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FORMER U.S. President Bill Clinton has recounted a conversation with serving President Donald Trump in the early 2000s about their mutual acquaintance with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, emphasising that he was unaware of any criminal conduct by Epstein and did not see evidence of sex trafficking.
Clinton provided the testimony in a videotaped deposition to the House Oversight Committee released on Monday.
Clinton told the committee that Trump mentioned Epstein during a golf tournament in 2002 or 2003, after Clinton had left office and more than a decade before Trump assumed the presidency.
“Somehow he knew I had flown in Jeffrey Epstein's aircraft,” Reuters cited Clinton saying.
“He said: 'You know, we had some great times together over the years, but we fell out all because of a real estate deal.’”
Trump has explained that the relationship deteriorated after Epstein hired young women at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.
Clinton clarified that the exchange did not suggest any improper conduct on Trump’s part.
Both Clinton and Trump had social connections with Epstein prior to his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Clinton stressed that neither he nor Trump has ever been accused of criminal activity in connection with Epstein.
Epstein, a well-connected financier, entertained business leaders and prominent figures at his residences in New York, Florida, and the Caribbean.
He was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges and died in custody, ruled a suicide.
Clinton detailed that he was introduced to Epstein by former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who described Epstein as a donor willing to assist with Clinton’s charitable AIDS foundation by providing global travel.
Clinton acknowledged flying on Epstein’s private jet on multiple occasions to Asia, Africa, and Europe, as well as a flight from Florida to New York, but stated he ceased such interactions after 2003.
“I thought Mr. Epstein was an interesting man, but I didn’t think he was really interested in what I was doing,” Clinton said.
He added that he never had sexual contact with anyone connected to Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell but did receive a neck massage from a flight attendant later identified as an Epstein abuse survivor.
“I didn’t think it was anything unusual. I can’t tell you how many airplanes I’ve been on where rich people asked me to go and they had someone offering massage,” he said. Clinton also stated he never visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island and was unaware that Epstein had visited the White House 17 times during his presidency.
The deposition follows subpoenas issued to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who testified last week that she did not recall ever meeting Epstein.
Under the Trump administration, the Justice Department released millions of documents from its investigations into Epstein, including photographs of Clinton with women whose identities were redacted.
Clinton reiterated that he regrets his past association with Epstein but maintains he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal activities and did not participate in any illegal conduct. - March 3, 2026