Hillary Clinton Calls GOP’s Epstein Probe a “Shiny Object” Distraction from Trump

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accused House Republicans of weaponizing her family’s involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s files to divert attention from President Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier.

In an interview with the BBC at Berlin’s annual World Forum, Clinton described the renewed focus on her and former President Bill Clinton as a deliberate political tactic. She emphasized that Republicans are using their family’s presence in the investigation to shift scrutiny away from Trump.

The House Oversight Committee, chaired by James Comer of Kentucky, has demanded testimony from both Clintons as part of its inquiry into Epstein’s financial and political network. The committee recently abandoned a planned contempt vote after the Clintons agreed to closed-door depositions.

“Look at this shiny object. We’re going to have the Clintons, even Hillary Clinton, who never met the guy,” Clinton told the BBC, acknowledging she had interacted with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell on a few occasions.

Bill Clinton has confirmed knowing Epstein but stated he ended contact over two decades ago. Neither Clinton nor Bill Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing by Epstein’s victims, and both have denied knowledge of his sex trafficking operations.

Trump, referenced in the files, repeatedly denies wrongdoing and claims he severed ties with Epstein decades ago. When pressed on Clinton’s accusations, Trump told the BBC he had “nothing to hide” and that Democrats were being “pulled in” by the scandal.

Clinton is scheduled to testify before Congress on February 26, followed by Bill Clinton on February 27—a rare event in congressional history, as the last former president to appear before a panel was Gerald Ford in 1983.

During her BBC interview, Clinton also accused the Trump administration of covering up its handling of Epstein’s files and urged officials to release more documents: “Get the files out. They are slow-walking it.” The White House countered that the administration had already released thousands of pages and done “more for the victims than Democrats ever have.”

Millions of new Epstein-related documents were made public last month by the Department of Justice following Congress’s passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. However, the DOJ acknowledged releasing only about 70 percent of materials due to privacy concerns, including medical records and graphic depictions of child abuse that could hinder investigations.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who co-sponsored the law, has demanded the DOJ disclose internal memos explaining past charging decisions involving Epstein. Earlier this month, Clinton posted on social media urging Comer to hold a public hearing rather than a closed-door deposition, accusing Republicans of turning oversight into a distraction.

Jeffrey Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.