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February 26, 2026Hillary Clinton testifies 6 hours in Epstein probe, calls it political theater
Clinton says she never met Epstein, GOP asks about pizzagate and UFOs
Photo: Niall Carson / Reuters
Hillary Clinton gave more than six hours of closed-door testimony on February 26, 2026, at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center in Chappaqua, New York, before the House Oversight Committee. In her opening statement, she said: 'I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices.' CNN clocked the session at six-and-a-half hours.
The Clintons agreed to testify only after the committee voted on a bipartisan basis to hold them in contempt of Congress. The committee had subpoenaed both Clintons in August 2025 and originally scheduled depositions for October, then rescheduled for January. The Clintons skipped the January date; the contempt vote advanced. They agreed to testify as the full House was preparing to vote on the resolution — squashing the contempt effort hours before the vote.
Bill Clinton flew on Epstein's private plane at least 16 times, according to a CNN review of records, and appears in Epstein case files pictured with Ghislaine Maxwell. He testified at the same Chappaqua Performing Arts Center on Friday, February 27 — becoming the first former president compelled to testify before Congress under subpoena in over 40 years. Neither Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) leaked a photograph from inside the closed-door deposition to conservative influencer Benny Johnson on X shortly after proceedings began, halting the session briefly. Boebert later joked publicly about the leak, referencing BleachBit — the software used to delete Clinton emails in 2015 — in what critics called a reference to selective memory.
By the end of the session, Republican members were questioning Clinton about the pizzagate conspiracy theory, which she called 'one of the most vile, bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the internet.' They also asked about UFOs. Clinton did not identify which Republican asked those questions, but said by the end she had lost count of how many times she repeated that she did not know Epstein.
Committee Chair James Comer said the session was 'productive' and that he 'learned a lot.' He acknowledged Clinton referred questions about the Clinton Global Initiative to her husband more than a dozen times, saying 'I don't know, you'll have to ask my husband.' Comer confirmed before and after the deposition that no one is accusing the Clintons of wrongdoing.
The Clintons and the committee agreed to five topic areas for the depositions: alleged mismanagement of the federal investigation into Epstein and Maxwell; the circumstances of Epstein's 2019 prison death; federal approaches to combat sex trafficking rings; how Epstein curried favor to protect his activities; and potential violations of ethics rules related to elected officials.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) noted that not a single Republican on the committee attended the prior week's deposition of Les Wexner — the billionaire who gave Epstein his Manhattan townhouse, his fortune, and his access to power, and whom investigators describe as the most important financier of Epstein's network. Garcia demanded Republicans use the precedent set by deposing a former first couple to immediately call President Trump to testify, since Trump appears in the Epstein files more times than Bill Clinton.
Trump directed the DOJ to investigate Epstein's connections to the Clintons and others. The New York Times reported on February 26 that documents related to a Trump accuser appear to be missing from the DOJ's December 2025 release of over 3 million Epstein files. Clinton accused the committee of using the investigation to 'distract attention from President Trump's actions and cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers.'
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Feb 26, 2026
InvestigationNotable
Hillary Clinton Testifies Six Hours in House Epstein Probe, Calls It Political Theater
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton underwent a six-hour closed-door deposition in Chappaqua, New York before Republican members of the House Oversight Committee as part of the committee's investigation into the federal government's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Clinton denied ever having met Epstein and called the deposition political theater after being asked about unrelated topics including UFOs and Pizzagate conspiracy theories. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer led the questioning; video of the depositions was subsequently released by House Republicans.
Feb 26, 2026
Main
Hillary Clinton testifies 6 hours in Epstein probe, calls it political theater
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sat for more than six hours of closed-door questioning at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center in New York on February 26, 2026, before the House Oversight Committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein. In her opening statement, she said she had no knowledge of his criminal activities, never flew on his plane, never visited his island, homes, or offices, and does not recall ever encountering him. The depositions mark the first time a former first couple has appeared before a congressional panel under subpoena, and the first time a former president has been compelled to testify before Congress in over 40 years. The Clintons agreed to testify only after the committee voted on a bipartisan basis to hold them in contempt of Congress following their failure to appear in January. The committee had subpoenaed both Clintons in August 2025, originally scheduling depositions for October. After the Clintons skipped the January date, the contempt vote advanced — and the Clintons relented before the full House voted. The Clintons had pushed for a public hearing; Chair James Comer (R-KY) insisted on closed-door transcribed interviews first. Clinton said afterward she would not return: 'They had a chance to do it in public, and I wish they had done it in public. I'm not going to do it again.' Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) leaked a photograph from inside the session to conservative influencer Benny Johnson on X, briefly halting proceedings. By the session's end, Republicans were asking about the pizzagate conspiracy theory and UFOs. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) noted that not a single Republican had attended the Les Wexner deposition the prior week — while all were present for Clinton. Bill Clinton testified Friday, February 27, becoming the first former president compelled to testify before Congress under subpoena in modern history.
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