Newly released footage of a closed-door deposition about Jeffrey Epstein showed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling out Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) after the Republican lawmaker appeared to violate the House Oversight Committee’s rules.
“I’m done with this if you guys are doing that, I am done,” Clinton said once her attorney flagged that images of the interview had been leaked, a move that was at odds with the panel’s policies on disclosing content from the proceedings. “You can hold me in contempt from now until the cows come home. This is just typical behavior.”
Boebert had shared the image with conservative commentator Benny Johnson, who posted it to social media. When the Republican lawmaker revealed that she had taken a photo during the deposition, Clinton appeared frustrated.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” she said. “We all are abiding by the same rules.”
Clinton’s attorney also noted that the move was especially concerning after she had requested a public hearing, which GOP lawmakers denied.
The deposition temporarily went off the record after the exchange while Clinton took a break from testimony. Upon her return, House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said he had reminded members that no photos or videos from the deposition may be released.
“We have made clear that that’s not allowed,” Comer said.
Earlier in the deposition, a representative for the committee also noted that “it is a violation of House and Committee rules to disclose content of the deposition prior to its official release.”
Boebert, meanwhile, told CPR News that the image was shot before the deposition began and that no rule explicitly barred photos.
Clinton’s comments about the rules added to the concerns that she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, had raised about the way they were treated when House Republicans subpoenaed them for depositions about the convicted sex predator.
In her opening remarks, Clinton repeatedly questioned Republicans’ handling of the subject and called out their failure to press President Donald Trump about references to him in the Epstein files.
“What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up?” Clinton asked.
Clinton testified that she did “not recall” ever meeting Epstein, and had “no idea” about his and Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal activities. Clinton also said she had been told that Epstein had previously attended an event at the White House during the Clinton administration, which was hosted by the White House Historical Association. She had no recollection of meeting him at the event, she said.
Clinton added that she knew Maxwell “casually” and largely as someone who had once dated businessman Ted Waitt.