A newly released video shows former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton abruptly [1] leaving a House Oversight Committee deposition last week after confronting Republican lawmakers over a photo taken inside the room and later posted online.
The footage captures Clinton reacting after learning that a photo of her seated at the deposition table had been shared on X by right-wing influencer Benny Johnson. Johnson wrote in his post that Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., took the image.
“I’m done with this. If you guys are doing that, I am done,” Clinton said loudly when the leak was brought to her attention.
“You can hold me in contempt from now until the cows come home. This is just typical behavior.”
The exchange unfolded during Clinton’s closed-door testimony before the House Oversight Committee as part of its probe into the government’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein’s case.
Someone off camera can be heard saying the deposition would go off the record. Boebert is then heard in the background acknowledging that she did take a photo before the deposition began.
“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Clinton said, thumping her fist on the table.
“It doesn’t matter. We all are abiding by the same rules.”
Boebert can be heard saying she would take down the photo.
“Yeah, well,” Clinton responded as her attorney requested a break.
“I’m done,” she said again, pushing back from the table and leaving the room.
The screen then cuts to black for several seconds before the deposition appears to resume moments later.
The incident occurred during nearly five hours of testimony from Clinton, who was questioned by both Republican and Democratic members of the committee.
She arrived during the 11 a.m. hour on Thursday and remained behind closed doors until emerging shortly after 5:30 p.m. to speak briefly with reporters.
Clinton told lawmakers she had no recollection of ever meeting Epstein. She also stated that she knew his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, only as an acquaintance.
The deposition came one day before former President Bill Clinton was similarly deposed behind closed doors as part of the same probe.
When questioning resumed after the break, Clinton’s lawyer accused the Oversight Committee majority of “violating its own rules” by allowing the image to be shared publicly.
“I’d like to just say, for the record, we find it unacceptable, we find it unprofessional, and we find it unfair,” the attorney said, noting that the Clintons had pushed for a public hearing instead of a closed deposition.
“We are here in good faith, we are counting on good faith from all the members.”
Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., responded during the exchange.
“I’ve advised my members that no photos or videos during the deposition can be released. I understand the posted photo was taken before the deposition started. That will not happen again. And we will look forward to continue with the deposition,” Comer said.
He added that the committee was “disappointed that the secretary’s opening statement was leaked to the press, before she even gave her opening statement.”
“It was not leaked to the press, it was provided, as with other witnesses,” Clinton’s lawyer replied.
“What we don’t want is a secretary to be treated any differently than other witnesses.”
At another point in the proceedings, someone on the Democratic side asked Clinton about the photo leak and whether she had concerns about how she would be treated during the deposition.
“I will confess that I had some concerns about whether the majority on the committee would treat me fairly and would, you know, fairly convey what I say and what I did and how I looked and how I responded,” Clinton said, referencing the decision to conduct the testimony behind closed doors rather than in a public setting.
“So it was disappointing, and I regret that it happened, and it violated your rules. But that’s not the real concern I have. The real concern is, get busy, focus on the people that have something to tell you that can tell you about intelligence, money, and crimes, and get them before you. And whenever possible, do it in public.”
Clinton was also asked whether President Donald Trump should be deposed as part of the committee’s investigation.
“Absolutely,” she answered.
In both her opening statement and her remarks to reporters following the deposition, Clinton reiterated that she had never met Epstein and that she knew Maxwell only as an “acquaintance.”
Check of the full deposition of Hillary Clinton below: