Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unleashed a blistering attack on President Donald Trump on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, accusing his administration of orchestrating a “cover-up” over files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The broadside came as she and her husband prepare to face Congress later this month.
“Get the files out. They are slow-walking it,” Clinton told the BBC in an interview recorded in Berlin. “They are redacting the names of men who are in it. They are stonewalling legitimate requests from members of Congress.”
Clinton pointed to a law passed by Congress requiring the release of all files related to Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. “What we’re seeing, I think it’s fair to say, is a continuing cover-up by the Trump Administration,” she said.
The explosive remarks come as Hillary Clinton is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 26 for a closed-door deposition. Former President Bill Clinton will testify the following day. The couple had initially refused to appear, prompting the committee to vote on Jan. 21 to recommend holding them in contempt of Congress. They reversed course and agreed to the depositions on Feb. 2, just as the House was preparing to advance contempt charges.
Neither Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, who died by suicide in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The couple submitted sworn declarations in January describing their limited interactions with Epstein and Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.
Clinton reserved particular criticism for Attorney General Pam Bondi, who testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 11 in a combative, hours-long hearing. She called the testimony “quite a scene,” alleging that Bondi “refused to answer questions, diverted attention away from the matter at hand, and refused to look at the survivors.” Multiple Epstein survivors attended the hearing, and Democrats pressed Bondi to turn and apologize to them directly—which she declined to do.
The Justice Department released more than three million documents, photos and videos related to its investigation into Epstein on Jan. 30, following passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. However, several lawmakers have argued the release remains insufficient. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who co-authored the transparency law, has demanded that internal memos and notes about prosecution decisions be published as well.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One Monday evening, President Trump dismissed Clinton’s allegations. “I have nothing to hide, I have been exonerated, I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein,” Trump said, adding of the Clintons: “They’re getting pulled in and that’s their problem.”
Clinton maintained that she and her husband are being used as a political distraction. She said they want to pull them into this to divert attention from President Trump, adding that it is not complicated.
The former secretary of state told the BBC she never recalled meeting Epstein, though she acknowledged meeting Maxwell “on a few occasions” through the Clinton Global Initiative. Bill Clinton has said Epstein offered his private plane for charity work between 2002 and 2003, but that he cut off contact more than two decades ago.
When asked whether Prince Andrew should testify before Congress about his ties to Epstein, Clinton responded: “I think everybody should testify who is asked to testify. I just want it to be fair. I want everybody treated the same way.”
Andrew reached an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre in February 2022 containing no admission of liability. Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, died by suicide in April 2025 at age 41.
The Clintons have repeatedly called for their congressional testimony to be held in public rather than as closed-door depositions. “We will show up but we think it would be better to have it in public,” Clinton said. “We think sunlight is the best disinfectant.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has indicated that public testimony could be possible after the private depositions are completed. If Bill Clinton testifies as scheduled, he would become the first former U.S. president to appear before a congressional panel since Gerald Ford testified about his pardon of Richard Nixon in 1974.
Clinton warned that lawmakers won’t “like what I have to say” during her testimony. “I have very strong opinions about what it is they’re hiding and who they are protecting,” she said, continuing to point the finger at the Trump administration for alleged redactions of names in the released files.
