Clinton expressed his concern for the women and girls "whose lives Jeffrey Epstein destroyed," saying they "deserved not only justice, but healing."7 min readNew DelhiMar 3, 2026 10:27 AM IST First published on: Mar 3, 2026 at 10:11 AM IST ShareWhatsapptwitterFacebookThis undated photo released by the US Department of Justice shows former President Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein. (U.S. Department of Justice Department via AP)Former United States President Bill Clinton, whose photographs were released by the Department of Justice, as part of the Epstein Files in December 2025, early Tuesday explained their background at a closed-door meeting.The video of the press meet, released by House Oversight Committee on March 2, reveals the closed-door discussion with Clinton in Chappaqua, New York last week.One of the photographs showed Clinton swimming in a pool and another appeared to show him lying in a hot tub. The images were undated and provided without context.Also Read Bill Clinton’s spokesman slams Epstein files release after former US president pictured in hot tub, swimmingOn Dec 20 last year, the US DoJ published a new batch of documents and images linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Many of the files were heavily redacted and contained few references to President Donald Trump, but included several photographs of Clinton.Clinton was photographed with Epstein several times in the 1990s and early 2000s, before Epstein was first arrested. He has never been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein’s abuse.Story continues below this adResponding to a question after being handed over the copies of the photographs showing him in a hot tub, Clinton on Tuesday clarified that he wasn’t aware of the photograph being taken. “No, I don’t think I ever knew the photo was taken,” Clinton said. Bill Clinton explains his viral hot tub photo during the Epstein deposition. pic.twitter.com/6LonHZ4Hpb— TMZ (@TMZ) March 2, 2026Speaking to the reporters, Clinton said: “I’m almost sure that this picture, and I think there’s an adjacent photograph which you probably have, that if people saw it, they would feel that someone was trying to con them showing this picture. But anyway, this picture was taken in Brunei, and we flew one night on a trip to Asia, the last very long leg.”Clinton elaborated: “Well, my TIL team that was working on the AIDS issue, and Mr. Epstein was there, and Ms. Maxwell. But anyway, we got to the end of the flight was Brunei. It’s a tiny place, but a very wealthy one. The Sultan of Brunei was a man that I had gotten to know well in my eight years as president. His first involvement with international matters was basically to join the Asian Pacific Economic Leaders Conference, which I started and which he attended. Then he was very proud of that, and he hosted, his time came to host it.”“Anyway, he wanted, when he knew I was coming, and he said he wanted to help me with my AIDS initiative, and he invited me to stay there. He said, I want you to stay at this hotel, and I hope you’ll use the pool. So I did, and then I got out and went to bed exhausted,” he informed the reporters.Must Read ‘Get the files out’: Hillary Clinton alleges Trump admin ‘cover-up’ as 3 million Epstein pages name global elitesIn the images released over two months ago, Clinton could be seen in a swimming pool with Ghislaine Maxwell and another person whose face was blacked out. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein traffic underage girls.Story continues below this adIn a second photograph, the Democratic former president was seen in a hot tub with what appears to be another person whose face was also blacked out.Clinton has previously expressed regret for socializing with Epstein and said he was not aware of any criminal activity.On recognizing other people in the poolWhen asked if there were other people accompanying him at the pool, including a girl, as the reporter pointed out in the photograph, Clinton refused to recognize them all.“I don’t think there’s anybody in the hot tub. I didn’t forget that there was anybody in the hot tub, but it was big… Yeah, I don’t know who that is,” Clinton emphasised, later adding that there were other people in the pool.Story continues below this adMoreover, when Clinton was asked if the people around him inside the pool were minors (that is, aged below 18), he responded with a firm “No.”However, the former President went on to acknowledge that the people at the pool were a part of his traveling party. “Yes, they were, I think. I think everybody there was part of our party. It was late at night and I also believe that there was a Secret Service agent there at the other end of the pool,” Clinton added.Location of the poolExplaining the location of the pool, Clinton said that it wasn’t accessible to the public. “It was a hotel room and the Sultan wanted us to stay there and the whole, the water of this big pool was on the same floor, that there were several suites. So we went out, I swam around, I sat in the hot tub for five minutes, whatever it was, and I got up and went to bed.”Clinton also responded in negative upon being asked if he engaged in any sexual activity with the person who appears to be accompanying him at the pool.Clinton’s opening statement to the CommitteeStory continues below this adIn his statement on February 27, 2026, Clinton expressed his concern for the women and girls “whose lives Jeffrey Epstein destroyed,” saying they “deserved not only justice, but healing.”Most Read“First, I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing. No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that at the end of the day matter more 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,” Clinton said in his opening statement to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.As someone who grew up in a home with domestic abuse, not only would I not have flown on his plane if I had any inkling of what he was doing—I would have turned him in myself and led the call for justice for his crimes, not sweetheart deals. pic.twitter.com/0rX8cat5Pu— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) February 27, 2026He added, “As someone who grew up in a home with domestic abuse, not only would I not have flown on his plane if I had any inkling of what he was doing—I would have turned him in myself and led the call for justice for his crimes, not sweetheart deals.”He then went on to address the questions of the reporters after stating that by the time Epstein was held guilty in 2008, “I had long stopped associating with him.”In January 2026, the DoJ released another set of files linked to its long-running investigation into Epstein. The documents included allegations submitted to the FBI and references to Epstein’s past associations, including Clinton’s references. Clinton has previously acknowledged knowing Epstein but has denied any involvement in illegal activity.AdvertisementLoading Taboola...