Trump reacts to Clinton Epstein depositions, calls it a 'shame'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump weighed in Tuesday, Feb 3, on the upcoming House depositions of Bill and Hillary Clinton tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, calling the situation “a shame” while reflecting on his own past legal battles.

Trump spoke to reporters after signing a bill in the Oval Office, just hours after the deposition dates for the former first couple were made public.

Trump says he ‘feels badly’ for the Clintons

Asked about the Clintons agreeing to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Trump struck a surprisingly sympathetic tone.

“I think it’s a shame to be honest. I always liked him,” Trump said, referring to former President Bill Clinton. Turning to Hillary Clinton, he added, “She’s a very capable woman who’s better at debating than some of the other people, I’ll tell you that. She was smarter, smart woman.”

Trump said he hated seeing them go through the process. “I hate to see it in many ways,” he continued. “I shouldn’t feel this way but I feel badly that they have to go through that.”

The Clintons agreed earlier Tuesday to sit for filmed and transcribed depositions as part of the House probe into Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019.

According to Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Kentucky, Hillary Clinton will testify on February 26, followed by Bill Clinton on February 27.

Trump compares Clinton scrutiny to investigations into himself

Trump quickly shifted the conversation to his own experiences with investigations, saying they shaped how he views what the Clintons are facing now.

“But then I look at me,” Trump said. “They went after me. They wanted me to go to jail for the rest of my life and it turned out I was innocent.”

He described years of scrutiny, including document reviews and tax investigations. “I had hundreds of thousands of documents, millions of pages,” Trump said. “They found absolutely nothing wrong.”

Trump recalled being forced to turn over his tax returns after a Supreme Court ruling. “I’m the only one that ever had to do that,” he said. “They hired the best accounting firms in the world. They found nothing.”

Clintons push back as deposition details remain tense

While Trump commented from the sidelines, tensions remain high between the Clintons and House Republicans. In a letter sent Tuesday, the Clintons’ lawyers said they initially agreed to testify under Comer’s terms but objected after new conditions were added, including video recording requirements.

“Though you have notably never asked the Clintons to appear in an open hearing, we now believe that will best suit our concerns about fairness,” the lawyers wrote, arguing that public testimony would allow Americans to judge the process for themselves.

Despite the disagreement, both sides now say the depositions will move forward later this month, avoiding a House vote to hold the former first couple in contempt of Congress.