The Dictatorship
BILL TESTIFIES
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Former President Bill Clinton finished his testimony before members of Congress for their investigation over convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The closed-door deposition ended after more than six hours of questioning from lawmakers about his connections to the disgraced financier.
“I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,” the former Democratic president said in an opening statement he shared on social media at the outset of the deposition.
The deposition in Chappaqua, New York, marks the first time a former president has been compelled to testify to Congress.
It comes a day after Clinton’s wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sat for her own depositionwhere she told lawmakers that she had no knowledge of how Epstein had sexually abused underage girls and had no recollection of even meeting him.
Neither Clinton has been accused of any wrongdoing.
Other news we’re following:
- Trump arrives in Texas: Trump has traveled to Texas and is planning to talk about his energy and economic policies. But the red-hot Senate Republican primary race may overshadow his message. All three candidates are expected to join him, just days before the election.
- Democrats are ‘closely’ reviewing White House offer on DHS: A White House official said the administration had sent a new proposal to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Thursday, calling the latest offer to end the ongoing DHS shutdown “serious.” Democrats are continuing to push for “real reforms” on the conduct of federal immigration agents, aides to Schumer and Jeffries said in a statement Friday.
- Trump orders all federal agencies to phase out use of Anthropic technology: Trump’s comments came just over an hour before the Pentagon’s deadline for Anthropic to allow unrestricted military use of its AI technology or face consequences — and nearly 24 hours after CEO Dario Amodei said his company “cannot in good conscience accede” to the Defense Department’s demands. At issue in the defense contract was a clash over AI’s role in national security and concerns about how increasingly capable machines could be used in high-stakes situations.
Parents of Renee Good, who was killed during immigration crackdown in Minnesota, remember her love and laughter in AP interview
Good loved sparkles and laughter and any excuse for a celebration. She loved pretty much everyone she met and was late for pretty much everything.
“She had this way of making you feel special and loved that I didn’t even understand that until we lost her,” Donna Ganger said of her daughter, who was shot and killed by an immigration officer Jan. 7.
She was “slow to anger, quick to love, quick to care,” said her father, Tim Ganger. “That’s the essence of who she was.”
Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was killed Jan. 7 as immigration agents surged through the Minneapolis area, sparking protests. Her death and that of another U.S. citizen, Alex Prettiweeks later sparked outrage across the country and calls to rein in immigration enforcement.
Good’s parents and two of her brothers, Brent and Luke Ganger, met AP journalists Friday in Denver for a long interview.
▶ Read more from the interview with Good’s loved ones
Treasury Department terminates union contracts for IRS and Bureau of the Fiscal Service workers
The department said Friday that it has ended its collective bargaining agreement with unionized workers employed at the Internal Revenue Service.
Agency leaders told employees they were using a Trump executive order signed last March to make the change. Workers at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service are also affected.
The National Treasury Employees Union says the IRS cannot end the contract on its own. The union sued the federal government last year over the executive order, but an appeals court decision this week cleared the way for the order to proceed.
The Trump administration is detaining and questioning refugees already admitted to the US
In a break from tradition, refugees admitted after extensive interviews and vetting are being detained and questioned again.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in November that the Biden administration’s evaluation of roughly 200,000 refugees was inadequate. DHS says it is reviewing cases, starting with about 5,600 refugees who settled in Minnesota.
Venezuelan refugees pose for a photo on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, in Cottage Grove, Minn. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Venezuelan refugees pose for a photo on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, in Cottage Grove, Minn. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Some have been handcuffed, shackled and flown to Texas for questioning. After being released, they have had to find their own way home. One was asked to sign documents saying she would voluntarily leave the U.S. She refused as part of a larger legal fight.
A golden sweep by Team USA in Olympic hockey led to celebrations that got complicated and political
The United States swept both Olympic hockey gold medals only to see the celebrations turn into a political flashpoint.
The men took a locker room call from Trump, who joked that he would need to also invite the women’s team to the White House.
Later a doctored White House TikTok upset American player Brady Tkachuk.
Both teams stressed that they back each other’s runs to gold.
▶ Read more on what to know about the political hullaballoo surrounding U.S. Olympic hockey gold
Trump visits a Whataburger in Texas
The president stopped at the burger joint after addressing a crowd at the Port of Corpus Christi.
“I’m going to get some stuff for Air Force One, and I’m going to get the hell out of here,” he said before greeting workers and patrons.
President Donald Trump visits a Whataburger restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, as Energy Secretary Chris Wright watches. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump visits a Whataburger restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, as Energy Secretary Chris Wright watches. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Trump also suggested that he would buy food for everyone in the restaurant, saying: “Can you handle it? Hamburgers for all!”
Federal judge extends order protecting refugees in Minnesota from being arrested and deported
The order covers refugees in the state who are lawfully in the country. U.S. District Judge John Tunheim granted a motion by refugees’ advocates to convert a temporary restraining order that he issued in January into a more permanent preliminary injunction.
The order applies only in Minnesota. But the implications of a new national policy on refugees that the Department of Homeland Security announced Feb. 19 were a major part of the discussion at a hearing held by the judge the next day.
The Trump administration asserts that it has the right to arrest potentially tens of thousands of refugees nationwide who entered legally but do not yet have green cards. A new Homeland Security memo interprets immigration laws to say that refugees applying for green cards must return to federal custody one year after they were admitted so their applications can be reviewed.
JUST IN: Federal judge extends order protecting refugees in Minnesota who are lawfully in US from being arrested and deported
Trump says any deal with Iran has to be ‘meaningful’
The president told a crowd in Corpus Christi, Texas, that he would rather handle Tehran “the peaceful way,” saying he laid out his terms for an agreement with the country to the Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn as they flew together on Air Force One on Friday.
Trump said Iran wants to make a deal it has to be “meaningful” in stopping the possibility of the country developing enough enriched uranium for nuclear weapons.
He called it “a very big decision,” as he criticized Iran for human rights abuses.
Bill Clinton deposition on Epstein concludes
The Democratic former president’s closed-door deposition ended after more than six hours of questioning from lawmakers who said he answered every question posed to him.
Clinton told members of Congress that he “did nothing wrong” in his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and saw no signs of Epstein’s sexual abuse. Lawmakers questioned him over his connections to the disgraced financier from more than two decades ago.
“I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,” Clinton said in an opening statement he shared on social media at the outset of the deposition.
JUST IN: Bill Clinton deposition concludes after more than 6 hours after lawmakers say he answered every question about Epstein
Actor Dennis Quaid speaks at Trump rally
Quaid, who played President Ronald Reagan in a 2024 biopic, got a lift on the real Air Force One and a speaking role behind the presidential seal. Trump invited him on stage briefly during his rally in Corpus Christi, Texas.
“I love Corpus Christi, and I love Donald Trump,” Quaid said.
Actor Dennis Quaid arrives before President Donald Trump at Port of Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Actor Dennis Quaid arrives before President Donald Trump at Port of Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Earlier in the day, Sen. Ted Cruz posted a 14-second video of Quaid, dressed in a suit, seated next to Trump at a conference table aboard the Air Force One.
In addition to playing the 40th president in “Reagan,” Quaid also appeared as President Bill Clinton in “The Special Relationship,” a 2010 film about former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s relationship with his U.S. counterpart.
Trump recognizes Texas Republican Senate candidates but stops short of any endorsement
“We have a great attorney general, Ken Paxton. Hi Ken,” the president said.
“And we have a great senator, John Cornyn,” he added, looking at the seated officials from the stage. “You’re in a little bit of a race.”
The primary is Tuesday, and Cornyn is trying to survive a challenge from Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, who was also at the event in Corpus Christi.
Trump mentioned Hunt, too, after running through the long list of Texas U.S. House members present.
“And another friend of mine who is doing very well, Wesley Hunt. Wesley Hunt, what a good job,” the president said.
In a nod to the competitive primary, Trump noted, “You do have an interesting election.”
Asked by reporters, Trump said he has “pretty much” decided whom to endorse but declined to specify.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he is designating Anthropic as a supply chain risk
That could prevent U.S. military vendors from working with the company. Hegseth spoke a little more than an hour after Trump said he was ordering all federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s technology Friday.
Hegseth’s comments, delivered in a social media post, came shortly after the Pentagon’s deadline for Anthropic to allow unrestricted military use of its AI technology or face consequences — and nearly 24 hours after CEO Dario Amodei said his company “cannot in good conscience accede” to the Defense Department’s demands.
Leader of Scouting America says transgender youth still welcome
Scouting America President and CEO Roger Krone says the organization’s agreement with the Pentagon does not change its existing policies regarding transgender youth and they remain welcome.
“We have transgender people in our program, and we’ll have transgender people in our program going forward,” Krone told The Associated Press.
The Pentagon made the deal with Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, to maintain their century-old partnership.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the agreement refocuses the organization away from “woke” policies he accused it of embracing and put heavy emphasis on the group’s acceptance of transgender youth.
‘Tony Gonzales is here’
The embattled House Republican, who is fending off calls to resign after reports of an affair with a former aide who later set herself on fire, made his way to Trump’s Corpus Christi event.
The president made mention of his presence, saying: “Congressman Tony Gonzales is here.”
Corpus Christi is not in Gonzales’ district.
As Trump gave his shoutout to Gonzales, he added, “Tony, congratulations.” It was unclear what Trump was congratulating him for.
Trump has endorsed Gonzales in his primary.
Trump says he is ‘entitled’ to a third term
The president again floated the idea of running for a third term during an address at the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas.
“Maybe we do one more term, should we do one more?” he asked the crowd, which responded with cheers.
The president added that “we’re entitled to it, because they cheated like hell,” in reference to the 2020 election.
Allegations from Trump of massive voting fraud have previously been refuted by a variety of judges, state election officials and an arm of his own administration’s Homeland Security Department.
Trump hints at endorsement in Texas Senate race
He says he’s “pretty much” decided whom to endorse in the competitive three-way GOP race.
But he’s no t ready to give it away, telling reporters “no, not yet,” when asked if he would say.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Port of Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, as from left, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Kent Britton, CEO of the Port of Corpus Christi, Gabe Guerra, Chairman of the Port of Corpus Christi Commission, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright listen. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Port of Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, as from left, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Kent Britton, CEO of the Port of Corpus Christi, Gabe Guerra, Chairman of the Port of Corpus Christi Commission, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright listen. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Trump is visiting Corpus Christi to promote U.S. energy production just four days before the primary.
Joining him is four-term Republican Sen. John Cornyn and the two Republicans challenging him in the Tuesday primary, state Attorney General Ken Paxton and two-term Rep. Wesley Hunt.
Rubio says US may invalidate passports for travel to Iran
The secretary of state declared Iran to be a “state sponsor of wrongful detention,” ramping up pressure on the country as tensions rise over the possibility of U.S. military strikes on the Islamic republic.
In a statement, Rubio said the move was due to Iran’s continued arrests and imprisonment of “innocent Americans” and citizens of other countries for use as political leverage.
“This abhorrent practice must end,” he said.
The move does not automatically carry any penalties, but Rubio said if Iran doesn’t stop, he could make it illegal for a U.S. passport to be used for travel to or from Iran. That restriction currently only applies to North Korea.
Top Democrat on Senate Intelligence Committee raises concerns over Anthropic decision
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., speaks during a news conference after a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., speaks during a news conference after a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Sen. Mark Warner said Trump’s move to cut all government ties with the AI company Anthropic, “combined with inflammatory rhetoric attacking that company, raises serious concerns about whether national security decisions are being driven by careful analysis or political considerations.”
Warner also noted that “Hegseth’s loud insistence on the sufficiency of an ‘all lawful purposes’ standard provides cold comfort against the backdrop of Pentagon leadership that has routinely sidelined career military attorneys and challenged longstanding norms and rules regarding lethal force.”
Energy secretary approves export expansion at Texas LNG terminal
Ahead of Trump’s visit, Energy Secretary Chris Wright authorized a 12% expansion in liquefied natural gas exports at Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi terminal.
The order, signed Thursday as Wright toured the site, makes the terminal the second largest LNG export project in the U.S.
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the first export cargo of U.S. LNG gas produced from the lower 48 states. The U.S. is now the world’s largest LNG exporter.
Wright said he was proud to be in Corpus Christi, “standing alongside the American workers responsible for unleashing American energy dominance.”
Anne Rolfes, director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an environmental group that opposes LNG exports, said the Trump administration was “doubling down on a harmful energy source at exactly the moment when we should be full speed ahead on safe, clean and reliable renewable energy.”
Trump orders all federal agencies to phase out use of Anthropic technology
Trump’s comments came just over an hour before the Pentagon’s deadline for Anthropic to allow unrestricted military use of its AI technology or face consequences — and nearly 24 hours after CEO Dario Amodei said his company “cannot in good conscience accede” to the Defense Department’s demands.
Anthropic didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment to Trump’s remarks.
At issue in the defense contract was a clash over AI’s role in national security and concerns about how increasingly capable machines could be used in high-stakes situations involving lethal force, sensitive information or government surveillance.
JUST IN: Trump orders all federal agencies to phase out use of Anthropic technology after AI company’s dispute with Pentagon
Democrats are ‘closely’ reviewing White House offer on DHS
Aides to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New York Democrats, confirmed that the lawmakers have received the White House’s latest offer on ending the ongoing DHS shutdown.
Earlier Friday, a White House official said the administration had sent a new proposal to Schumer and Jeffries on Thursday, calling the offer “serious.”
In a joint statement to reporters, aides to Schumer and Jeffries said their offices are reviewing the White House proposal “closely” and that Democrats are continuing to push for “real reforms” on the conduct of federal immigration agents.
Democrats on House panel say they’re treating Bill Clinton seriously, putting ‘survivors first’
California Rep. Ro Khanna, a leading advocate to release all Epstein documents, said Democratic members and their lawyers put “survivors first” by asking “difficult questions” and establishing “basic facts” from Bill Clinton.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-New Mexico, described the former president as an important witness.
“It is very well established that President Clinton had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and we are treating this investigation extraordinarily seriously,” she said.
She emphasized that “there are not public files available that accuse (Clinton) of a crime, whereas there are publicly available documents that do allege a crime of President Trump.”
But she described Clinton as being among the figures who can shed light on “why there was a culture around (Epstein) where the rich and powerful turned a blind eye.”
There’s a partisan split on what Bill Clinton testified about Trump
Comer told reporters that Bill Clinton said Trump “has never said anything to me to make me think he was involved.”
The chairman said that came in response to a question from Garcia, the ranking Democrat, about whether Trump should testify before the committee.
Garcia countered that Comer’s account was not “a complete accurate description of what actually was said.”
He said Clinton “did bring up some additional information about some discussions with President Trump” and argued that raises “some very important new questions about comments that President Trump has actually said in the past.”
That’s another reason to compel Trump to testify, Garcia added.
He declined to go into further details Clinton’s testimony, citing committee rules against disclosure — which he noted with a barb that “Republicans keep breaking the rules.”
Bill Clinton has not invoked the Fifth Amendment, House Democrat says
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, says the former president has answered questions willingly so far in his testimony and “has not taken a pass” by pleading the Fifth Amendment that witnesses use to decline answering in a way that could incriminate them.
Comer: Bill Clinton has taken about two hours of questions
Republicans in the House Oversight Committee majority asked Clinton questions for about an hour, followed by an hour from the Democratic minority, chairman James Comer told reporters outside.
Comer said Republicans would get another hour before a break. He said the day would be at about “the halfway point” by then, suggesting Clinton will spend at least six hours with lawmakers.
Trump misquotes Calvin Coolidge
Trump on Friday put himself among the many who have misquoted a famous sentiment from the 30th U.S. president.
“President Calvin Coolidge: ‘The Business of America is BUSINESS!’” he wrote in a Truth Social post as he headed to Texas aboard Air Force One.
However, this isn’t exactly what Coolidge said. His actual wordssaid during an address in Washington to the American Society of Newspaper Editors on Jan. 17, 1925, were: “After all, the chief business of the American people is business.”
Coolidge was talking about the “double purpose” of American newspapers — providing readers with information while also having their own business interests. He concluded that this dual role did not “seem to be cause for alarm.”
The ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee warns against war with Iran
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island said Trump has failed to explain the rationale or the risks involved in military action.
“President Trump’s saber-rattling for war with Iran is taking the country down a dangerous path without a clear strategy or endgame and putting U.S. national security at considerable risk,” Reed said in a statement.
As the House and Senate prepare for votes next week on war powers resolutions, he said Congress has received “no real briefings” on the administration’s plans.
“The administration has not presented Congress or the American people with any coherent legal or strategic justification for preemptive strikes,” Reed said. “The president is the Commander-In-Chief, but Congress alone holds the constitutional authority to authorize war.”
Congress prepares for war powers votes to block strikes on Iran
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Friday a bipartisan coalition is working to force a vote as soon as next week on a war powers resolution that would attempt to prevent any U.S. action against Iran without approval from Congress.
“The American people don’t want another failed forever foreign war, particularly in the Middle East, when we know the outcome is likely to be disastrous,” Jeffries said on MSNow.
“What we’ve got to do right now, of course, is to do everything we can to prevent that from happening,” he said. “It would be reckless. It would be dangerous. It would be harmful to America’s national security interests.”
White House sends another DHS offer to Democrats
As the Department of Homeland Security remains shut down, the White House and Democratic leaders are continuing to exchange proposals to end the impasse.
A White House official said Friday that the administration sent another counteroffer to Democrats on Thursday. The official, granted anonymity to discuss private negotiations, called the offer “serious.”
Federal funding for DHS lapsed Jan. 30, with Democrats calling for more restrictions on the behavior of federal immigration agents in the aftermath of the death of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota.
But most of DHS provides critical governments, which means that federal employees are working — but not getting paid.
Attorney general announces indictments against 30 more people who protested at a Minnesota church
Pam Bondi says federal prosecutors have indicted 30 more people tied to a protest at a Minnesota church over an immigration enforcement crackdown.
Bondi says 25 of those people are already under arrest. The protest on Jan. 18 also led to the arrests of independent journalist Don Lemon and local activist Nekima Levy Armstrong. Both have pleaded not guilty to civil rights charges.
Trump officials have strongly condemned the protest for interrupting a church service. Protesters took the action after learning a pastor there is also an immigration enforcement official.
JUST IN: Attorney general announces 30 more people indicted in anti-immigration enforcement protest at Minnesota church
Trump suggests the U.S. could have a ‘friendly takeover of Cuba’
In comments to reporters as he left the White House, Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio was negotiating at a high level with the Cuban government.
“The Cuban government is talking with us” the president said. “They have no money. They have no anything right now.” He added: “We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba.”
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
After his administration ousted Cuban ally and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Trump for weeks suggested Cuba was on the brink of collapse economically.
He didn’t say what he meant by a “friendly takeover” but suggested that after decades “of dealing with Cuba” something could happen that’d be “very positive” for Cuban exiles living in the U.S.
Trump says he’s ‘not happy’ with the way Iran is negotiating
President Donald Trump speaks as he departs the White House to walk to Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump speaks as he departs the White House to walk to Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“I’m not happy with the fact that they’re not willing to give u s what we have to have. I’m not thrilled with that. We’ll see what happens. We’re talking later,” Trump said to reporters as he left the White House.
Trump said it would be “wonderful” if Iran negotiated “in good faith and conscience,” but said, “They are not getting there.”
Trump was asked about the risks of the U.S. getting involved in a drawn-out conflict in the Middle East if it launches strikes on Iran.
“I guess you could say there’s always a risk,” Trump replied. “You know, when there’s war, there’s a risk of anything, both good and bad.”
JUST IN: Trump says he’s ‘not happy’ with the way Iran is negotiating but says ‘we’ll see what happens’ with additional talks
Trump comments on Clinton deposition
Trump said on Friday that he is not pleased with the deposition of former President Bill Clinton in the House Epstein investigation.
“I like Bill Clinton and I don’t like seeing him deposed,” the president told reporters as he departed the White House en route to Corpus Christi, Texas.
Trump’s new NASA chief speeds up pace of moon program flights
“It should be incredibly obvious” that three years between launches is unacceptable, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, urging the space agency to cut the gap between Artemis flights to one year or less if it hopes to return astronauts to the moon on a sustainable schedule.
Isaacman unveiled an Artemis program overhaul Friday that adds an extra mission before any lunar landing by astronauts. Instead of attempting to land astronauts on the moon an estimated three years after the upcoming lunar fly-around, NASA will launch astronauts into orbit around Earth in their Orion capsule and have them practice docking with an orbiting lunar lander.
NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) moon rocket with the Orion spacecraft slowly rolls back towards the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) moon rocket with the Orion spacecraft slowly rolls back towards the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
This new plan has the possibility of securing one and maybe two moon landings in 2028, during Trump’s second term.
The move aims to build momentum after repeated rocket repairs and warnings from a safety advisory panel. Isaacman noted that NASA’s Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs flew in rapid succession before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s landing on the moon in 1969.
“No one here at NASA forgot their history books,” Isaacman said.
Clinton uses his Epstein testimony for civics advice — and to tweak Republicans
Bill Clinton says in his prepared statement that “no person is above the law, even presidents.” He agreed to testify, he adds, because, “I love my country.”
Bill and Hillary Clinton initially pushed back against subpoenas they called a partisan stunt by Republicans. They yielded but demanded proceedings be opened. Republicans refused.
“The search for truth and justice,” Clinton planned to tell lawmakers, is more important than “the partisan urge to score points and create spectacle.”
He added a wish that political discourse be ratcheted down.
“Democracy requires every person to play their part, and I hope that by being her today, we can bring ourselves a little further away from the brink and back to being a country where we can disagree with one another civilly,” he says, adding, “I’ll do my part, and I hope you’ll do yours.”
Bill Clinton says lawmakers may hear ‘I don’t recall’ from him often
“That might be unsatisfying,” the former president says of his plans to answer some questions by saying he has no recollection. “But I’m not going to say something I’m not sure of. This was all a long time ago.”
Clinton adds that he is “bound by my oath not to speculate, or to guess” — a standard he says “is not merely for my benefit but because it doesn’t help you for me to play detective 24 years later.”
Elsewhere in his prepared opening remarks, Bill Clinton is more emphatic about his own actions.
“I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn’t see,” he says. “I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn’t do.”
Bill Clinton says he would have reported Epstein had he known of abuse
“As someone who grew up in a home with domestic abuse, not only would I not have flown on his plane if I had any inkling of what he was doing — I would have turned him in myself and led the call for justice for his crimes, not sweetheart deals,” Bill Clinton says in his prepared opening statement.
“We are only here because he hid it from everyone so well for so long.”
Bill Clinton chides Republicans for calling Hillary Clinton to testify
FILE – President Bill Clinton, right, with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, at the 92nd Street Y, May 4, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
FILE – President Bill Clinton, right, with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, at the 92nd Street Y, May 4, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
The former president says in his prepared opening remarks that his wife — the former secretary of state and first lady — should never have been ensnared by the committee.
“Before we start, I have to get personal,” Bill Clinton says in his statement. “You made Hillary come in. She had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Nothing. She has no memory of even meeting him. She neither traveled with him nor visited any of his properties.”
He continues: “Whether you subpoenaed 10 people or 10,000, including her was simply not right.”
And he tells lawmakers that, just as he’s bound in sworn testimony, “each and every one of you owes nothing less than truth and accuracy to the American people.”
Bill Clinton opening statement says he saw no signs of Epstein abuse
The former president is telling the House Oversight Committee that his “brief acquaintance with Jeffrey Epstein ended years before his crimes came to light.”
That’s according to a printed copy of his opening statement as it was prepared and released by Clinton’s office.
“I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,” Clinton says. “I saw nothing that ever gave me pause.”
Clinton’s remarks state that he is testifying “to offer what little I know so that it might prevent anything like this from ever happening again” and because “the girls and women whose lives Jeffrey Epstein destroyed deserve not only justice, but healing.”
Sen. John Cornyn is on board Air Force One
FILE – Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, makes a campaign stop in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
FILE – Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, makes a campaign stop in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Texas Republican fighting for re-election in a March 3 primary is flying with Trump back to his home state.
Cornyn was spotted at Andrews Air Force Base ahead of Trump’s departure from Washington for an event in Corpus Christi. The other Texas senator, Ted Cruz, is also traveling with the president, but he is not on the ballot this year.
Cornyn is locked in a viciously personal three-way primary with state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. Missing the coveted endorsement from Trump, all three have been trying to highlight their ties to him as campaigning intensifies ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
JUST IN: Bill Clinton starts deposition by telling lawmakers he ‘did nothing wrong’ and saw no signs of Epstein’s abuse
Democrats renew calls for Trump to testify on Epstein
“We’re going to ask President Clinton the hard questions today,” said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va. “What is truth about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein? But let’s be real. We’re talking to the wrong president today.”
Democrats hope to leverage the Clintons’ appearances before House Oversight. They’ve noted that files released so far suggest Trump was more closely involved with Epstein than Clinton. And they want to emphasize that it’s the former president who is submitting to questions while the sitting president denies any involvement.
“President Trump is the one who is blocking our investigation. President Trump is the one who wants us to go away, but it will not go away,” Subramanyam said.
Top Democrat on House Oversight says Bill Clinton should not invoke the Fifth Amendment
“I think it was telling that Secretary Clinton did not take the Fifth one time,” Garcia told reporters, referring to the constitutional protection defendants and witnesses sometimes cite when declining to answer questions in legal proceedings.
Garcia continued: “I think it’s important the president (Bill Clinton) do the same. I think he will answer questions today.”
Republicans, Democrats offer different accounts of Hillary Clinton testimony
Mace described Hillary Clinton “screaming” during her deposition on Thursday.
“I hope that President Clinton is less unhinged than his wife was yesterday,” Mace said Friday outside the building where the House Oversight panel is convening.
Democrats dismissed Mace’s description, which Rep. Robert Garcia said proves the need for Comer to release the “full, unedited” video. The Clintons had wanted to testify publicly but Comer insisted on the private sessions.
Garcia called the Republican questioning Thursday a “disgrace” focused on old “conspiracy theories.” He praised Hillary Clinton for participating.
He reminded reporters Friday that Democrats still want the proceedings to be open “so that you can hear the answer and the questions directly.”
Mace says Howard Lutnick should testify on Epstein relationship
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., listens during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform markup business meeting about finding former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in contempt of Congress, Wednesday Jan. 21, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listens as President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he flies aboard Air Force One from Joint Base Andrews, Md., to West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 6, 2026 (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., listens during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform markup business meeting about finding former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in contempt of Congress, Wednesday Jan. 21, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., listens during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform markup business meeting about finding former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in contempt of Congress, Wednesday Jan. 21, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listens as President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he flies aboard Air Force One from Joint Base Andrews, Md., to West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 6, 2026 (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listens as President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he flies aboard Air Force One from Joint Base Andrews, Md., to West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 6, 2026 (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said ahead of Bill Clinton’s testimony Friday that Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should answer questions before the House Oversight Committee.
The secretary has admitted meeting Epstein after previously denying knowing him.
After Hillary Clinton’s testimony on Thursday, Comer would not rule out asking Lutnick to appear for questioning.
Comer promises Bill Clinton updates, release of Hillary Clinton deposition video
Rep. James Comer, R-KY, speaks outside the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center after a deposition by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who was testifying before U.S. House lawmakers as part of a congressional investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in Chappaqua, N.Y. (AP P hoto/Yuki Iwamura)
Rep. James Comer, R-KY, speaks outside the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center after a deposition by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who was testifying before U.S. House lawmakers as part of a congressional investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in Chappaqua, N.Y. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Chairman James Comey says he’ll send Republican members of his House Oversight Committee out to update reporters as Bill Clinton is being deposed.
Comey also promised to release video and transcripts of Hillary Clinton’s testimony.
The Clintons had wanted to testify in public, but the Republicans in control insisted on closed-door depositions. Democrats on the committee called for Comey to release the full video of the former secretary of state’s Thursday session.
The Dictatorship
Monday’s Campaign Round-Up, 6.22.26: Why Trump backed both Republicans in a key S.C. race
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In South Carolina’s gubernatorial raceDonald Trump endorsed Lt. Gov. Pam Evette last month. Last week, however, ahead of this week’s primary runoff election in the race, the president published an online item telling voters that “you can’t go wrong” with either Evette or state Attorney General Alan Wilson.
If this sounds at all familiar, it’s because Trump has done this before. Around this time two years ago, for example, he endorsed both Republicans running in a congressional primary in Arizona. And two years before that, he endorsed two leading contenders in a Senate primary in Missouri.
Only the president can say for sure why he ended up endorsing Evette and Wilson in the South Carolina race, though it’s worth emphasizing for context that GOP primary voters have already ignored his direction into two gubernatorial primaries this month, and it stands to reason that he hoped to avoid a third.
* We’re one day away from a variety of notable racesincluding but not limited to South Carolina’s gubernatorial race. There are also some congressional primaries in a handful of statesincluding Maryland, New York and Utah.
* In took a while, but the ballots have been tallied under Maine’s ranked-choice systemand we now know that Democrat Hannah Pingree, the former state House speaker, will face off against Republican Bobby Charles, who worked at the State Department during the Bush-Cheney era.
* As for Maine’s closely watched congressional racestate Auditor Matt Dunlap won the Democratic nomination in the battleground 2nd District, defeating state Sen. Joe Baldacci, who enjoyed the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Dunlap will run in the fall against a familiar figure: former Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who had moved to Florida a few years ago, but who returned to run for Congress.
* In California’s congressional special electiontwo Democratic candidates — state Sen. Aisha Wahab and Melissa Hernandez, a Bay Area Rapid Transit director — have advanced to an Aug. 18 special general election. The winner will fill the vacancy left by disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April.
* In a new commercial shared first with MS NOWDemocrat James Talarico has launched his campaign’s first multimillion-dollar ad buy in Texas’ gubernatorial race. In the 30-second spot, Talarico focuses on affordability and the cost of living. The state lawmaker will face scandal-plagued state Attorney General Ken Paxton in the fall.
* And in New Jersey, Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr.who has been missing from Capitol Hill since early March, will reportedly return to work on June 30according to a statement from his spokesperson. Neither Kean nor his office have offered any public information about why he has been away.
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
The Dictatorship
Trump tries dual endorsement in South Carolina as his pick for governor flounders in polls
After President Donald Trump’s pick for governor in Iowa lost in the Republican primary earlier this month, the president argued that he “would have endorsed the other person” if he had “the proper information.”
Trump is taking no chances in the South Carolina gubernatorial primary. Over the weekend he rescinded his exclusive endorsement of Pamela Evette, the lieutenant governor, announcing instead that he would support both Evette and her runoff opponent, Alan Wilson, the state’s attorney general.
The move put Evette’s political future in jeopardy: Even before Trump’s dual endorsement, she trailed in limited public polling and was seen by political observers in South Carolina as a weak candidate with little to show besides the president’s coveted endorsement.
“Her chief distinction from Alan Wilson was that Trump endorsed her,” said Dr. Dubose Kapeluck, a professor of political science at the Citadel Military College of South Carolina.
Trump’s dual endorsement “was a kiss of death,” he told MS NOW.
Evette, who moved to South Carolina from Ohio to found a successful payroll and HR company in 2000, has been lieutenant governor since 2019, serving under Gov. Henry McMaster, who is term-limited.
In office, she has pursued meaningful but little-celebrated policies, like a key tort reform bill, according to Gil Gatch, a Republican member of the South Carolina state House and an Evette supporter.
But voters could be forgiven for knowing little about Evette besides the fact that Trump endorsed her, which he did just days before the June 9 primary. Visitors to her campaign website are greeted with a full-screen message labeling Evette as “Trump-endorsed.” The first line in her X bio states the same. Pro-Evette television ads are quick to tout the endorsement.
An accomplishment like tort reform, while noted on Evette’s website, “maybe could have been something that was highlighted more heavily,” Gatch told MS NOW.
The political makeup of South Carolina nearly guarantees the next governor will be whoever emerges on Tuesday between Evette and Wilson. They survived a crowded primary field on June 9, and nearly every challenger who fell short of the runoff publicly endorsed the attorney general.
“She’s just not a good candidate,” Josh Kimbrell, a state senator who failed to make the runoff and has since said he’d back Wilson, said of Evette.
“She kind of assumed this was a coronation, and that was never going to go over that well,” he added.
Even some pro-Trump voters were confused by the president’s initial endorsement of Evette, whom he called “a good friend, fighter, and WINNER” in a social media post in May.
“I have no clue why Trump would endorse Pamela Evette,” Leland Lemmons, a 30-year-old Trump supporter told MS NOW as he exited a polling site in the Greenville suburb of Easley on June 9.
“She’s served, you know, a decent time. I just haven’t seen much fruition of what she’s done in office,” he added.
In a post on Truth Social Friday announcing his dual endorsement, Trump wrote, “I can’t hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other, so, therefore, I am going to Endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson!”
In a subsequent statement on X, Evette said, “I was proud to come in first as [Trump’s] endorsed candidate for Governor on June 9th. Looking forward to doing it again on June 23rd.”
After The Washington Post foreshadowed the dual endorsement last Tuesday, allies of Evette were quick to denounce the possibility.
“I would guess that’s fake news,” Suzanne Pucci, a member of Evette’s finance committee, told MS NOW of the chance Trump would also endorse Wilson. “She’s probably not real worried about it.”
Another close ally and supporter told MS NOW at the time the report was “a total, fabricated lie.”
“[Trump] is invested in Pamela Evette because she invested in him. He’s a loyal guy. That kind of stuff is important to him,” added the supporter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“With or without Trump, I think she is going to win,” they said.
On Thursday, a senior campaign aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, brushed off the idea of a dual endorsement, telling MS NOW in a statement, “Pamela Evette has earned the complete and total endorsement of President Trump. She is the only Trump-endorsed candidate in this race and we look forward to delivering a big win for the president on Tuesday.”
Roughly 24 hours later, Trump retracted the exclusive endorsement.
Will McDuffie is a reporter for MS NOW.
As last week’s G7 summit in France got underway, a reporter asked Donald Trump whether his purported deal with Iran was final. “No, it’s not final,” the president replied. Later that day — during a visit to Versaillesof all places — he signed the framework anyway.
But moments after signing his name to the memorandum of understanding, Trump offered an unsubtle hint about what he was thinking at the time. Amid applause from those around him, the American president pointed down and then up while saying“Oil down, stocks up.”
In other words, Trump’s focus had nothing to do with natural security and everything to do with the economy. What’s more, the four-word phrase was part of a larger and underappreciated pattern. The Washington Post reported:
In the more than 100 days since President Donald Trump launched a war with Iran, he has offered a shifting list of reasons for why he started the conflict. But in explaining his push for peace, he named a priority much closer to home: protecting the stock market.
“I didn’t want to see economic catastrophe,” Trump told reporters gathered in the Alpine spa town of Évian-les-Bains, France, after the Group of Seven summit.
As the summit wrapped up, the Republican similarly said“I’ve studied presidents, some good, some bad, some great. Not too many are great and some really bad. … And the one president I did not want to be was the late, great Herbert Hoover. I didn’t want that and who knows what would have happened.”
He pushed the same point in an interview with Axios, which was released over the weekend.
“If I went further, the stock market would be much lower,” the president said. “Now think of this: I have one primary wish as president, in terms of people: I never want to be the late, great Herbert Hoover.”
The comments came days after Trump similarly argued“The alternative to this deal was a global recession. There are stupid people who want to see a global recession. They are just stupid people.”
Whether the president fully appreciates the implications of his own rhetoric, this string of comments doesn’t just shed light on his motivations for accepting a defeat, it also suggests he saw his failed policy in Iran as pushing the global economy toward a dangerous cliff.
In other words, based on Trump’s own comments, the war he started was poised to create an “economic catastrophe,” which he was desperate to avoid — and which led him to accept a framework that empowered Iran to get what it wanted in exchange for effectively no concessions at all.
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
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