Today, Hillary Clinton is giving a closed-door deposition in front of the House Oversight Committee. The subject? Jeffrey Epstein, of course. Mentions of the former secretary of state appear in Epstein’s email inbox—but no messages appear to have been exchanged between the two.
Unlike others called to testify in this ongoing saga, Clinton had no direct relationship with Epstein—though her husband, former President Bill Clinton, did. Clinton has said she “cannot recall ever speaking to Epstein” though she met his associate Ghislaine Maxwell a few times, including at Clinton Foundation events. There’s no record of her flying on any private planes or visiting his notorious island. While Bill Clinton was in Epstein’s orbit, in full fundraising mode for his post-presidency foundation, Hillary was busy as a U.S. senator and presidential candidate.
Of all the indignities women have suffered at the hands of the late convicted sex offender, Clinton’s deposition falls relatively low on the list. Women and girls who were abused, trafficked, and assaulted deserve justice—and if it takes interrogating those on the periphery of Epstein’s social orbit to get it, it will be worth it. But it’s worth noting that Congress is hearing from Clinton before any official testimony from figures much closer to Epstein’s crimes—like Bill Gates, who has discussed his relationship with Epstein in public but hasn’t gone before Congress, or Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who has been asked to share information with U.S. authorities but has not agreed (and as a U.K. citizen is difficult to compel), or President Donald Trump (who has of course denied knowing anything). Clinton is even doing her deposition a day before Bill Clinton does his.
The NYT has a great piece on the implications of Clinton’s testimony. “For almost the entirety of her married life, she has had to answer questions about her husband’s actions,” Patti Solis Doyle, Clinton’s former top aide, told the Times. “She has supported him throughout. There is no reason for her to have to suffer this last indignity. She has nothing to do with it. It is infuriating. She is a global icon, a trailblazer for women. It is heartbreaking that she has to do this.” The spectacle recalls the Clintons’ 1992 60 Minutes interview over Bill Clinton’s affair allegations, where her composed response was credited with saving the future president’s campaign.
Clinton isn’t the only woman who has been pressed on Epstein, despite having little to do with him. Melinda French Gates has fielded questions in multiple interviews about her former husband’s relationship with Epstein—her feelings about betrayals revealed in their emails, her impressions of Epstein the one time she met him, what she knew and when, and the impact of the Bill Gates-Epstein relationship on her marriage and divorce.
French Gates hasn’t had to go before Congress, perhaps because Republicans are less fixated on the Gateses than the Clintons. Social media comments on clips of those interviews often ask versions of the reasonable question, “Why are you asking her about this and not her husband?” But it’s arguably not totally unfair for journalists to bring up the topic. Highly accomplished, professional women know how to field tough interview questions—and deserve the opportunity to weigh in, should they like to. Indeed, Clinton’s defiant post on X telling Rep. James Comer that if he wanted to air this fight over the Epstein files in public, “We will be there” earned applause from many.
The problem arises when the women are the only ones answering questions—because it seems as if they’re the only ones who care. The women are the ones who can’t stop thinking about Epstein’s victims. “I’m able to take my own sadness, and look at those young girls, and say, ‘How did that happen to those girls?'” French Gates said earlier this month. And so the women are willing to answer the hard questions—while the men more directly involved with Epstein hide in shame and fear for their own reputations. It might be a long shot to hope that compassion will ever override self-preservation among the men who ignored so much, for so long.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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PARTING WORDS
"If I can laugh, I can get through anything."
— Liza Minnelli, whose new memoir is Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!
