Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accused President Donald Trump of orchestrating a “cover-up” over files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to an interview with the BBC published Monday.
“Get the files out. They are slow-walking it,” Clinton, who is scheduled to testify before a Congressional committee on the matter, told the British broadcaster in an interview in Berlin.
The United States Department of Justice last month released the latest tranche of so-called Epstein files—more than three million documents, photographs and videos connected to its investigation into Epstein, who died in 2019 in custody in what authorities ruled a suicide.
Clinton’s husband, former president Bill Clinton, is mentioned repeatedly in the files, though no evidence has emerged implicating either Clinton in criminal conduct.
The couple have been ordered to give closed-door depositions before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, which is examining the late financier’s links to prominent figures and the handling of information relating to his crimes.
“We will attend, but we believe it would be better for it to be held in public,” Hillary Clinton told the BBC.
“I just want it to be fair,” she said. “I want everyone to be treated equally.”
The former secretary of state said she and her husband “have nothing to hide. We have repeatedly called for the full release of these files.”
The Department of Justice has stated that it has no further files to release, although lawmakers have criticised it for not publishing internal government memoranda, notes and emails concerning Epstein.
Clinton said Republicans leading the inquiry were seeking to deflect attention from Trump, whose name also appears numerous times in the files.
“Look at this shiny object. We’re going to have the Clintons—even Hillary Clinton, who never met the man,” she said.
Trump denies any wrongdoing. Mere reference in the files does not constitute proof of criminal activity.
Former president Bill Clinton has acknowledged travelling on Epstein’s aircraft in the early 2000s in connection with humanitarian work undertaken by the Clinton Foundation but has said he never visited Epstein’s private island.
Hillary Clinton, who ran against Trump in the 2016 presidential election, has maintained that she had no substantive interactions with Epstein, never travelled on his aircraft and never visited his island.
In the interview with the BBC, she said she had met Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Epstein who was convicted of conspiring with him to sexually abuse minors, “on a few occasions.”
Responding to Clinton’s assertion that the congressional testimony was intended as a distraction, Trump rejected the claim, telling reporters on Monday evening that he had been “totally exonerated”.
Hillary Clinton is scheduled to appear for her deposition on 26 February, while Bill Clinton is due to appear on 27 February.
