CHAPPAQUA, NY — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton excoriated members of the House Oversight Committee Thursday, accusing them of performing “partisan political theater” by subpoenaing her for testimony about her knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes.
In a statement ahead of her closed-door deposition at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, the former first lady called the Oversight Committee’s Epstein investigation an “abdication of duty and an insult to the American people” — before suggesting alternative lines of inquiry for the GOP-led panel.
That included pressing the committee to subpoena billionaire Elon Musk, citing the tech mogul’s emails with the financier form more than a decade ago.
Both Republicans and Democrats on the Oversight panel voted to subpoena Bill and Hillary Clinton last year — the onetime Democratic powerbrokers narrowly evaded being held in contempt of Congress in January before agreeing to testify.
“The Committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” Hillary Clinton’s prepared statement read.
“Let me be as clear as I can. I do not,” she added. “I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his private plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that.”
Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) told reporters to expect “long” interviews with Hillary and Bill Clinton over the next two days, saying many members on both sides of the aisle have questions for the ex-first couple.
“We worked for six months to get the Clintons to come in,” Comer said. “No one’s accusing the Clintons of any wrongdoing, but we have a lot of questions.”
Those questions, according to the chairman, including: “How did [Epstein] accumulate so much wealth? How was he able to surround himself with some of the most powerful men in the world? Was he an asset for our government or any other government?”
Hillary Clinton arrived in a caravan of three black SUVs at the performing arts center a little before 11 a.m. before being ushered into the building through a secure, tented-off area.
Elsewhere in her statement, Clinton shared a list of questions that she believed lawmakers should be asking.
“A committee run by elected officials with a commitment to transparency would ensure the full release of the files,” her prepared remarks read.
“It would subpoena anyone who asked on which night there would be the ‘wildest party’ on Epstein’s island.”
The only time that phrase is used on the Department of Justice’s Epstein Library is in an email between tech mogul Elon Musk and Epstein on Nov. 25, 2012.
“What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?” Musk asked Epstein in the email.
Other emails indicate that the Tesla and Space X founder never visited Little St. James, with Musk writing in a Jan. 2, 2013, email: “Logistics won’t work this time around.”
“I have never been to any Epstein parties ever and have many times call for the prosecution of those who have committed crimes with Epstein,” Musk has said.
“The acid test for justice is not the release of the files, but rather the prosecution of those who committed heinous crimes with Epstein.”
