Bill Clinton faces questions from lawmakers over his connections to Jeffrey Epstein

"I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong," the former Democratic president said in an opening statement he shared on social media.

The closed-door deposition ended after more than six hours of questioning from lawmakers who said he answered every question posed to him.

The deposition in the Clintons' hometown of Chappaqua, New York, marked the first time a former president was compelled to testify to Congress. It came a day after Clinton's wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sat with lawmakers for her own deposition.

Bill Clinton was not accused of any wrongdoing, and Republican members of the House Oversight Committee did not immediately level any accusations against the Clintons as they departed Chappaqua. They planned to review the depositions but said their attention mostly was shifting to other individuals.

Lawmakers are grappling with what accountability in the United States looks like at a time when men around the world were toppled from their high-powered posts for maintaining their connections with Epstein after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.

"We have questions about anyone who spent time with Epstein post-conviction," said Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chair of the House Oversight Committee. "Once you knew Jeffrey Epstein was a sex offender, why did you continue a relationship?"

Bill Clinton, in his opening statement, said he long stopped associating with Epstein by the time of his 2008 guilty plea. He also said it would be difficult to recall the specifics of events from more than 20 years ago, but expressed certainty that he had not witnessed signs of Epstein's abuse.

Republican Rep. John McGuire of Virginia accused Bill Clinton of having "selective memory" during the questioning, but other GOP members departed acknowledging that he handled the deposition with skill and candor. Comer called Bill Clinton "charming" during the questioning.

"Clinton was quite candid, perhaps more candid than his attorneys were comfortable," said Republican Rep. Nick Langworthy of New York.

Republicans finally get a chance to question Bill Clinton

Republicans have wanted to question Bill Clinton about Epstein for years, especially as conspiracy theories arose following Epstein's 2019 suicide in a New York jail cell while he faced sex trafficking charges.

Those calls reached a fever pitch late last year, when several photos of the former president surfaced in the Department of Justice's first release of case files on Epstein and Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021 but maintains she's innocent.

Bill Clinton was photographed on a plane seated alongside a woman, whose face is redacted, with his arm around her. Another photo showed Clinton and Maxwell in a pool with another person whose face was redacted.

Epstein also visited the White House several times during Clinton's presidency, and the pair later made several international trips together for their humanitarian work. Comer claimed the committee collected evidence that Epstein visited the White House 17 times and that Bill Clinton flew on Epstein's airplane 27 times.

Democratic lawmakers said they also posed tough questions to Bill Clinton about his relationships with Epstein and Maxwell.

"We are only here because he hid it from everyone so well for so long," Bill Clinton said in his opening statement. "And by the time it came to light with his 2008 guilty plea, I had long stopped associating with him."

Bill Clinton also went after Comer for calling his wife before the committee, telling him that "including her was simply not right."

Comer said the committee was working to quickly publish a transcript and video recording of both days of depositions.

Has a precedent been set?

Democrats, who supported the push to get answers from Bill Clinton, argue that it sets a precedent that should also apply to President Donald Trump, a Republican who had his own relationship with Epstein.

"I think that President Trump needs to man up, get in front of this committee and answer the questions and stop calling this investigation a hoax," Rep. Robert Garcia of Claifornia, the top Democrat on the committee, said Friday.

Comer pushed back on that idea, saying Trump answered questions on Epstein from the news media. Republicans also said they have not come across any evidence that Trump did anything wrong in his relationship with Epstein.

Trump on Friday expressed remorse at Bill Clinton being forced to testify. "I like Bill Clinton, and I don't like seeing him deposed," he told reporters as he departed the White House en route to Texas.

Democrats also called for the resignation of Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a longtime neighbor of Epstein in New York City. Lutnick said on a podcast that he severed ties with Epstein after a 2005 tour of Epstein's home that disturbed Lutnick and his wife.

The public release of case files showed Lutnick had two engagements with Epstein years later. He attended a 2011 event at Epstein's home, and in 2012 his family had lunch with Epstein on his private island.

"He should be removed from office and, at a minimum, should come before the committee," Garcia said of Lutnick.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina questioned Hillary Clinton about Lutnick's relationship to Epstein during the deposition Thursday. On Friday morning, Mace joined in calling for the commerce secretary to come before the committee.

"I believe we will have the votes to subpoena him," Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California said.