Video recordings of former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s closed-door testimony in the congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein were released publicly on Monday, providing a detailed account of Clinton’s interactions with the disgraced financier and shedding light on a previously unreported conversation involving Donald Trump.
Clinton’s deposition, delivered under oath to the House Oversight Committee on February 27, 2026, at his residence in Chappaqua, New York, lasted roughly four and a half hours. Lawmakers questioned him extensively about his relationship with Epstein, his knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct, and a series of photographs that surfaced in recently disclosed investigative files.
Throughout the testimony, Clinton maintained that he had no awareness of Epstein’s criminal activities during the period of their association. He stated that had he known, he would have reported the conduct himself and publicly demanded accountability.
One of the most politically consequential moments in the deposition concerned an exchange Clinton said he had with Donald Trump at a charity golf tournament in either 2002 or 2003, when Trump was a private citizen.
According to Clinton’s sworn testimony, Trump initiated the conversation, apparently aware that Clinton had flown on Epstein’s private aircraft. Clinton recalled Trump saying, “We’ve had some great times together over the years, but we fell out all because of a real estate deal.”
Clinton testified that Trump did not elaborate on what he meant by those “great times” and that the conversation carried no explicit sexual implication. He added that Trump never said anything that suggested involvement in Epstein’s criminal activities.
Republican members of the committee quickly highlighted that statement, arguing it amounted to an exculpatory account regarding Trump. Committee chairman James Comer said Clinton had confirmed he possessed no information indicating that Trump engaged in wrongdoing connected to Epstein.
The exchange nonetheless offers a rare contemporaneous glimpse into how Trump himself characterized his relationship with Epstein in the early 2000s. Trump has previously stated that their association ended around 2004 following a dispute related to staffing at his Mar-a-Lago club.
Much of the deposition focused on Clinton’s own interactions with Epstein. The former president described the relationship as a short-lived acquaintance beginning around 2002, when he accepted several flights on Epstein’s private jet while conducting humanitarian travel linked to the Clinton Foundation.
Clinton said the introduction came through his former Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers. According to his account, Epstein offered use of the aircraft in exchange for extended conversations about politics and economics during long flights.
The arrangement lasted roughly a year before Clinton concluded Epstein was not seriously interested in the foundation’s work. Clinton acknowledged flying on Epstein’s plane multiple times, with travel logs documenting at least sixteen trips to destinations across Asia, Africa, and Europe.
He emphasized that he never visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island and said he ended contact well before Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Lawmakers also questioned Clinton about several photographs released as part of the Justice Department’s document disclosures. One widely circulated image shows Clinton relaxing in a hot tub with a woman whose identity was redacted in the files.
Clinton testified he believed the photo was taken during a 2000 trip to Brunei following an APEC conference, when the Sultan of Brunei insisted that members of Clinton’s delegation stay at a specific hotel. He said he spent only a few minutes in the hot tub before returning to his room and denied any sexual encounter with the unidentified individual.
Another line of questioning concerned a neck massage Clinton received on a flight from a young woman later identified as an Epstein abuse survivor. Clinton said he had no knowledge at the time of her circumstances and described the service as typical of the environment surrounding wealthy private travel.
Investigators also raised Epstein’s documented visits to the White House during Clinton’s presidency. Records indicate Epstein entered the complex seventeen times between 1993 and 1995. Clinton said he did not recall meeting Epstein during those visits and was unaware of whom Epstein met with inside the administration.
Regarding Ghislaine Maxwell, Clinton described their acquaintance as somewhat warmer than his connection to Epstein due to shared social circles. He condemned her actions and stated that she should be punished for her role in Epstein’s trafficking network.
Hillary Clinton testified before the committee one day earlier but provided little substantive information regarding Epstein. She repeatedly said she had no recollection of meeting him and no knowledge of his criminal activities.
Her appearance nonetheless produced several dramatic moments. The former secretary of state threatened to leave the session after Representative Lauren Boebert leaked a photograph from the closed proceedings. She also clashed with Representative Nancy Mace during questioning and fielded unusual inquiries from Boebert concerning the debunked “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory.
During her testimony, Hillary Clinton also called on President Trump to testify before the committee. She argued that if former officials can be deposed under oath, the same standard should apply to a sitting president.
The release of the depositions illustrates how Epstein’s network continues to intersect with American political life years after his death in 2019. The investigation has drawn attention to the overlapping social circles that connected prominent political figures, financiers, and business elites during the early 2000s.
Clinton’s testimony does not allege wrongdoing by Trump, but it adds another firsthand account to the historical record of Epstein’s relationships with influential individuals. As congressional investigators continue to review documents and testimony, the inquiry increasingly focuses on how those elite networks operated and how much key figures understood about Epstein’s activities at the time.