Hillary Clinton claims she had 'no idea' about Epstein's crimes in shocking testimony

Hillary Clinton has claimed that she had 'no idea' about the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein in a shocking new testimony.

The former presidential candidate released a copy on X of her opening statement to Thursday's hearing in Chappaqua, New York.

"I had no idea about their criminal activities," Clinton said of the sex offender and his convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

The statement added: "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."

The 78-year-old also called for the president to appear under oath after he was mentioned more than 1000 times in the recently released files.

She said: "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."

Hillary and Bill were both legally summoned to speak to a US House of Representatives committee (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

Last week, she told the BBC: "We have nothing to hide.

"We have called for the full release of these files repeatedly. We think sunlight is the best disinfectant."

Her husband Bill, who is pictured in the files, is also expected to appear in front of the oversight panel on Friday (26 February).

A spokesperson for Bill Clinton said they would testify and 'look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone'.

The Clintons were both legally summoned to speak, something they described as 'nothing more than a ploy to attempt to embarrass political rivals, as President Trump has directed'.

Speaking at a news conference ahead of Hillary Clinton's deposition on Thursday morning, Comer said: "This isn't a partisan witch hunt.

"I don't think it's any type of being unfair in any way to the Clintons. They've never answered questions, unlike President Trump who gets questioned every day by just about every one of you about his knowledge or involvement with Epstein."

Hillary Clinton also called for Trump to speak under oath (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Epstein was first arrested in 2008 after soliciting underage sex but spent just 13 months officially behind bars, although he was allowed to work from his office during the day.

However, in 2019 he was arrested again and charged with the sex trafficking of minors, before he was found dead in his prison cell shortly before he was due to appear in court.

The recent release of the Epstein Files has exposed some of the paedophile's most horrific crimes, with only Ghislaine Maxwell currently serving time for her role in the various crimes that were committed.

Being named or mentioned in the Epstein Files doesn’t imply wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.