What the Epstein drama reveals about Democrats’ loyalty to the Clintons
Sign of the times: About three dozen current Democratic lawmakers were on Capitol Hill when Bill Clinton was president. Roughly a dozen sitting senators served in the Senate alongside Hillary.
WASHINGTON – In late February 2016, Hillary Clinton cruised to an overwhelming victory in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary – an unambiguous statement of the former first lady and secretary of state’s dominance over her party as she sailed to a historic nomination many expected would make her the first female president.
On the same week 10 years later, she confronted a very different reality.
Sitting inside a performing arts center in Chappaqua, New York, the woman who was, not long ago, her party’s unequivocal standard-bearer was forced in part by those within it to answer questions about her husband’s ties to a dead alleged sex trafficker.
As a group of younger congressional Democrats stood outside the building ahead of her deposition about Jeffrey Epstein, they underscored how though there was no evidence she even knew the disgraced financier, they wanted to send a message of political neutrality.
“From day one, we have said that we want to talk to anyone, any person with information about Jeffrey Epstein,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. “We will talk to any single person, whether that is a Democrat, a Republican, how much wealth they have, how powerful their position is. We want to talk to anyone. We’re happy to be here.”
Both Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, agreed to participate in closed-door depositions on Feb. 26 and 27 in the oversight panel’s Epstein investigation. Their testimony came after several Democrats on the committee voted in January to move forward with considering contempt of Congress charges against the former first couple. For weeks, a sizable number of Democrats seemed prepared to rebuke the pair in a broader vote in the House of Representatives.
Even Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, Hillary Clinton’s running mate in the 2016 presidential campaign, wouldn’t explicitly come to her defense as his House colleagues focused their political sights on her.
“I’ve got a big enough job here,” Kaine told USA TODAY at the time. “I just don’t get into what the House does. They’re going to do what they’re going to do, and I don’t stress out about it.”
Photos of Bill Clinton – the former 42nd president from 1993 to 2001 – with or near Epstein and unidentified women have circulated prominently since the Justice Department was mandated to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Bill Clinton has repeatedly denied any knowledge of, or wrongdoing associated with, Epstein’s alleged crimes. He’s scheduled to testify before the committee on Friday, Feb. 27.
In her testimony the prior day, Hillary said she’d never even had contact with Epstein.
“I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein,” she said in her opening statement. “I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that.”
The depositions underlined the changed dynamics of Congress since the Clintons were in the White House: Only about three dozen current Democratic lawmakers were on Capitol Hill back then (roughly a dozen sitting senators served in the Senate alongside Hillary).
Even amid the lack of strong support for the Clintons in Washington, most Democrats remain more eager to criticize Trump’s ties to Epstein than anything else. And many felt the continued focus on his longtime rivals has been a coordinated effort to distract from what they’ve said is a “cover-up” of allegations against the president in the Epstein files.
“There is no indication, zero, zip, zilch, nada, that Secretary Clinton had any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes,” said Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Virginia, before the first deposition. “My fear is we’re here today as part of a political exercise, part of a long-running fever dream, where Republicans want to lock up Secretary Clinton.”
Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
