Trump, Bill Clinton, and Epstein: Deposition and Documented Ties

Former President Bill Clinton’s testimony about Jeffrey Epstein took place on February 27, 2026, when he sat for more than six hours of sworn deposition at his home in Chappaqua, New York, before the House Oversight Committee. Clinton denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, described their contact as a short, transactional relationship that ended in 2003, and volunteered that President Donald Trump had once told him years earlier about a falling out with Epstein over a real estate deal.¹²

Why Clinton Was Deposed

Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton were subpoenaed by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, which has been investigating the federal government’s handling of the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases since July 2025. They agreed to appear after being threatened with contempt of Congress charges.³ Clinton had failed to appear for a previously scheduled deposition on January 13, 2026, which prompted the committee to issue a contempt report on January 21.¹

Hillary Clinton was deposed the day before her husband, on February 26. Both depositions came after Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law by President Trump on November 19, 2025, which required the Department of Justice to release roughly 3.5 million pages of records tied to Epstein.⁴⁵⁶

What Clinton Said About His Relationship With Epstein

In his opening statement, Clinton declared: “I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing. 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.”⁷ He said that as someone who grew up in a household affected by domestic abuse, he would have reported Epstein if he had known what was happening.⁸

Clinton testified that he first met Epstein in 2002, after former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers told him Epstein had made a multimillion-dollar commitment to Harvard for brain research and wanted to discuss politics and economics. Epstein offered the use of his private plane for Clinton Foundation work, particularly its global AIDS relief program.¹ He described the relationship as “transactional,” saying Epstein provided transportation in exchange for “face time to discuss issues” such as financial regulation and African development.⁶

Clinton acknowledged that he appeared on Epstein’s flight logs for four or five international trips between 2002 and 2003, including journeys to Africa, Asia, and northern Europe. He said the relationship ended around 2003 because other supporters began offering transportation help. Clinton stated he never visited Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and offered a qualified denial about Epstein’s New Mexico ranch, saying he did “not remember doing that.”⁶

Clinton did not dispute White House visitor logs showing Epstein signed in on 17 occasions between 1993 and 1995, but testified that he had “no idea he was coming or going” at the time. He also acknowledged a 1993 photograph of himself and Hillary Clinton shaking hands with Epstein at a White House Historical Association fundraiser, but said neither of them remembered the interaction.¹

When lawmakers showed Clinton photographs pulled from DOJ materials, including an image of him in a hot tub with a woman whose face was redacted, he said the photos were taken at a hotel in Brunei during a visit at the invitation of the Sultan. Clinton testified he did not know the woman in the photo, denied having sex with any of the women pictured, and said he believed a Secret Service agent was present at the pool.⁹

What Clinton Said About Trump

Clinton volunteered during his testimony that in the early 2000s, at a fundraiser held at one of Trump’s golf courses, Trump told him about a falling out with Epstein. According to Clinton, Trump said: “We’ve had some great times over the years. But we fell out. All because of a real estate deal.”² Clinton added that Trump did not include any “sexual spin” on the conversation and that “Trump never said anything to me to make me think he was involved in anything improper with regard to Epstein.”⁹

Clinton’s Documented Ties to Epstein

The paper trail behind Clinton’s testimony spans roughly a decade. Epstein donated $1,000 to Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign and in 1999 gave $20,000 to a joint fundraising committee for the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s Senate bid. In 2006, after the relationship had reportedly ended, the Clinton Foundation received $25,000 from an Epstein-related foundation.¹⁰

Flight logs for Epstein’s Boeing 727 list Clinton on 26 total flight segments during 2002 and 2003, covering four international trips to locations including Bangkok, Brunei, Rwanda, Russia, and China. Clinton’s last recorded flight on the plane was in November 2003. There is no record in the flight logs of Clinton visiting Epstein’s private island.¹⁰ In 2002, Clinton met with Epstein once at his Harlem office and once at his New York apartment, each time accompanied by staff and his security detail.¹¹

In October 2002, a Clinton spokesperson described Epstein as a “highly successful financier and a committed philanthropist.” A handwritten note from Clinton appeared in Epstein’s 2003 birthday book, reading in part: “It’s reassuring isn’t it, to have lasted as long… and also to have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference and the solace of friends.”¹⁰ In his 2025 memoir, Clinton wrote that he “had no inkling of the crimes he was committing” and said he had stopped contact with Epstein by the time of Epstein’s first arrest in 2005.¹¹ Law enforcement has never charged Clinton with a crime in connection with Epstein.

Trump’s Documented Ties, and What Remains Disputed

Because so much of the testimony was framed as either implicating or clearing Trump, the parallel record matters. Trump’s association with Epstein began in the late 1980s and lasted into the mid-2000s. In a 2002 interview with New York Magazine, Trump called Epstein a “terrific guy” and “a lot of fun to be with.” The two socialized at Mar-a-Lago, attended Victoria’s Secret runway shows, and traveled together on Epstein’s jet. Mid-1990s flight logs show Trump, his then-wife Marla Maples, and their daughter Tiffany as passengers on multiple occasions. Epstein attended Trump’s 1993 wedding to Maples and was described as a “regular” at Mar-a-Lago.¹²

The circumstances of the falling out remain disputed. Trump has said he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago because Epstein recruited staff members from the club. A 2019 Washington Post report linked the rupture to a 2004 bidding war over a Palm Beach mansion, which Trump won for $41.35 million. Mar-a-Lago’s registry listed Epstein’s account as “closed” around October 2007.¹³ Law enforcement has never accused Trump of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Two items from the released files are contested. The first is a note in Epstein’s 2003 birthday book that reads: “Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.” The Wall Street Journal attributed the note to Trump; Trump denies writing or signing it, has called it a “fake thing,” and filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, and the Journal’s reporters. A federal judge in Florida dismissed the original complaint in April 2026, ruling that Trump failed to plausibly allege “actual malice.” Trump refiled an amended complaint on May 27, 2026.¹⁴

The second involves Epstein’s own emails. A November 2025 document release included more than 1,000 references to Trump across 23,000 pages of Epstein estate materials.¹⁵ A 2019 email from Epstein to author Michael Wolff stated: “Of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop.”¹⁶ A 2017 message from Epstein to Lawrence Summers read: “I have met some very bad people, none as bad as Trump.” The White House dismissed the emails as selectively leaked to “create a fake narrative,” and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt cited the late Virginia Giuffre, who had stated Trump was not involved in wrongdoing. The DOJ itself noted that some materials included in the file release were “fake or falsely submitted,” specifically referencing “unfounded and false” claims made against Trump.⁴

The Partisan Reaction

Clinton’s testimony became a political split-screen within hours. Chairman James Comer of Kentucky declared that Clinton was “the third witness who has testified under oath that there is no evidence of President Trump committing wrongdoing,” citing earlier testimony from former Attorney General William Barr and former Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta.¹⁷ Comer said there was “no reason now to depose the president,” adding that Trump had been “exonerated for a long time.”¹⁸

Democrats pushed back. Ranking Member Robert Garcia said Comer’s characterization was not “an accurate description” of what Clinton actually said and argued the deposition set a precedent for Trump to testify under oath himself.¹⁸ Democratic members noted that Clinton also testified Trump and Epstein had “great times together” and that their falling out stemmed from a real estate dispute, details Republicans did not highlight.¹⁹ Hillary Clinton, in her own deposition the day before, challenged the committee to ask Trump “directly under oath” about his own appearances in the Epstein files if they were “serious about learning the truth.”⁹

Trump’s own response was unusually restrained. He told reporters: “I don’t like seeing him deposed. I like him, and I don’t like seeing him deposed,” then added, “but they certainly went after me a lot more than that.”²⁰

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C-SPAN. Former President Bill Clinton House Oversight Deposition in Epstein Investigation
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BBC. Clinton Deposition Epstein Trump
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NPR. Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton Depositions Epstein Files
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U.S. Department of Justice. Department of Justice Publishes 3.5 Million Responsive Pages in Compliance With Epstein Files
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CNN. Bill Clinton Deposition Epstein Live Updates
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CBC. US Clinton Deposition Video Epstein
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CNN. Bill Clinton Epstein Deposition House
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Politico. Bill Clinton’s Opening Statement
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Le Monde. Bill Clinton Explains Suggestive Photos From Epstein Files
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ABC News. Timeline Bill Clinton’s Interactions Jeffrey Epstein
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BBC. BBC Verify Analysis of Clinton and Trump Epstein Connections
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Time. Trump Epstein Relationship Timeline
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PBS NewsHour. The Facts and Timeline of Trump and Epstein’s Falling Out
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New York Times. Trump WSJ Defamation Suit $10 Billion
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NPR. House Committee Releases Over 20,000 Documents From Epstein Estate
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Politico. Jeffrey Epstein Donald Trump Emails
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House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Chairman Comer Slams Democrats as Clinton Is the Third Witness to Exonerate President Trump
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Politico. Clintons Depositions Epstein Trump
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Courthouse News. Democrats Republicans Locked in Spin War Over Bill Clinton Deposition on Epstein
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The Hill. Trump Precedent Congressional Subpoena