committee chair James Comer denied that the panel’s investigation was a “witch hunt”.
He told supporters in advance of Thursday’s hearing that there was bipartisan support for the Clintons to testify.
Comer also said the government had “failed” Epstein’s victims. While the panel cannot prosecute anyone involved, he added that he hoped it could help bring transparency.
A full transcript and video of the Clinton hearings, which are expected to stretch on for several hours, will be released “as soon as everyone approves it”, according to Comer.
Speaking in advance of the hearing, Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the panel, called for Trump himself to testify “to answer the questions that are being asked across this country from survivors”.
