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Hillary Clinton says she has no information about Epstein crimes; Democrats call for Trump to be deposed ‘immediately’ – live
Democrats on oversight committee call for Trump to be deposed ‘immediately’
Democrats on the House oversight committee called for Donald Trump to be deposed before the committee “immediately,” making this demand as Hillary Clinton appeared before the committee for closed-door testimony and said she had never met Jeffrey Epstein.
“We should depose the person that is mentioned in the Epstein files almost more than any other person, next to Ghislaine Maxwell, and that’s Donald Trump,” Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
Other Democrats on the committee said commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, who has ties to Epstein, and FBI director Kash Patel, who could shed light on the agency’s interviews with a woman who accused Trump of assault, should both come before the committee for testimony.
“America is watching,” said Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat representative from Arizona. “Young people in this country are watching to see if powerful people will continue to protect other powerful people, and whether or not Congress will actually hold these perpetrators accountable.”
Garcia also demanded that a full, unedited transcript of Hillary Clinton’s deposition be released to the public within 24 hours, and said he is hopeful that the press could be allowed access to tomorrow’s deposition of former president Bill Clinton.
“She herself requested that the press and the public be allowed into the deposition,” he said. “That was denied, and so at a very minimum, they need to immediately release the full transcript.”
Key events
Minnesota governor Tim Walz called the latest attack on the state from the Trump administration, which halts a quarter-billion dollars in Medicaid funds, a “ransom note”.
Vice president JD Vance announced Wednesday that the administration would “temporarily” stop $259m in Medicaid payments “until the state government takes its obligations seriously to stop the fraud that’s being perpetrated against the American taxpayer”.
Walz told the media on Thursday that the move was “targeted retribution against a state that the president doesn’t like,” according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
“No state has experienced this before,” Walz said. “How does taking and punishing children and [the] elderly have anything to do with fighting fraud? It does nothing.”
Shrai Popat
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is meeting with Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, during an unannounced trip to Washington, an official in the mayor’s office confirmed to the Guardian.
Neither the mayor nor the president’s public schedules listed the meeting. However, Trump does have a “private meeting” listed for 3pm ET. The White House has yet to reply to the Guardian’s request for comment.
The New York Post was first to report the news of the meeting, and the New York Times noted that the mayor and president were set to speak at 1pm ET, according to unnamed sources familiar with the plans. It’s unclear what the scope of the meeting will include, but it comes just days after Trump said that he speaks with Mamdani regularly, during his record-breaking State of the Union address on Tuesday.
“The new communist mayor of New York City, I think he’s a nice guy, actually,” Trump said of the democratic socialist.“I speak to him a lot. Bad policy, but nice guy.”
This would be the second in-person meeting for the two New Yorkers, following an unexpectedly cordial summit in November, after Mamdani won the mayoral election in a landslide victory. Throughout the mayor’s campaign, Trump had denigrated Mamdani’s platform and character, referring to him as a “communist lunatic” and “total nut job” on social media. He even pushed New Yorkers to vote for the former Democratic governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, who ran for mayor as an independent.
Since taking office, Mamandi – who once promised to be “Donald’s Trump’s worst nightmare” – has done little to antagonize the president. He has also commented sparingly on administration policies that could impact New York City, particularly Trump’s routine threats to withhold federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities. On Wednesday, when asked about how frequently he communicates with the president, Mamdani said they “have conversations that are always focused on how to keep the city moving forward”.
Trump, for his part, was surprisingly effusive while speaking to reporters after his sit-down with the mayor late last year, and complimented his sweeping election victory. The president extolled how the Mamdani “came out of nowhere” and praised his campaign and staff.
“We agree on a lot more than I would have thought,” Trump said at the time. “I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help them do a great job.”
Clinton testimony resumes, reports say
Hillary Clinton has resumed her testimony to the House oversight committee, CNN is reporting.
The testimony was paused after a photo from inside the hearing was sent to a conservative media member, who posted it on social media. While the Clintons have pushed for the hearing to be open to the public, it is closed to press, with a transcript and video to be released later.
Senate Democrats to review millions of unredacted Epstein files amid accusations of DoJ coverup
Chris Stein
Senate Democrats just announced their own effort to review millions of pages of unredacted files related to Jeffrey Epstein to find information that they believe the Justice Department is trying to cover up.
“We’re here today to put a shot across the bow with the Department of Justice and the Trump administration that we are going to reveal this massive cover up,” Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer told a press conference.
Members of Senate Democrats’ Epstein Files Working Group, he announced “will go review the unredacted files in the coming days.”
“Pam Bondi should listen carefully. The truth will come out. The whole ugly, ugly truth about what she’s doing to protect people in the files will come out,” Schumer said, referring to the attorney general.
The Justice Department earlier this month allowed members of Congress to read unredacted versions of documents related to Epstein, a financier who died of what investigators determined was a suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.
While the department has made public millions of redacted files related to Epstein in response to an act of Congress, some lawmakers have complained that the redactions obscure abusers and reveal the names of potential victims, and demanded access to the unredacted files to clear up these discrepancies.
Democratic senators said they were willing to put in their own time to review the files to get a better understanding of how the government handled the prosecution of Epstein, who was known to socialize with elites worldwide, including Donald Trump.
“I unfortunately am going to have to go read those redacted files next week. It’s one of those things that you don’t want to do. The disgusting nature of what I’m going to find on there is going to probably make me very ill,” said Arizona senator Ruben Gallego. “But because we have an administration that’s actively covering up pedophiles, we have to take this step, and we have to take the step to keep them accountable and to expose all these pedophiles that are still in power right now all over this country.”
Democratic leadership in the House announced today that they will force a vote on an Iran war powers resolution when Congress reconvenes next week.
The resolution is bipartisan, coming from Representatives Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, and Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and affirms the role of Congress in declaring military actions.
Democratic leaders said the legislation would require the president to come to Congress to make a case for using military force against Iran.
“The Iranian regime is brutal and destabilizing, seen most recently in the killing of thousands of protestors,” the leaders said. “However, undertaking a war of choice in the Middle East, without a full understanding of all the attendant risks to our servicemembers and to escalation, is reckless.”
Taking any such action would be “unconstitutional without consultation with and authorization from Congress,” they said.
The forced vote on the resolution will put every member’s position on this on record.
Rightwing commentator posts photo of Hillary Clinton testifying, briefly pausing proceedings
Hillary Clinton’s closed-door testimony has been briefly paused after right-wing political commentator Benny Johnson posted a photograph of the proceedings on social media. He said the photo was provided by representative Lauren Boebert.
Cinton adviser Nick Merrill told reporters outside the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center that the testimony has gone off the record over the potential breach of House rules.
It’s against chamber rules that were read at the top of the meeting. So the hearing has been paused briefly while they figure out where the photo came from and why, possibly, members of Congress are violating House rules.
James Comer also told reporters ahead of Hillary Clinton’s deposition that he plans to release the video and transcript of what he expects will be a “long” interview with the former secretary of state.
“This is going to be a long video and a long deposition,” the House oversight committee chair said in Chappaqua, New York, adding that the questioning of former president Bill Clinton tomorrow will be “even longer”.
We’re going to release the transcripts, release the video as soon as everyone approves it.
Top Democrat on House committee calls for Trump to testify in same investigation as Clintons
Per the Associated Press, Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, also called on Donald Trump to testify in the investigation. He argued that Bill Clinton’s appearance tomorrow sets a precedent that should apply to Trump as well.
Let’s get President Trump in front of our committee to answer the questions that are being asked across this country from survivors.
Chair James Comer previously said that the committee can’t depose Trump because he is a sitting president.
Before Hillary Clinton’s testimony began, House oversight committee chair James Comer repeatedly said that the probe was not partisan in nature.
When asked whether the committee would bring in commerce secretary Howard Lutnick for questioning, Comer said it was “very possible” and that there was a “good possibility” that Lutnick’s name would arise during questioning today. Lutnick has been tied to Epstein and has admitted he had lunch with Epstein on his private island.
Comer noted that Republicans tied to the Trump administration have already been brought in for questioning, including former labor secretary Alex Acosta and former attorney general Bill Barr.
Anyone who has knowledge of Epstein and the investigation is of interest to the committee, he said.
I think we all agree the government failed. The government failed the victims, and what our role is, we can’t prosecute anymore, but what we have been doing is getting transparency to the American people. We’re seeing accountability, but we have a desire to see a lot more accountability. We want to get the answers, and hopefully the next two days will be a step in the right direction.
Comer said that it’s clear from all the Epstein documents that Ghislaine Maxwell was his main co-conspirator. The Clintons’ relationship with Maxwell, and Epstein’s financial giving to Clinton-related initiatives, will be part of the questioning, he said, including the fact that Maxwell attended Chelsea Clinton’s wedding.
“Again, that’s not saying anything illegal, but there are a lot of questions pertaining to Secretary Clinton,” he said.
Clinton implores committee to investigate without partisan lens
Throughout her opening statement, Hillary Clinton detailed the work she has done to protect women and girls and against human trafficking over decades of her career, in multiple public roles.
Jeffrey Epstein was a “heinous individual” but he was “far from alone”. She then implored the committee to actually investigate without a partisan lens – including bringing in Donald Trump for questioning.
From her statement:
A committee endeavoring to stopping human trafficking would seek to understand what specific steps are needed to fix a system that allowed Epstein to get away with his crimes in 2008.
A committee run by elected officials with a commitment to transparency would ensure the full release of all the files.
It would ensure that the lawful redactions of those files protected the victims and survivors, not powerful men and political allies.
It would get to the bottom of reports that DOJ withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accuses President Trump of heinous crimes.
It would subpoena anyone who asked on which night there would be the ‘wildest party’ on Epstein’s island.
It would demand testimony from prosecutors in Florida and New York about why they gave Epstein a sweetheart deal and chose not to pursue others who may have been implicated.
It would demand that Secretary Rubio and Attorney General Bondi testify about why this administration is abandoning survivors and playing into the hands of traffickers.
It would seek out officers on the front lines of this fight and ask them what support they need.
It would put forth legislation to provide more resources and force this administration to act.
But that’s not happening.
Instead, you have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump’s actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers.
If this Committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein’s trafficking crimes, it would not rely on press gaggles to get answers from our current president on his involvement; it would ask him directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files.
If the majority was serious, it would not waste time on fishing expeditions. There is too much that needs to be done.
What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up?
My challenge to you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, is the same challenge I put to myself throughout my long service to this nation. How to be worthy of the trust the American people have given you. They expect statesmanship, not gamesmanship. Leading, not grandstanding. They expect you to use your power to get to the truth and to do more to help survivors of Epstein’s crimes as well as the millions more who are victims of sex trafficking.
Clinton’s opening statement: ‘I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices’
Hillary Clinton released her opening statement.
She said she submitted a sworn statement to the committee on 13 January that she had no idea of Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal activities or the investigations into them.
“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. Let me be as clear as I can. I do not,” she said. “I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that.”
She said she, “like every decent person,” has been horrified to learn of their crimes. She said the committee’s investigation was supposed to be assessing the government’s handling of the investigations, but pointed out that eight law enforcement officials were subpoenaed, and most were allowed to submit statements that they had no information to provide. The proceedings lack transparency and are partisan, she said.
“This institutional failure is designed to protect one political party and one public official, rather than to seek truth and justice for the victims and survivors, as well as the public who also want to get to the bottom of this matter. My heart breaks for the survivors. And I am furious on their behalf,” she said.
The justice department said it will look into whether any documents from the Epstein files were improperly withheld.
Several news organizations, including NPR and the New York Times, reported that records were withheld that include FBI interviews and notes regarding a woman who accused Trump of sexual abuse when she was a minor, decades ago.
Democrats on the House oversight committee said they would launch an investigation into these allegations to determine whether the justice department intentionally withheld the documents.
Hillary Clinton begins testifying, saying she has no information on Epstein’s criminal activities
Here’s what to expect from Hillary Clinton as she begins answering questions from the House oversight committee.
She testified that she doesn’t have any information on Epstein and does not recall ever meeting him, according to the opening statement she released on X.
And she also told the committee members they should ask Trump under oath about the Epstein files.
James Comer, the chair of the oversight committee, said the committee worked for six months to get the Clintons to come in and answer questions, and when they didn’t show up, they moved to hold the Clintons in contempt.
“I think one thing that surprised the Clintons: they assumed the Democrats on the committee would vote in a partisan manner and not vote to hold the Clintons in contempt, and what they learned was a majority of the Democrats on the committee either voted to hold the Clintons in contempt or voted present,” he said. “And I think that’s a statement that this investigation is serious. It is a bipartisan investigation.”
He said the Clintons “haven’t answered very many, if any, questions about their knowledge or involvement with Epstein and Maxwell”.
He stressed that no one is accusing the Clintons of wrongdoing and that they would have due process, but that all members of the committee would be asking them questions to try to understand more about Epstein, including how he accumulated his wealth and whether he was an asset for any government.
“The Democrats have just as many questions for the Clintons as the Republicans,” Comer said. “So this isn’t a partisan witch hunt. This was a motion, a bipartisan motion, supported by the Democrats, to bring the Clintons in. So I don’t think it’s any type of being unfair in any way to the Clintons.”
Hillary Clinton’s testimony is expected to last much of the day.
James Comer, the Republican who chairs the House oversight committee, said Hillary Clinton’s testimony would be a “long deposition” and that Bill Clinton’s, set for tomorrow, would likely be “even longer”.
The committee will release video and transcripts of the depositions after they are reviewed for any errors, he said.
Members of the oversight committee will be updating the public throughout the day, he said.
Hillary Clinton is expected to testify to the House Oversight Committee about Jeffrey Epstein soon this morning, but there will be no livestream of the proceedings.
They will happen behind closed doors but will be recorded.
We’re watching for any insights into what the hearing includes as it plays out.
The Clintons pushed for their testimony to be held publicly.
“I will not sit idly as they use me as a prop in a closed-door kangaroo court by a Republican Party running scared,” Bill Clinton said earlier this month. “If they want answers, let’s stop the games & do this the right way: in a public hearing, where the American people can see for themselves what this is really about.”
