Hillary Clinton says she doesn’t recall meeting Jeffrey Epstein in House Oversight Committee deposition: Live updates

In her opening statement, Hillary Clinton accused Republican members of the House Oversight Committee of intentionally targeting Democrats in their investigation into the government’s handling of the Epstein files.

Hillary Clinton cited the Republican committee members’ failure to show up at Les Wexner’s deposition and allowing former officials to submit “brief statements” as evidence of her claim.

“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,” Hillary Clinton wrote.

”I had no idea about [Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s] criminal activities,” Clinton wrote in her opening statement. “I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices.”

Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said he wants to depose President Donald Trump.

“Let’s get President Trump in front of our committee,” Garcia told reporters before heading into Hillary Clinton’s deposition.

“Now that we’ re going to hear from former President Clinton, I hope Chairman Comer and the rest of the Republicans will join us in demanding that the person who appears more times in the files… is President Donald Trump,” Garcia added.

While Trump was once friends with Epstein, he has denied any wrongdoing associated with Epstein’s crimes.

Former President Bill Clinton will sit for a closed-door, recorded deposition with the House Oversight Committee Friday.

Bill Clinton had a social and professional relationship with Epstein in the 1990s. However, Bill Clinton has denied any wrongdoing associated with Epstein’s crimes. He has also never been accused of a crime related to Epstein.

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick could be asked to testify before the House Oversight Committee regarding his relationship with Epstein, Comer indicated Thursday morning.

When asked if the committee planned to ask Lutnick to testify, Comer responded, “That’s very possible.”

Lutnick has never been accused of a crime associated with Epstein.

Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said they planned to release the video of Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton’s depositions once they’re approved for release.

Comer said the public can expect “a long video” because it will be “a long deposition” – particularly former President Bill Clinton’s.

Comer and other members of the committee are hosting a press conference shortly before they begin questioning Hillary Clinton.

The Republican-led committee is traveling to the sleepy hamlet of Chappaqua to question the Clintons behind closed doors at their New York home after images of Bill Clinton were included in a tranche of documents dropped by the Justice Department, which released the files to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Welcome to The Independent’s live blog coverage of the Trump administration today.

Here’s what to expect today:

– Hillary Clinton is sitting for a closed-door deposition about Jeffrey Epstein to the House Oversight Committee, which is conducting a probe into Epstein.

– The U.S. is engaging in another round of talks with Iran about cutting a deal on nuclear weapons.

– U.S. officials are also meeting with Ukrainian officials to discuss post-war reconstruction.