Bill Clinton on relationship with Epstein: I saw nothing and did nothing wrong

I saw nothing and did nothing wrong - that's what former US President Bill Clinton said in his opening statement before members of the House Oversight Committee as part of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

He stressed that he would have personally reported Epstein if he had "the slightest suspicion about what he was doing," the Guardian reports.

"First, I had no idea about the crimes that Epstein committed. No matter how many photos you show me, there are two things that, at the end of the day, are more important than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos. 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," said Clinton, who has not been charged with any crime.

"As someone who grew up in a home marked by domestic violence, not only would I not fly on his plane if I had the slightest suspicion about what he was doing – I would personally report him and lead the call for justice for his crimes, not settlements. But even with today's intelligence, I saw nothing that would make me suspicious," the former US president added.

Clinton said that by the time everything came to light with Epstein's guilty plea in 2008, he had long since cut off all contact with him.

He stated that he had only a "brief acquaintance" with Epstein that ended "years before his crimes came to light," and that he never saw "what was really going on."

"The girls and women whose lives were destroyed by Jeffrey Epstein deserve not only justice, but healing. They have waited far too long for both. Although my brief acquaintance with Epstein ended years before his crimes came to light, and although during our limited encounters I never witnessed any hint of what was really going on, I am here to offer what little I know, to help prevent anything like it from ever happening again," Clinton said.

Before the hearing began, Robert Garcia, on behalf of the Democrats, told the Oversight Committee that they would demand that Donald Trump testify before the Committee about his relationship with Epstein, because "Republicans have now set a new precedent - that presidents and former presidents are being called to the hearing."

Garcia said Trump appears in the Epstein files "practically more than anyone else."

"It's time for the president to answer why the Justice Department files are missing, why there was a cover-up at the White House, and why this administration continues to call this investigation a hoax," he said.

Clinton's closed-door testimony in Chappaqua, New York, today marks the first time a former president has been compelled to testify before Congress. It comes a day after his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also testified before the committee.

Her husband also addressed her multi-hour interrogation in today's statement.

"Before we get started, I have to be personal. You invited Hillary. She had no connection to Jeffrey Epstein. None. She has no recollection of ever meeting him. She did not travel with him or visit his facilities. Whether you invited 10 people or 10.000, including her in this story was simply not right," he said.

Donald Trump has denied any connection to Epstein's crimes, and authorities have not charged him with any crime related to Epstein.