Bill Clinton was asked about whether disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself, and he had an interesting answer.
The 79-year-old was speaking in a closed-door deposition in front of the US House Oversight Committee on Friday (27 February), where he was questioned about the nature of his relationship with the convicted rapist.
Clinton appeared both by name and in images in the infamous Epstein Files, which have been made public in troves since the US House of Representatives voted for all the files to be released back in November 2025.
Millions of documents are now readily available on the US Department of Justice website, as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
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While Clinton's wife, Hillary, had previously answered questions about her relationship with Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell, all ears were on the 42nd US President when he stepped to the stand.
Speaking under oath, he said that while he accepted that Jeffrey Epstein killed himself, he claimed that nobody will really ever know.
In newly released footage, Clinton was asked: "I'd like to ask you personally and directly do you believe Jeffrey Epstein killed himself?"
His attorney asked if he was being asked to speculate on his death, but the questioning went on, adding: "Mr Clinton, was your friend Jeffrey Epstein suicidal? Mr Clinton do you believe that Mr Epstein was suicidal?"
Clinton replied: "I don't know. I wouldn't know what the medical finding was. I think maybe he finally got caught. I don't know. I've accepted it in my own mind. I don't know what happened."
He was further pressed about what he had 'accepted', to which he replied: "That he did. But I don't know. Neither do you. None of us know."
The sworn testimony, which took place in Chappaqua, New York last week, was released on Monday.
Epstein was said to have taken his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019 before standing trial on sex trafficking charges.
Clinton previously said on X: "I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn’t see. I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn’t do.
"I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong."
The former President also spoke about one of the most viral snaps from the Epstein files, which shows him in a hot tub with an unknown woman, whose face was redacted with a black square/
"I don't think I ever knew the photo was taken," he said of the snap, claiming that he was 'almost sure' it was taken at a hotel in Brunei while he was on an Asian tour for his AIDS initiative.
He further stated that he did not know the woman, though she was not younger and 18 and he did not have sexual relations with her, recalling that there was a Secret Service agent in the room.
Clinton acknowledged that he had a closer relationship with Maxwell due to close mutual connections, though called for her to be 'punished' after being convicted on sex trafficking charges.
Reflecting on past interactions with Epstein, he explained that he 'saw nothing that ever gave me pause', having stopped associating with the sex offender before his 2008 conviction of soliciting a minor for prostitution.
"There's nothing that I saw when I was around him that made me realize he was trafficking women," he testified.
Clinton added: "We were friendly, but I didn't know him well enough to say we were friends," saying that the relationship was 'cordial'.
He did also answer 'I don't recall' to several questions, acknowledging that it may be 'unsatisfying', but he wouldn't say something he wasn't sure of.
Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, US News
Joshua Nair