Hillary Clinton accuses Trump administration of “cover-up” over Epstein files

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accused President Donald Trump’s administration of a “cover-up” over its handling of files related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“Get the files out. They are slow-walking it,” Clinton told the BBC in Berlin, where she was attending the annual World Forum.

The White House rejected the accusation, saying that by releasing the files it had done “more for the victims than Democrats ever have”.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) released millions of pages of documents related to investigations into Epstein. At the time, the deputy attorney general said three million pages were withheld due to the presence of personal medical records, graphic depictions of child abuse, or other material that could jeopardise ongoing investigations.

The DoJ has since stated that it has released all materials required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, legislation passed by Congress mandating disclosure of investigative records. However, some lawmakers argue the release remains incomplete. Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a co-author of the law, has called for the department to publish internal memoranda detailing past charging decisions involving Epstein and his associates.

Clinton said she and former President Bill Clinton had repeatedly called for the full release of the documents and that their upcoming testimony before a congressional committee should be public.

“We will show up but we think it would be better to have it in public,” she said. “I just want it to be fair. 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.”

A planned vote to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress for initially declining to appear was shelved after the pair agreed to testify. Hillary Clinton is scheduled to appear before the committee on February 26, with Bill Clinton due to testify the following day. It will mark the first time a former U.S. president has testified before a congressional panel since Gerald Ford did so in 1983.

Republican committee chair James Comer accused the Clintons of “delay”, saying the pair “caved” as a contempt vote loomed.

Clinton also suggested that she and her husband were being used to deflect attention from Trump.

“Look at this shiny object. We're going to have the Clintons, even Hillary Clinton, who never met the guy,” she said.

Clinton acknowledged that she had met Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s convicted associate, “on a few occasions”.

Bill Clinton, who is mentioned in the released files, has previously said he was acquainted with Epstein but cut off contact roughly two decades ago. Neither Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein’s abuse, and both have denied any knowledge of his criminal conduct at the time.

Epstein died in a New York prison cell on August 10, 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death came more than a decade after he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor and registered as a sex offender.

Among those facing renewed scrutiny is Prince Andrew, who has been under pressure from some U.S. officials and the family of his accuser Virginia Giuffre to testify before the House Oversight Committee about his links to Epstein. Andrew has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre in 2022 that included no admission of liability. Giuffre died by suicide in 2025.

Trump, who is also mentioned in the Epstein files, has denied any wrongdoing and said he severed contact with Epstein decades ago. He has not been accused of crimes by Epstein’s victims.

Responding to Clinton’s remarks, Trump told the BBC aboard Air Force One: “I've been exonerated. I had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. They went in hoping that they'd find it, and they found just the opposite.

“They're getting pulled in. And that's their problem... Clinton and many other Democrats have been pulled in.”

Regarding allegations involving Trump, the DoJ has previously stated: “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.”

By Sabina Mammadli