Summary

  • Bill Clinton is asked about a photograph from the Epstein files that shows him and an unidentified person in a hot tub, a source tells the BBC

  • The former US president says he does not know who the woman in the photograph is, as he testifies to lawmakers about Jeffrey Epstein

  • House Democrats say Clinton's testimony brought up "additional information" about Trump, as they renewed calls for the president to testify

  • Trump said of Clinton earlier today: "I don't like seeing him deposed"

  • Republicans say they will release video of Hillary Clinton's testimony either later on Friday or Saturday

  • Clinton denies any knowledge of Epstein's crimes. He says if he had known he would have "turned him in myself"

  • There is no suggestion that appearing in the Epstein documents implies wrongdoing. Clinton earlier said he "saw nothing" and "did nothing wrong"

  1. Two more depositions in the probe expected in the near futurepublished at 22:56 GMT

    Comer wraps up his remarks by saying the committee has two more depositions scheduled in the near future.

    One is with Epstein's accountant and the other with his lawyer.

    Comer again thanked the Clintons for their testimony.

  2. Clintons pointed to where the investigation should go next, Mace sayspublished at 22:56 GMT

    Trump has repeatedly said that he has been "exonerated" in the Epstein investigation.

    Republican Comer is asked by a reporter if that is really true. The chairman says yes, based on the evidence he's seen, Trump has been exonerated exonerated.

    Nancy Mace, also a Republican, adds that the victims have exonerated Trump.

    She adds that both former President Clinton and former Secretary Hillary Clinton offered the Committee advice on where the investigation should go next.

  3. Lawmakers have questions about those who associated with Epstein after convictionpublished at 22:54 GMT

    Comer says there are a lot of remaining questions about anyone who spent time with Epstein after his first conviction."That's where most of our concerns are," Comer said, once people knew he was a sex offender. "Why did you remain friends with him?"

  4. Republicans hope video will be released in next 24 hourspublished at 22:52 GMT

    Answering questions from reporters, Republican committee chair James Comer says that they plan to "bring more people in" to give depositions: "We're not finished".

    Comer says before the transcript of the hearing can be released, it has to be approved by attorneys from "both sides", as per the "standard rules" of depositions.

    But he adds that, once the video is uploaded and audio is cleaned, it will be released publicly, "hopefully in the next 24 hours".

  5. Republicans want to talk to more peoplepublished at 22:49 GMT

    More people will be called in to discuss the Epstein files, the Republicans say.

    Depositions like this are important because we need to get justice for the victims, Congressman John McGuire, a Republican of Virginia, said.

    He thanked the Clintons but said there was selective memory at play in some responses from the former president.

  6. Clinton gave thorough answers, Mace sayspublished at 22:48 GMT

    Republican Nancy Mace thanks former President Clinton for giving the deposition today, saying he gave thorough answers even when his lawyers wanted him to stop talking.

    But she says she believes we will see inconsistencies in his answers. We expect a video and transcript of the deposition to be released in coming days.

  7. 'Very productive deposition', says Republican Committee chairpublished at 22:46 GMT

    The Republican chair of the US House Oversight Committee, James Comer, has just walked out and announced that Bill Clinton's deposition hearing has now finished.

    "We believe this was a very productive deposition," he says.

    "President Clinton answered every question, or attempted to answer every question," he says, adding that once the video and transcript of the hearing are released there may be more questions.

    He describes the depositions of the former president and the former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, as "historic", saying he believes they are the two highest-ranking officials to ever be deposed by Congress.

    "This is a serious investigation. We will continue to try and get the truth to the American people and justice to the victims," says Comer.

  8. Clinton talks about Trump and Epstein, and reported end of their friendshippublished at 22:43 GMT

    Earlier today, Republican James Comer told reporters that Bill Clinton testified: "President Trump has never said anything to me to make me think he was involved" with Epstein's criminal activities.

    Democrats on the committee did not agree that was how the conversation played out.

    "Claims that President Clinton fully exonerated Trump are wrong and a mischaracterization," they said in a post on X.

    "President Clinton raised more questions about the relationship between President Trump and Epstein - specifically with regards to the reason their relationship ended," the post wen on.

    "In fact, President Clinton confirmed that he knew Trump and Epstein had a close relationship and said Trump reported having "great times" with Epstein."

    Maxwell Frost, a Florida Democrat on the committee, says Clinton testified that Trump once told him the reason he no longer speaks to Epstein is because the two had a falling out over a land dispute.

    "This directly refutes Trump’s claims about why he fell out with Epstein," Frost says.

    The White House has previously said that Trump kicked Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club "for being a creep".

    Trump was a friend of Epstein's for years, but the president has said they fell out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

  9. What's happened so far in Bill Clinton's deposition?published at 22:23 GMT

    Sakshi Venkatraman
    US reporter

    It's now been more than six hours since former President Bill Clinton started giving a deposition to the House Oversight Committee for its Epstein investigation.

    Here's what's happened so far:

    • Lawmakers on both the Democratic and Republican sides say Clinton has been cooperating with questions, even giving lengthy answers
    • A source tells the BBC that Clinton was asked about a photograph from the Epstein files showing him in a hottub with a person whose face is redacted
    • Clinton said he did not know who the woman was and did not have sex with her, the source says
    • The former president said he "saw nothing, I did nothing wrong" in an opening statement released on social media before the hearing began today
    • Republicans and Democrats both shared that Clinton has been asked about President Donald Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein - but the two parties shared different interpretations of his answers
    • House Democrats say Clinton shared details of a conversation he had with Trump that raises more questions for the current president, who they say should testify
    • Republicans say they have plans to release footage from the deposition of Hillary Clinton, who testified for six hours yesterday
    • Bill Clinton's unedited deposition video and transcript should also be released, Democrats say

    The hearing is closed-door, and we will keep you posted as we learn more.

  10. Bill Clinton asked about hot tub photopublished at 21:45 GMT
    Breaking

    Cai Pigliucci
    Reporting from Chappaqua, New York

    Bill Clinton reclines in a hot tub next to a person whose face has been covered by a black square to protect their identityImage source, US Department of Justice

    A source confirms to the BBC that Bill Clinton was asked about a photograph from the Epstein files, showing him and an unidentified person in a hot tub.

    Clinton told lawmakers in his deposition that he did not know who the woman in the photograph is. When asked if he had sex with the woman, he said he did not, the source said.

    The exchange was first reported by CNN.

    Another image in the files, taken at the same location, shows him swimming in a pool with Ghislaine Maxwell and an unidentified person.

    Appearing in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing, and Clinton has denied any knowledge of in Epstein's crimes. He has never been accused of misconduct by Epstein survivors who have come forward so far.

  11. How Trump appears in the Epstein filespublished at 21:10 GMT

    Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump, smiling next to each other, at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in 1997Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in 1997

    Democratic lawmakers have been calling throughout the day for Donald Trump to testify about Jeffrey Epstein.

    The US president is mentioned thousands of times in the files released by the Department of Justice, including in correspondence sent by Epstein to others.

    The pair had a well-established relationship in the 1990s and early 2000s, and were pictured at various events and parties together in this time. Trump has said they had a falling out around 2004 - before Epstein was under investigation - and that their relationship ended.

    One of the files released by the justice department, however, raised questions about what Trump knew and when. The file is a written record of an FBI interview with the former Palm Beach police chief, who alleges Trump called him in 2006 after the department launched an investigation into Epstein and said "everyone has known he's been doing this" and "people in New York knew he was disgusting".

    US media have reported that multiple witness interviews are missing from the released files, including some relating to a woman who accused Trump of sexual assault. Democrats who have viewed the unredacted files allege three witness interviews with the accuser have been withheld.

    In a statement, the justice department denied wrongdoing and said it was reviewing the withheld documents. It said it would publish any that are found to have been improperly removed.

    Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and recently said he has been "totally exonerated". The president has not been accused of any crimes by the Epstein survivors who have come forward publicly so far.

  12. Why is this happening at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center?published at 20:25 GMT

    Dozens of cameras set up outside the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center with journalists walking aroundImage source, Getty Images

    The depositions of Bill and Hillary Clinton have been taking place in a small performing arts centre in Chappaqua, New York. It's a town just outside of New York City where the Clintons have lived since Bill left office in 2001.

    Political testimony from two of the most well-known politicians in the country is not the typical programming normally seen at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center.

    The 425-seat space has previously hosted school arts and music shows, movie screenings, and stand-up comedy.

    Tomorrow, after the deposition crowds clear out, the theatre will host a celebration for Lunar New Year.

    Next month on 20 March, it hosts a Fleetwood Mac cover band (funnily enough, Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign song was Don't Stop by Fleetwood Mac).

    No more depositions of former presidents are on the calendar - at least for the foreseeable future.

  13. Democrat says today's session is covering more territory than Hillary Clinton's depositionpublished at 20:07 GMT

    Nada Tawfik
    Reporting from Chappaqua, New York

    Subramanyam at a podium flanked by other DemocratsImage source, EPA/Shutterstock
    Image caption,

    Suhas Subramanyam also spoke to the media a little earlier

    I’ve just spoken with Representative Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat, who has described the atmosphere inside the deposition room as "respectful", with the former president answering all of the questions in a thoughtful and deliberate manner.

    He says yesterday felt like the committee was going in circles, with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but a lot more territory has been covered today.

    While Bill Clinton hasn’t been able to recall every single thing they’ve asked him from 20+ years ago, Representative Suhas believes Clinton is doing his best to be helpful and cooperative with the committee’s investigation.

    Democrats, he said, aren’t letting him off the hook and are asking the tough questions.

  14. What is a deposition?published at 19:48 GMT

    A deposition is a legal term used in US proceedings where one party is gathering information from a source. It is a witness or party's sworn testimony, given under oath.

    In this case, the House Oversight Committee - a small and powerful group of US lawmakers, is administering and supervising.

    In today's session, there will be alternating one-hour rounds of questions. The Republicans started, because they have the majority in the committee. Then the Democrats take their turn. And it alternates until the session wraps up.

    We're not sure how long today's deposition will last, but one committee member indicated it could go on until 18:00 (23:00 GMT) or later.

  15. Clinton 'brought up additional information about Trump' - Democratspublished at 19:23 GMT

    U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA) speaks to the members of the media outside of the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, on the day Bill Clinton appears for a deposition in the House Oversight Committee investigation of late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in Chappaqua, New York, U.S., February 27, 2026\Image source, REUTERS
    Image caption,

    Representative Robert Garcia speaks to the members of the media outside of the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center

    Garcia says Bill Clinton "did bring up some additional information about some discussions with President Trump".

    He pushes back on earlier comments from James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, who said Clinton testified that he has no knowledge of Trump being involved in Epstein's crimes.

    Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

    "I don't think it's a complete, accurate description of what actually was said. So let's release the full transcript," Garcia says.

    He ends the briefing by repeating his demand for Trump to testify before the committee.

  16. Clinton has not invoked Fifth Amendment yet, Democrat sayspublished at 19:16 GMT

    Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat Representative from Virginia, says Bill Clinton has not pleaded the fifth - invoking the Fifth Amendment right for protection against self-incrimination - and has answered their questions at length.

    His comments are echoed by Wesley Bell of Missouri who says they are trying to get to the bottom of what happened to hold people accountable.

    He says there is a difference between posting things on Truth Social or X, and answering questions under oath.

  17. Democrats push for release of deposition videospublished at 19:11 GMT

    Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, reiterates Hillary Clinton's point that he does not know why the committee spent so long questioning her.

    He also urges for full, unedited videos of both depositions to be released.

    "We now have a new precedent in this country that presidents and former presidents can testify before this committee," Garcia adds.

  18. New questions for Trump after Clinton's testimony - Democratspublished at 19:08 GMT

    Florida Democrat Maxwell Frost tells reporters that after Bill Clinton's deposition, the panel has new questions for Trump.

    He also calls for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Attorney General Pam Bondi to come forward and answer their questions.

  19. Clinton asked about Trump and Epstein's relationship, Comer sayspublished at 18:58 GMT

    U.S. Representative James Comer (R-KY) gestures as he appears outside of the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, on the day Bill Clinton appears for a deposition in the House Oversight Committee investigation of late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in Chappaqua, New York, U.S., February 27, 2026Image source, REUTERS

    We're hearing from James Comer, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, who has left Bill Clinton's deposition to give an update to reporters.

    He says both Democrat and Republican lawmakers have each had an hour of questioning.

    Comer also tried to put to rest what he called "curiosity" about President Trump.

    During the deposition, he says former President Clinton was asked whether Trump should be called before the committee to testify.

    He says Clinton told the committee: "That's for you to decide."

    Comer says Clinton went on to say that he has no knowledge of Trump's involvement in Epstein's crimes.

  20. Watch: the latest from Clinton's testimonypublished at 18:47 GMT