Hillary Clinton accuses Trump administration of Epstein files ‘cover-up’ in BBC interview
Hillary Clinton has accused President Donald Trump’s administration of a “cover-up” over its handling of files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Get the files out. They are slow-walking it,” the former US secretary of state told the BBC in Berlin, where she attended the annual World Forum.
The White House insisted that by releasing the files they had done “more for the victims than Democrats ever have”.
When asked whether Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should go before a congressional committee, Hillary Clinton said: “I think everyone should testify who is asked to testify.”
Appearing in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing. Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing.
Millions of new files relating to Epstein were made public by the US justice department earlier this month after Congress passed a law requiring the agency to release material related to investigations of Epstein.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) has now said it has released all of the files required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, but lawmakers have argued the release is insufficient. Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who co-wrote the law, called for the DoJ to also release internal memos outlining past decisions on whether to charge Epstein and his associates.
Epstein died in a New York prison cell on 10 August 2019 as he awaited, without the chance of bail, his trial on sex trafficking charges. It came more than a decade after his conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, for which he was registered as a sex offender.
Andrew, the former prince, has faced growing pressure from US officials and the family of his prominent accuser Virginia Giuffre to testify before the Oversight Committee about his links to Epstein.
Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre in 2022 containing no admission of liability. Giuffre died by suicide in 2025.
The Clintons are due to appear before the committee. Bill Clinton will appear on 27 February, and Hillary Clinton will appear the day before.
A planned vote to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress was shelved after the pair agreed to testify. It will be the first time a former US president has testified to a congressional panel since Gerald Ford did so in 1983.
Bill Clinton – who is featured several times in the Epstein files – was acquainted with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019, but says he cut off contact two decades ago.
Neither Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein’s abuse, and both have denied knowledge of his sex offending at the time.
The Clintons have called for the hearing to be in public rather than a closed-door deposition.
“We will show up but we think it would be better to have it in public,” Hillary Clinton told the BBC.
Republican committee chair James Comer had accused the Clintons of “delay”, saying the pair “caved” as a contempt vote loomed.
“I just want it to be fair,” said Hillary Clinton. “I want everybody treated the same way.”
“We have nothing to hide. We have called for the full release of these files repeatedly. We think sunlight is the best disinfectant.”
The former presidential candidate argued that she and her husband were being used to divert attention away from Trump.
“Look at this shiny object. We’re going to have the Clintons, even Hillary Clinton, who never met the guy.”
Hillary Clinton said she had met Ghislaine Maxwell – Epstein’s convicted associate – “on a few occasions”.
President Trump – who is mentioned hundreds of times in the Epstein files – has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, with whom he says he severed contact decades ago, and has not been accused of any crimes by Epstein’s victims.
In relation to the allegations against Mr Trump, the DoJ has previously said: “Some docs contain untrue and sensationalist claims against Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear the claims are unfounded and false and if they have any shred of credibility they certainly would have been weaponised against Trump already.”
The White House said: “By releasing thousands of pages of documents, co-operating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, and President Trump recently calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, the Trump Administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have.”
By BBC News