Hillary Clinton Accuses Trump Administration of Epstein Files ‘Cover-Up’
Hillary Clinton has accused the Trump Administration of engaging in a “cover-up” over the release of files tied to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“A law was passed in Congress to require that all the files that have anything to do with them [Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell] be released. What we’re seeing, I think it’s fair to say, is a continuing cover-up by the Trump Administration,” Clinton told the BBC in Berlin while attending the Munich Security Conference.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]The former presidential candidate criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s testimony at the House Judiciary Committee hearing last week, referring to it as “quite a scene” and saying she “refused to answer questions, diverted attention away from the matter at hand, and refused to look at the survivors.”
“There’s something about this Administration’s attitude towards this, which I think leads us to conclude they have something to hide. We don’t. We’ve been willing to say whatever we know,” she said, referring to herself and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
The House Oversight Committee voted on Jan. 21 to recommend holding the Clintons in contempt after they initially refused to testify in the panel’s Epstein investigation. On Feb. 2, an aide for the couple announced they had reversed course and agreed to testify.
The Clintons have not been accused of wrongdoing and deny having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. Although their names appear in the files, it is not an indication of wrongdoing.
The White House referred TIME to comments President Donald Trump made on Air Force One when approached for a response to Hillary’s remarks.
Speaking to reporters aboard the aircraft on Monday evening, shortly after the interview aired, Trump claimed he has been “totally exonerated on Epstein” and accused Hillary of having “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” (A term used to criticize those who have perceived irrational negative feelings towards the President.)
“I have nothing to hide, I have been exonerated, I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. They’re getting pulled in and that’s their problem,” said Trump, referring to the Clintons.
During her sit-down with the BBC, Clinton accused the Trump Administration of wanting to “pull” her and Bill in for questioning that others haven’t been subjected to.
When asked if she thinks Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formally known as Prince Andrew, should have to testify in front of U.S. Congress over his ties to Epstein, she said: “I think everybody should testify who is asked to testify. I just want it to be fair. I want everybody treated the same way. That’s not true for my husband and me, because other witnesses were asked to testify, they gave written statements under oath. We offered that. They want to pull us. Why do they want to pull us into this? To divert attention from President Trump. This is not complicated.”
“We have called for the full release of these files repeatedly,” Clinton added. “Get the files out. They are slow-walking it. They are redacting the names of men who are in it.”
Read More: From Downing Street to the Royal Family, How the Epstein Files Broke Britain
The Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files has drawn significant criticism over redactions, with members of Congress raising concerns that certain names were removed without clear legal justification, which prompted the Administration to remove some redactions.
Although Bondi says all of the Epstein files have now been released, several lawmakers, including Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, have called for further items to be published.
“The problem with that is the bill that Ro Khanna (the Democratic Representative of California) and I wrote says that they must release internal memos and notes and emails about their decisions on whether to prosecute or not prosecute, whether to investigate or not investigate,” he said Sunday on ABC’s This Week.
“President Trump is mentioned, some say, a million times in the files, that is what it says on the internet, over and over again. So let’s find out what the truth is,” Clinton told the BBC, seemingly referring to comments made by Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland who, after reviewing unredacted materials, claimed Trump’s name appeared “more than a million times.”
Clinton, meanwhile, said she didn’t recall meeting Epstein, but had encountered his associate Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.
“My husband has said he took some rides on the airplane [Epstein’s jet] for his charitable work. I don’t recall ever meeting him,” she said. “I did [meet Maxwell] on a few occasions. Thousands of people go to the Clinton Global Initiative. To me, it’s not something that is really at the heart of what this matter is about.”
“They’re accused, and in both cases, were convicted of horrific crimes against girls and women. That should be the focus,” Clinton argued. “We are more than happy to say what we know, which is very limited and totally unrelated to their behaviour or their crimes. And we want to do it in public. Let’s make this transparent.”
Hillary is scheduled to appear before Congress on Feb. 26, with former President Bill Clinton set to testify the following day.