Hillary Clinton denounces questions about "UFOs and Pizzagate" at Epstein hearing

WashingtonSeven hours after entering the House hearing to testify in the Epstein case, Hillary Clinton denounced "unusual questions" from Republican members of the House committee. "They started asking me about UFOs and Pizzagate. One of the vilest conspiracy theories to have spread across the internet has served as the basis for the [Committee] members to question me," Clinton said Thursday night. Pizzagate, which went viral in 2016, was a false theory that claimed police had uncovered a pedophile ring linked to the Democratic Party. Pizzagate is considered the precursor to the QAnon conspiracy theories, which are embraced by many Trump supporters. Last summer, Pizzagate resurfaced online when new details emerged about the relationship between Donald Trump and Epstein, who died in his jail cell in 2019 just before his trial. The Clintons' testimony has reignited online speculation about Democratic Party members allegedly going to the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington to abuse children. Pizzagate led to the restaurant being targeted in two attacks by conspiracy theorists: one involved a shooting in 2016, and another attempted to set it on fire in 2019.

"I knew Maxwell as an acquaintance"

The hearing was held in Chappaqua, New York, where the Clintons reside, and began with the Democratic candidate testifying alone. She reiterated to reporters what she had already stated in her press release regarding her deposition: "I know nothing about his criminal activities. I do not recall ever meeting or encountering Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes, or offices. I have nothing to add on all of that." However, she did reveal a small detail that had not been previously known: she did know Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former partner and accomplice, "casually." "I knew Ghislaine Maxwell casually, as an acquaintance, but every time I have been asked [by the court] I have done my best to answer," she said. When a reporter asked her why Maxwell was invited to her daughter Chelsea Clinton's wedding in 2010, the Democrat replied: "She came as the partner of someone else who had been invited."

In Bill Clinton's case, there was evidence of his relationship with Maxwell thanks to a photograph. The pedophile's ex-partner is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Bryan, Texas. Recently, she invoked her Fifth Amendment right against testifying before Congress and offered to exonerate Trump in exchange for immunity. Maxwell's testimony could be key to clarifying the relationships of both the Republican and Bill Clinton with Epstein.

Hours before leaving the hearing, in an initial statement, Clinton took a swipe at the Republicans and once again focused on Trump. "They have brought me here to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge whatsoever that could assist them in their investigation, to distract from President Trump's actions and to cover for him despite legitimate demands for answers," she said, in a clear reference to the committee chairman, Republican James Comer, who has led the committee. Clinton also took the opportunity to highlight the recent controversy surrounding the documents withheld by the Justice Department, which include Accusations by an Epstein survivor against Trump"I would get to the bottom of why the Justice Department withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accuses President Trump of terrible crimes," the text read.

Once again, the Democrat also denounced to reporters that the session was held behind closed doors, instead of being public. Although the recording is to be handed over later, there was no live broadcast and no audience was allowed. The couple has repeatedly demanded that it be broadcast openly. "He has held a total of zero public hearings, nor has he allowed the media in, including today, despite invoking the need for transparency on dozens of occasions," she said in the statement prior to the appearance.

Hillary Clinton's testimony was the "easy" part of the process. The difficult part is this Friday with former President Bill Clinton, whose relationship with Epstein is well documented. Based on the investigation into the case, it is known that the former president traveled on the billionaire's private jet at least 16 times. Bill Clinton also appears in a photograph in a jacuzzi with women and in two other photographs embracing a woman. In one of them, the woman is sitting on his lap. In another, he appears with Epstein. When asked about these photos, the Democrat said she was 100% sure that her husband knew nothing about Epstein's crimes. "I am," she affirmed.

After months of litigating to avoid giving explanations to the congressional committee about their relationship with Epstein, the couple finally gave in when the House of Representatives moved up a bipartisan vote to declare them in criminal disobedience to Congress. The Clintons denounce the hearing as a Republican plot to harm them. Now they want to turn the media spotlight that has been placed on them against the president. Democrats on the committee overseeing the Epstein investigations are demanding that Trump also be questioned, just as the Clintons are doing. "We should question under oath the person mentioned in the Epstein files almost more than anyone else, after Ghislaine Maxwell, and that's Donald Trump," said Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the committee, at a press conference Thursday before Hillary Clinton's. The US president is cited more than 5,000 times in the documents.