Hillary Clinton spent six months fighting tooth and nail to avoid this moment.
She dodged subpoenas, missed three separate court dates, and called the whole thing a political witch hunt – until the House Oversight Committee moved to hold her in criminal contempt of Congress.
Then she showed up in Chappaqua and said exactly what James Comer needed her to say.
Hillary Clinton's Epstein Deposition Began With Four Words Under Oath
Under oath, before the cameras, the woman who ran the State Department for four years opened her testimony with the words her critics have been waiting years to put on the record.
"I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein," Clinton told the committee Thursday.
She also said she had no knowledge of his criminal activities.
She said she never flew on his plane.
She said she never visited his island.
Every denial – every "I do not recall" – now lives in a sworn congressional deposition that Comer's team can video-release to the public the moment it clears review.
That's not a fishing expedition.
That's exactly the testimony Comer wanted.
Ghislaine Maxwell, the Clinton Foundation, and What Hillary Couldn't Answer Under Oath
What Hillary Clinton couldn't say under oath is more interesting than what she did say.
She could not deny that convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell visited her home in Chappaqua – Maxwell confirmed that herself to the Justice Department.
She could not deny that Maxwell was still attending Clinton Global Initiative conferences as late as 2013 – five years after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
She could not deny that Maxwell was seated in the audience at Chelsea Clinton's 2010 wedding.
She could not deny that Epstein claimed in his own emails to have been among the first to raise money for the Clinton Foundation.
What the Clintons have consistently said is that they knew Maxwell socially and had no idea what she and Epstein were doing to young girls.
That explanation requires believing that the Secretary of State – the woman who ran America's global anti-sex-trafficking initiatives – never once asked hard questions about the convicted sex offender her family kept inviting to their most intimate events.
Six Months of Delays and a Contempt of Congress Threat – Then She Showed Up
This fight started in August 2025 when Comer issued subpoenas to both Clintons as part of the committee's broader investigation into how Epstein built a protection network among the powerful.
Hillary was called first for October 2025.
She didn't show.
She was rescheduled for December 2025.
She didn't show.
A new subpoena set January 14, 2026.
She didn't show.
On January 21, in a rare bipartisan vote, the Oversight Committee – including nine Democrats – advanced contempt of Congress charges against both Clintons.
With prison time of up to one year and fines up to $100,000 on the table, the Clintons suddenly found their calendars cleared.
What This Actually Means
Comer made clear he's not accusing Hillary Clinton of personally participating in Epstein's crimes.
What he is doing is building a record – under oath, on video – of everything the Clintons claim not to know about a sex trafficking network that moved through their Foundation, their social circle, and their family's most private events.
Bill Clinton testifies Friday.
That deposition, Comer says, will run even longer.
Once both transcripts clear review and go public, every American gets to watch the Clintons explain – under oath – how a convicted sex trafficker and his accomplice became fixtures in their world for over a decade.
That video is going to be a long one.
Sources:
- Elizabeth Elkind, "Hillary Clinton tells House 'I do not recall ever encountering' Jeffrey Epstein," Fox News, February 26, 2026.
- House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, "Chairman Comer Announces the Clintons Caved, Will Appear for Depositions," oversight.house.gov, February 2026.
- James Comer, press conference remarks, Chappaqua, New York, February 26, 2026.
- Ghislaine Maxwell, interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, transcript released by DOJ, 2025.