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Former President Bill Clinton was confronted during a House Oversight Committee deposition with a photo from the newly released Epstein files showing him in a hot tub with an unidentified, redacted woman, an exchange that quickly became one of the most replayed moments after lawmakers released video of his testimony.
Reuters and other outlets report the deposition video was made public on March 2 as part of the House committee’s ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and potential accountability for those in his orbit.
The questioning unfolded in the context of a wider release of Epstein-related records and images. Reuters reported that, under the current Department of Justice release process, millions of records have been made public, including photos of Clinton with women whose faces were redacted.
AP previously reported that the first batch of Justice Department files included multiple photos of Clinton, among them a hot tub image and a separate pool image with Ghislaine Maxwell and a redacted person.
Clinton’s Explanation Under Oath
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According to Reuters, Clinton told lawmakers he did not know of Epstein’s criminal conduct at the time he associated with him and said he would have reported it had he known.
Reuters also reported Clinton said he never had sexual contact with anyone introduced by Epstein or Maxwell and denied visiting Epstein’s Caribbean island.
On the hot tub photo specifically, People reported that Clinton said he was “almost sure” the image was taken at a hotel in Brunei during an Asia trip tied to his AIDS initiative, and that he did not think he even knew the photo had been taken.
People also reported he told lawmakers the woman was not under 18 and that he had no sexual relationship with her.
People further reported that Clinton said he did not know who the other person in the hot tub image was, and that a Secret Service agent was present in the room. In the same reporting, he also addressed another released image showing him swimming in a pool with Epstein and Maxwell.
What the House Video Release Shows, and Why It Matters Politically
The Guardian reported that the House committee released hours of videotaped depositions involving both Bill and Hillary Clinton, with both distancing themselves from Epstein.
The Guardian also reported Bill Clinton said he ended his relationship with Epstein years before Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea, and that Hillary Clinton said she did not recall meeting Epstein.
Reuters described the broader deposition as politically charged, noting Clinton’s testimony included remarks about President Donald Trump’s past comments regarding Epstein. Reuters also emphasized that neither Clinton nor Trump has been accused by authorities of criminal activity related to Epstein.
That point is central to understanding why the hot tub image has drawn intense attention without resolving the core legal question.
AP noted in its coverage of the file releases that Clinton’s association with Epstein is long documented and politically damaging in appearance, but that the inclusion of a person’s name or image in investigative files does not, by itself, imply wrongdoing.
The Larger Story Behind the Viral Clip
The deposition exchange over the photo matters less as a standalone revelation than as a window into the House committee’s strategy: use newly public images and records to force sworn answers on the record from high-profile figures linked socially or professionally to Epstein.
Reuters reported Clinton testified he was introduced to Epstein by former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers as a donor willing to support Clinton’s charitable travel, and said he flew on Epstein’s jet for foundation-related trips before cutting ties after 2003.
The result is a familiar tension in the Epstein story. The visuals are explosive, the political stakes are immediate, and the legal implications remain narrower than the public reaction often suggests. The Clinton deposition video, including the hot tub photo exchange, is now part of that record.
