Hillary Clinton drags Elon Musk into Epstein storm over secret messages about his wife: Hearing in chaos ‣ Diverse Daily

Hillary Clinton accused Republicans of running cover for Donald Trump during her Jeffrey Epstein deposition Thursday, dragging Elon Musk into the fray in a fiery opening statement.

The closed-door session got underway at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, near the Clintons’ home in Westchester County, New York.

Clinton zeroed in on a 2012 email in which Trump super-donor Musk asked Epstein about the ‘wildest party’ on his now-infamous private island, Little St. James.

‘A committee run by elected officials with a commitment to transparency would ensure the full release of all the files,’ Hillary wrote.

‘It would subpoena anyone who asked on which night there would be the “wildest party” on Epstein’s island.’

Epstein sent Musk an email in November, 2012, asking: ‘How many people will you be for the heli to island’.

‘Probably just Talulah and me. What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?’ Musk replied, referring to his then-wife, English actress Talulah Riley.

At 6am on December 25, 2012, Musk sent an email telling Epstein he’d been ‘working to the edge of sanity this year and so, once my kids head home after Christmas, I really want to hit the party scene in St Barts or elsewhere and let loose.’

Elon Musk and his English actress then-wife Talulah Riley at the 2012 Environmental Media Awards in Los Angeles

Elon Musk and Talulah Riley arrive at a state dinner hosted by Barack Obama in honor of French President Francois Hollande at the White House on February 11, 2014 in Washington

Hillary Clinton’s Epstein testimony was halted after a photo was leaked to a MAGA influencer

Epstein sent a suggestive reply about the guest list, writing: ‘The ratio on my island might make Talilah (sic) uncomfortable.’

Musk wrote back: ‘Ratio is not a problem for Talulah.’

The Tesla boss told Vanity Fair in 2019 that Epstein was ‘obviously a creep’ who ‘tried repeatedly to get me to visit his island. I declined.’

But the January release of 3 million Epstein files by the Justice Department revealed a series of cordial exchanges between the two men, including references to a tour Musk reportedly planned to give Epstein of SpaceX in 2013.

Epstein was disgraced by this stage, having been convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida in 2008.

Clinton’s statement torching Trump and Musk was still echoing when the session was thrown into chaos.

Republican Representative Lauren Boebert had taken a photograph of Clinton during the private session, and when it began circulating on social media, lawyers demanded proceedings halt.

The closed-door session is being filmed, though any footage will be reviewed by Hillary Clinton’s lawyers before release. The deposition got back underway within an hour.

Prior to the turmoil, Clinton blasted Republicans for targeting her while failing to investigate Donald Trump in a fiery opening statement where she provided no defense for her husband.

The former secretary of state said she has ‘no information on Epstein’s criminal activities and never recalls meetings,’ then accused lawmakers of covering up for Trump’s relationship with Epstein, where he faces ‘heinous’ accusations from survivors.

Hillary Clinton is testifying in front of House lawmakers on the Oversight Committee about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

Epstein, Bill Clinton and an unidentified man in a photo from the Epstein files

President Clinton and wife Hillary share a tender moment during an East Room ceremony at the White House in Washington, July 17, 1996

Clinton relaxes in a hot tub with a woman whose face has been redacted in an image from the Epstein files

‘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,’ she said.

‘If this committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein’s trafficking crimes, it would not rely on press gaggles to get answers from our current president on his involvement; it would ask him directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files,’ she added today.

Trump’s name appears more than 38,000 times in the millions of Epstein documents released by the Department of Justice in January.

‘If the majority were serious, it would not waste time on fishing expeditions. There is too much that needs to be done. What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up?’

Despite her denials of any Epstein relationship, Clinton received a $20,000 donation from the disgraced pedophile in 1999 when she was fundraising for the DNC.

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s infamous madam, attended Chelsea Clinton’s wedding in 2010, years after Epstein had been convicted of sexual abuse.

Clinton previously admitted to meeting Epstein on several occasions.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking – the only Epstein co-conspirator who has been jailed.

Clinton and an unidentified woman on a private jet in the latest release of the Epstein files. The former president said he only ever traveled with the pedophile for charity work

A motorcade arrives ahead of Hillary’s deposition in Chappaqua, New York, today, as part of the House Oversight Committee investigation into Jeffrey Epstein

Bill Clinton is expected to face a grilling Friday as the first former president compelled to testify in a congressional investigation.

His relationship with Epstein was extensive following the end of his presidency.

Flight logs for Epstein’s private jet indicate that the former president traveled on it for trips to the Virgin Islands, Portugal, Siberia, Japan, and China.

The ex-president claims these trips were only ever related to his charitable work.

Photographs have also emerged from the Epstein files showing Clinton in a hot tub with a woman whose face was redacted. Another photo shows him swimming with Maxwell and an unidentified woman.

Epstein famously kept an oil painting of Clinton in a blue dress and red heels at his Manhattan mansion.

The Clintons initially resisted House Republicans’ subpoena to testify about Epstein but agreed to the deposition after being threatened with contempt charges.

The Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, where Hillary’s deposition is taking place today

The committee said it will release the deposition videos and transcripts after the lawyers for the Clintons have reviewed the content.

Lawmakers speaking ahead of the hearing were asked whether they planned to ask Hillary about an email in the Epstein files, which shows Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick emailed the pedophile about Hillary’s 2016 presidential campaign.

‘It will be on my list,’ Republican Representative Nancy Mace told reporters.

In November 2015, Epstein’s assistant forwarded him an invitation from Lutnick to a ‘very intimate fundraising event’ at his financial firm for then-presidential candidate Hillary.

It is unclear whether Epstein attended the event. He made no donations to her campaign, according to filings from the Federal Elections Commission. Lutnick donated $2,700 to her campaign, the maximum allowed by law at that time.

Republicans, who hold the majority on the House Oversight Committee, drove the effort to bring the Clintons to testify as Donald Trump faced pressure to release the Epstein files.

Democrat lawmakers are also attending the deposition which forms part of a broader congressional effort to investigate the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein case.

Epstein and Maxwell also appear to have played a key role in setting up the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative, according to the Epstein files.

President Clinton and wife Hillary share a tender moment during an East Room ceremony at the White House in Washington, July 17, 1996

Maxwell herself was deposed as part of the bipartisan congressional investigation into the Justice Department’s prosecution and handling of the Epstein case, during which she pleaded the Fifth Amendment to prevent self-incrimination.

Hillary said in a BBC interview last week that she and Clinton are ‘more than happy to say what we know, which is very limited and totally unrelated to their behavior or their crimes.’

House Oversight Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, noted earlier this week that ‘the Clintons’ testimony is critical to understanding Epstein and Maxwell’s sex trafficking network and the ways they sought to curry favor and influence to shield themselves from scrutiny.’

‘Their testimony may also inform how Congress can strengthen laws to better combat human trafficking. Our goal for this investigation is straightforward: we seek to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors,’ Comer added.

The Daily Mail has contacted the Clintons for comment.

Hillary Clinton’s statement

Mr Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee… as a former Senator, I have respect for legislative oversight and I expect its exercise, as do the American people, to be principled and fearless in pursuit of truth and accountability.

As we all know, however, too often Congressional investigations are partisan political theater, which is an abdication of duty and an insult to the American people.

The Committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Let me be as clear as I can. I do not.

As I stated in my sworn declaration on January 13, I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that.

Like every decent person, I have been horrified by what we have learned about their crimes. It’s unfathomable that Mr Epstein initially got a slap on the wrist in 2008, which allowed him to continue his predatory practices for another decade.

Mr Chairman, your investigation is supposed to be assessing the federal government’s handling of the investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and his crimes. You subpoenaed eight law enforcement officials, all of whom ran the Department of Justice or directed the FBI when Epstein’s crimes were investigated and prosecuted. Of those eight, only one appeared before the Committee. Five of the six former attorneys general were allowed to submit brief statements stating they had no information to provide.

You have held zero public hearings, refused to allow the media to attend them, including today, despite espousing the need for transparency on dozens of occasions.

You have made little effort to call the people who show up most prominently in the Epstein files. And when you did, not a single Republican Member showed up for Les Wexner’s deposition.

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. My heart breaks for the survivors. And I am furious on their behalf.

I have spent my life advocating for women and girls. I have worked hard to stop the terrible abuses so many women and girls face here and around the world, including human trafficking, forced labor, and sexual slavery. For too long, these have been largely invisible crimes or not treated as crimes at all. But the survivors are real and they are entitled to better.

In Southeast Asia, I met girls as young as twelve years old who were forced into prostitution and raped repeatedly. Some were dying of AIDS. In Eastern Europe, I met mothers who told me how they lost daughters to trafficking and did not know where to turn. In settings around the world, I met survivors trying to rebuild their lives and help rescue others – with little support from people in power, who too often turned a blind eye and a cold shoulder.

If you are new to this issue, let me tell you: Jeffrey Epstein was a heinous individual, but he’s far from alone. This is not a one-off tabloid sensation or a political scandal. It’s a global scourge with an unimaginable human toll.

My work combatting sex trafficking goes back to my days as First Lady. I worked to pass the first federal legislation against trafficking and was proud that my husband signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which increased support for survivors and gave prosecutors better tools for going after traffickers.

As Secretary of State, I appointed a former federal prosecutor, Lou CdeBaca, to ramp up our global antitrafficking efforts. I oversaw nearly 170 anti-trafficking programs in 70 nations and directly pressed foreign leaders to crack down on trafficking networks in their countries. Every year we published a global report to shine a light on abuses. The findings of those reports triggered sanctions on countries failing to make progress, so they became a powerful diplomatic tool to drive concrete action.

I insisted that the United States be included in the report for the first time ever in 2011. Because we must hold ourselves not just to the same standard as the rest of the world but to an even higher one. Sex trafficking and modern slavery should have no place in America. None.

Infuriatingly, the Trump Administration gutted the Trafficking in Persons Office at the State Department, cutting more than 70 percent of the career civil and foreign service experts who worked so hard to prevent trafficking crimes. The annual trafficking report, required by law, was delayed for months. The message from the Trump Administration to the American people and the world could not be clearer: combatting human trafficking is no longer an American priority under the Trump White House.

That is a tragedy. It’s a scandal. It deserves vigorous investigation and oversight.

A committee endeavoring to stopping human trafficking would seek to understand what specific steps are needed to fix a system that allowed Epstein to get away with his crimes in 2008.

A committee run by elected officials with a commitment to transparency would ensure the full release of all the files.

It would ensure that the lawful redactions of those files protected the victims and survivors, not powerful men and political allies.

It would get to the bottom of reports that DOJ withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accuses President Trump of heinous crimes.

It would subpoena anyone who asked on which night there would be the ‘wildest party’ on Epstein’s island.

It would demand testimony from prosecutors in Florida and New York about why they gave Epstein a sweetheart deal and chose not to pursue others who may have been implicated.

It would demand that Secretary Rubio and Attorney General Bondi testify about why this administration is abandoning survivors and playing into the hands of traffickers.

It would seek out officers on the front lines of this fight and ask them what support they need.

It would put forth legislation to provide more resources and force this administration to act.

But that’s not happening.

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.

If this Committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein’s trafficking crimes, it would not rely on press gaggles to get answers from our current president on his involvement; it would ask him directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files.

If the majority was serious, it would not waste time on fishing expeditions. There is too much that needs to be done.

What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up?

My challenge to you, Mr Chairman, Members of the Committee, is the same challenge I put to myself throughout my long service to this nation. How to be worthy of the trust the American people have given you. They expect statesmanship, not gamesmanship. Leading, not grandstanding. They expect you to use your power to get to the truth and to do more to help survivors of Epstein’s crimes as well as the millions more who are victims of sex trafficking.

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