Hillary Clinton testified Thursday in a closed-door congressional deposition as part of the House Oversight Committee's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking network, then emerged to blast Republican lawmakers for what she called a politically motivated "fishing expedition" designed to distract from President Trump's connections to the disgraced financier.

The session, held at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center near the Clintons' home in Westchester County, New York, was briefly derailed when Rep. Lauren Boebert snapped a photograph of Clinton in violation of the confidentiality rules read at the top of the meeting. The image circulated on social media, prompting a pause in proceedings that lasted about an hour before the deposition resumed.

Clinton told reporters afterward that the questioning veered into territory she found absurd.

"It then got, at the end, quite unusual because I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizza-gate, one of the most vile bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the internet."

She also insisted, as she has before, that she had no meaningful connection to Epstein.

"I don't know how many times I had to say I did not know Jeffrey Epstein. I never went to his island. I never went to his homes."

The Clintons didn't come willingly

It is worth remembering how we arrived at this moment. As reported by the Daily Mail, the Clintons initially resisted efforts to compel their testimony. They agreed to appear only under the threat of being held in contempt of Congress. That detail alone tells you something about how cooperative the former first family actually wanted to be in an investigation into a convicted sex trafficker's network of influence.

Hillary Clinton's opening statement set the tone for confrontation, not cooperation:

"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 then pivoted to Trump, demanding the committee put the current president under oath instead:

"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."

Classic deflection. A witness called to testify about her own family's documented ties to Epstein spent her time at the microphone telling investigators to go look somewhere else.

The connections the Clintons can't wish away

Clinton may insist she barely knew Epstein, but the record is harder to dismiss than her press conference suggested. Consider what is already documented:

• Jeffrey Epstein made a $20,000 donation to Hillary Clinton in 1999.
• Flight logs show Bill Clinton traveled on Epstein's private jet, trips the former president claims were related solely to his charitable work.
• Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's infamous madam and the only co-conspirator jailed for sex trafficking, attended Chelsea Clinton's wedding in 2010.
• The Epstein files indicate that Epstein and Maxwell played a key role in setting up the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative.
• Bill Clinton's relationship with Epstein after his presidency has been described as extensive.

Epstein even kept an oil painting of Bill Clinton. Not exactly the artifact of a passing acquaintance.

Bill Clinton is set to appear before lawmakers Friday at the same venue, becoming the first former president compelled to testify in a congressional investigation. That distinction alone should give pause to anyone accepting the Clinton camp's framing that this is all just partisan theater.

Comer's case for transparency

House Oversight Chairman James Comer, the Kentucky Republican overseeing the deposition, made the committee's rationale clear earlier this week:

"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."

He added that the investigation could shape future legislation:

"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 denied Clinton's request to allow the press into the hearing. The proceedings were filmed, but any footage must be reviewed by Clinton's lawyers before release. That arrangement did not stop the Boebert photo incident from consuming part of the day's proceedings, a distraction that served neither side well.

Maxwell's silence speaks loudly

Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, was also deposed as part of the bipartisan investigation. She pleaded the Fifth Amendment to prevent self-incrimination. She remains the only Epstein co-conspirator who has been jailed, a fact that should haunt anyone who believes this investigation has run its course.

Millions of Epstein documents were released by the Department of Justice in January. The sheer volume of material suggests a network of relationships and influence that extended far beyond any single political figure. Rep. Nancy Mace, when asked about pursuing further lines of questioning, told reporters simply: "It will be on my list."

The real question Clinton doesn't want asked

Clinton's post-deposition performance was polished, indignant, and entirely on-brand. She cast herself as the victim of a political circus, framed Republicans as cover artists, and directed every available spotlight toward Trump. It was less the posture of someone eager to help investigators and more the posture of someone running a communications strategy.

What she did not do was explain why a $20,000 Epstein donation landed in her coffers. She did not explain why Maxwell was close enough to the family to attend her daughter's wedding. She did not explain why her husband flew on the jet of a man whose crimes are now a matter of congressional record.

She complained about being asked about Pizzagate. Fair enough. But the reason conspiracy theories metastasize is precisely because powerful people refuse to answer straightforward questions about straightforward facts. You don't kill speculation with indignation. You kill it with transparency.