(CHAPPAQUA, N.Y.) — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee in Chappaqua, New York, as part of their probe into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was briefly paused Thursday afternoon after a photo of her from inside the room was leaked, which is against committee rules.
The photo was posted by conservative social media influencer Benny Johnson who claimed it was provided by Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert.
Asked why she sent the photo to Johnson, Boebert told reporters, “Why not?”
The Colorado Republican added that she didn’t receive any repercussions for sending the photo.
“No, there was no reprimanding, there were no rules violated with the photo,” Boebert said.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the committee’s top Democrat, said “everybody was very taken aback … by the committee rules being essentially not enforced and certainly just broken immediately.”
“That is not acceptable,” he added.
After the former first lady’s deposition Thursday, former President Bill Clinton is set to testify before the committee in their Epstein investigation on Friday.
In her opening statement Thursday before the pause, Hillary Clinton said that she had no involvement with Epstein or convicted associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
“The Committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Let me be as clear as I can. I do not,” Clinton said, according to a release of her opening statement.
Hillary Clinton said Thursday that she had no idea about Epstein and Maxwell’s criminal activity, saying she doesn’t “recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein.”
“I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that. Like every decent person, I have been horrified by what we have learned about their crimes,” she said.
Hillary Clinton went after the Republican-led committee in her opening statement, saying “you have made little effort to call the people who show up most prominently in the Epstein files. And when you did, not a single Republican Member showed up for Les Wexner’s deposition,” she states, referencing the closer-door deposition of retail billionaire Leslie Wexner earlier this month, during which the Republican members were no-shows. During his deposition, Wexner claimed he never witnessed nor had any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity.
Digging in even more, the former first lady attacked the probe.
“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,” she said, not mentioning any particular public official by name.
Republican House Oversight Chairman James Comer said the deposition with the Clintons is an opportunity to ask them questions.
“No one is accusing, at this moment, the Clintons of any wrongdoing,” Comer said Thursday morning ahead of Hillary Clinton’s testimony. “They’re going to have due process, but we have a lot of questions, and the purpose of the whole investigation is to try to understand many things about Epstein.”
Pressed on why the committee was adamant on subpoenaing Hillary Clinton, who has denied ever having any relationship with Epstein, Comer highlighted how there was a bipartisan effort to speak with the Clintons after Democrats also voted to subpoena the Clintons.
The committee first attempted to subpoena the Clintons in July of last year as Republicans demanded more information on the former president’s travels on Epstein’s private aircraft and what the committee called the “family’s past relationship” with Epstein and his convicted associate Ghislaine Maxwell, as part of their probe into Epstein.
The Clintons were subpoenaed to appear under oath in front of the committee for a deposition in January, but failed to comply, arguing the subpoenas were without legal merit. Rather, they proposed a four-hour transcribed interview instead.
David Kendall, the Clintons’ lawyer, argued that the couple has no information relevant to the committee’s investigation of the federal government’s handling of investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, and should not be required to appear for in-person testimony. Kendall contended the Clintons should be permitted to provide the limited information they have to the committee in writing.
Comer had long threatened to hold the Clintons in contempt if they failed to appear before the committee, so when they didn’t, a contempt resolution was drafted and put to a vote. The Oversight Committee passed the contempt resolution, with nine Democrats voting in favor of it, teeing it up for a full House vote.
At the last minute, before the resolution was brought for a full House vote, the Clintons agreed to sit for a deposition, postponing further consideration of a contempt vote.
Garcia said Hillary Clinton is cooperating with the committee and is “answering all the questions.”
Democrats on the committee said they hope this week’s testimonies from the Clintons spark Republican committee members to investigate more of Epstein’s ties to President Donald Trump and his Cabinet officials.
President Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has said that he cut off contact with his former friend more than 20 years ago.
“We will talk to any single person, whether that is a Democrat, a Republican, how much wealth they have, how powerful the position is, we want to talk to anyone. So we’re happy to be here, and we’re glad that both Secretary Clinton and former President Clinton are willing to talk to this committee,” Garcia said.
This week’s interviews with committee investigators will be video recorded and transcribed in accordance with the House’s deposition rules.
Comer said the committee is “going to release the video as soon as everyone has approved it.”
While the Clintons have agreed to speak with the committee behind closed doors, they have still pushed for public hearings as part of the committee’s probe into Epstein.
“I will not sit idly as they use me as a prop in a closed-door kangaroo court by a Republican Party running scared,” Bill Clinton wrote in a lengthy post on X. “If they want answers, let’s stop the games & do this the right way: in a public hearing, where the American people can see for themselves what this is really about.”
Hillary Clinton has echoed her husband’s sentiments while also continuing to call for the full release of the Epstein files, which they have accused the Department of Justice of selectively releasing.
“It is something that needs to be totally transparent,” Hillary Clinton said during a panel appearance at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month. “I’ve called for, many, many years, for everything to be put out there so people can not only see what is in them, but also — if appropriate — hold people accountable. We’ll see what happens.”
Neither Bill Clinton nor Hillary Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing and both deny having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. No Epstein survivor or associate has ever made a public allegation of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior by the former president or his wife in connection with his prior relationship with Epstein.
ABC News’ Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
