In her prepared opening statement to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today, Hillary Clinton suggested the panel’s monthslong Jeffrey Epstein investigation is “partisan political theater” — not a quest for truth, transparency or accountability.

The former secretary of State’s statement slams the committee for not asking President Donald Trump under oath about his appearances in the Epstein files or demanding testimony from Florida and New York prosecutors about Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous “sweetheart deal” in 2008 that allowed him to dodge federal sex trafficking charges and plead guilty to lesser state charges.

“Instead, you have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump’s actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers,” Clinton said, according to her opening statement to the Oversight panel, which she posted on X.

“This institutional failure is designed to protect one political party and one public official, rather than to seek truth and justice for the victims and survivors, as well as the public who also want to get to the bottom of this matter,” Clinton continued. “My heart breaks for the survivors. And I am furious on their behalf.”

In a sworn declaration to the panel Jan. 13, Hillary Clinton denied any knowledge of the criminal activities of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his convicted co-conspirator, and said she did not recall ever meeting Epstein.

Hillary Clinton is testifying today behind closed doors in Chappaqua, but Oversight Republicans told reporters they plan to release a video of the proceedings as soon as it is approved. Her husband, former Bill Clinton, will testify tomorrow under the same circumstances.

The Clintons are not accused of any wrongdoing and have denied knowledge of any sex offenses by Epstein and Maxwell, who is now serving a 20-year prison sentence. Bill Clinton has acknowledged flying on Epstein’s plane on several occasions but has said he never visited Epstein’s private island.

Republican members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee emphasized the bipartisan demand for Hillary Clinton to share what she knows about Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, ahead of the former secretary of State’s closed-door deposition Thursday morning.

Committee Chair James Comer of Kentucky — flanked by Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Eric Burlison of Missouri, Michael Cloud of Texas, John McGuire of Virginia and Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, alongside South Carolina Reps. Nancy Mace and William Timmons — told reporters in Chappaqua, New York, that they are focused on better understanding Epstein’s accumulation of wealth and social cachet.

“This isn’t a partisan witch hunt,” said Comer. “This was a motion — a bipartisan motion, supported by the Democrats — to bring the Clintons in. So I don’t think it’s any type of being unfair in any way to the Clintons. They’ve never answered questions, unlike President Trump, who gets questioned every day by just about every one of you about his knowledge or involvement with Epstein.”

Neither Hillary Clinton nor her husband — former President Bill Clinton, who will be deposed by the committee Friday — have been accused of any wrongdoing. They also have denied knowledge of any sex offenses by Epstein and Maxwell.

Hillary Clinton, who has said she does not recall meeting Epstein, previously accused the Oversight panel of trying to shift focus away from President Donald Trump’s documented associations with Epstein. Bill Clinton has acknowledged flying on Epstein’s plane on several occasions but has said he never visited Epstein’s private island.

Comer clarified that the panel is not accusing Hillary Clinton of wrongdoing but noted that emails released by the Department of Justice as part of its Epstein files disclosure showed that Epstein and Maxwell discussed support for the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative.

Democratic members of the Oversight panel, also addressing reporters Thursday morning, emphasized their interest in questioning anyone who appears to have close associations with Epstein but voiced concerns that their Republican colleagues are using the Clintons’ depositions for political gain.

“Let’s get President Trump in front of our committee to answer the questions that are being asked across this country, from survivors, from those have been brutally attacked and raped — sometimes as children,” said Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the panel’s top Democrat.

He was joined by Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona and Reps. Suhas Subramanyam and James Walkinshaw, both of Virginia.

Thursay’s deposition marks one of the most high-profile moments to date in the committee’s Epstein probe, as lawmakers seek to demonstrate momentum in an investigation that has drawn intense public attention but has yet to produce criminal charges.

For House Republicans, the testimony also serves as a test of how far the committee is willing — or able — to push an inquiry that has so far generated no prosecutions.

House Oversight Chair James Comer is not ruling out slapping Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick with a subpoena to testify as part of the panel’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“That’s very possible,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters Thursday morning as members of the committee headed inside a performing arts center in Chappaqua, New York, for daylong grilling of Hillary Clinton.

The former secretary of State is testifying about interactions she may have had with Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is now serving 20-years in prison for her part in the late financier’s sex trafficking scheme.

“I think it’s a good possibility that his name will arise in some questioning today,” Comer added.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said she also intended to ask Hillary Clinton about Lutnick.

Lutnick had maintained that his relationship with Epstein ended in 2005, but newly-released materials from the Justice Department revealed they continued to have ties following Epstein’s conviction on soliciting a minor for prosecution in 2008. The files also show that Lutnick and his family had lunch on Epstein’s private island in 2012.

The Commerce secretary has not, however, been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s crimes. The Commerce Department did not immediately return a request for comment.

Comer also said Thursday morning his panel was “looking into”reporting from NPR that the Justice Department has sought to obscure information that could be damaging to Trump, including that he sexually assaulted a minor, as part of its release of the Epstein files in compliance with the law Congress passed in November.

“We don’t know the answer to that,” Comer said when asked about the missing DOJ records around the allegation against Trump. “We know what the administration says. We’re still looking to get a definitive answer on that.”

Trump has not been charged with any crimes in connection with Epstein and has maintained that the two had a falling out years before his 2019 arrest.

Reached for comment Thursday, the White House referred questions to the Justice Department about the implementation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law which compelled the administration to release materials in the Epstein case.

The White House also pointed to an earlier DOJ press release around the rollout of the Epstein materials, which stated that the production “may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos, as everything that was sent to the FBI by the public was included in the production that is responsive to the Act.

“Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election,” the statement continued. “To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.”

A DOJ spokesperson also pointed to earlier statements insisting the department was reviewing materials flagged by the public and that no files had been deleted.

“Should any document be found to have been improperly tagged in the review process and is responsive to the Act, the Department will of course publish it, consistent with the law,” read one of the statements.

The Justice Department has accused Democrats of playing politics with the investigation, after Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight panel, announced his team had been looking into missing materials related to an allegation against Trump.