Hillary Clinton tells BBC we have no links to Jeffrey Epstein

Welcome back to The Takeout. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an interview with our partners at the BBC said the Trump Justice Department has not complied with the law requiring the release of all Epstein files. Get the files out. They are slow walking it. They are redacting the names of men who are in it. They are stonewalling legitimate requests from members of Congress. That has nothing to do with us. Something is going on. They know it. I know it. If they're going to have me testify, I would prefer to do it in public because I want everybody to see it at the same time. If I have to do it behind closed doors, they're not going to like what I have to say because I have very strong opinions about what it is they're hiding and who they are protecting. Torian Small joins me now from Capitol Hill. So what else did Hillary Clinton have to say about her or Bill's relationship with or to either Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell? Well, good evening, Major. We know that our reporting partners at the BBC directed or directly asked whether or not Hillary Clinton regretted her ties and her husband's ties to Jeffrey Epstein, to which she said there are no ties. She said that the relationship between both parties were strictly based on the charitable work that they did together through the Clinton Global Initiative Foundation. Take a listen to what she had to say. We have no links. We have a very clear record that we've been willing to talk about, which my husband has said. He took some rides on the airplane for his charitable work. I don't recall ever meeting him. Did you ever meet Ghislaine Maxwell? I did on a few occasions, and thousands of people go to the Clinton Global Initiative. So it to me is not, is not something that is really at the heart of what this matter is about. Yes. Speaking of at the heart of this matter, the Clintons are claiming that they're just trying to be as transparent as possible about this. They're saying they've been forthcoming with the House Oversight Committee as it's launched its own probe into the Epstein estate, as well as the people connected to him potentially. But I want to mention one thing that was also asked of the secretary there. There was a photo of her husband, Bill Clinton, in a hot tub that we showed as we teased here. She refuted that claim, saying that there was a hot tub, but again, alleged, and it's on screen right now. It's a pretty interesting photo. But she said that this is no implication of anything nefarious, but again, maintain that they had this working relationship with him, but have been fully disclosing all that information to the relevant bodies as it relates to this major. But Tori, and it's worth level setting this a little bit because the Clintons, both Hillary and Bill, spent quite a few months with the House Oversight Committee trying to work out how this testimony would occur. And it didn't look like as if they were rushing into the venue to testify. And only when it was clear that some House Democrats might vote to hold them in contempt did this get resolved. So one of the things that has yet to be resolved, there's a date and there's a time, but whether it'll be fully public or in private to be released via video later, do we know anything more about that? Yeah, well, Secretary Clinton in this interview said that she is going to show up and whether or not it's going to be public or private is up to the panel. But ultimately, though, she's still advocating for this to be made in the public. She said if this is done behind closed doors, she's going to be essentially unfiltered, going after people she believes may be connected to the Trump administration and her answers. But she wants, as I just said, to be fully transparent about this process. She also pointed out the discrepancies in how the Republican leadership on this panel has handled requesting their information versus others. She said her attorney has been complying with the House Oversight Committee providing documents. Others who have been asked for information have been able to do so in written statements. But she says she believes it's politically motivated why they're being targeted in this way, Major. She also described this meeting, her and Bill Clinton's testimony, as a shiny object meant to distract. Torian Small, Capitol Hill. Thanks so very much.