Bill Clinton plunges into historic Epstein deposition

• The top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, said Clinton's deposition sets a precedent for the committee to depose President Trump and demanded Friday for Trump to testify before the panel.

Zoom in: "I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong," Clinton said in his opening statement to lawmakers.

• "No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that at the end of the day matter more than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos. I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn't see. I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn't do."
• Clinton warned lawmakers that he will likely say he "does not recall" to many of the questions because his interactions with Epstein were more than 20 years ago.
• Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the panel on Thursday that she had little information to share about Epstein, and blasted the probe as a "cover-up" to protect Trump.

Driving the news: Republicans have wanted to question the former Democratic president about his past association with Epstein for years, with Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) calling it a "historical day."

• "We're going to continue to seek the truth, try to figure out how the government failed the victims, and try to hopefully hold more people accountable," Comer said before the start of Bill Clinton's deposition.
• Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) said Democrats will ask "hard questions" of Clinton on Friday, but added, "let's be real, we're talking to the wrong president today," referencing Trump.

The details: The closed-door interview, which will be videotaped, is taking place in Chappaqua, New York, where the Clintons have a house.

• Comer told reporters he expects the deposition to be even longer than Hillary Clinton's roughly seven-hour testimony.
• He said Hillary Clinton deferred several Epstein-related questions to her husband during her appearance.
• In his opening statement to the panel, Clinton said deposing Hillary Clinton "was not right" since she had "nothing to do" with Epstein.

The big picture: Bill Clinton's ties to Epstein have been well-documented. His name was featured frequently throughout the millions of Epstein files released by the Department of Justice.

• The files also included photographs of him with Epstein, with some showing Bill Clinton in a hot tub, swimming in a pool with Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell and at a table with a woman sitting on his leg.
• He traveled aboard Epstein's plane during Clinton Foundation trips in the early 2000s, before Epstein was charged with sex crimes. Epstein also visited the White House several times while Clinton was president.
• Trump in November directed the Justice Department to investigate Epstein's connections to Bill Clinton and others.

The Clintons have denied any wrongdoing tied to Epstein and have advocated for more transparency over the Epstein files.

• Comer acknowledged that "no one's accusing the Clintons of any wrongdoing, adding, "They're going to have due process."

The bottom line: The depositions follow months of negotiations over securing the Clintons' testimony.

• The Oversight Committee voted on a bipartisan basis to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress after they failed to appear for depositions January.
• As the full House prepared to vote on the contempt resolution, the Clintons agreed to testify. Contempt carries a maximum penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
• The Clintons had pushed to testify in a public hearing rather than behind closed doors, but Comer said the committee's practice is to conduct transcribed interviews before holding public sessions.