Updated Feb. 27, 2026, 1:54 p.m. ET
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, facing questions about her connections to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, said his associate Ghislaine Maxwell attended her daughter Chelsea Clinton’s wedding nearly 16 years ago.
Clinton, a former U.S. senator and the wife of former President Bill Clinton, appeared for a Feb. 26 closed-door deposition in Chappaqua, New York, as part of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s inquiry into Epstein.
“She came as the plus-one, the guest of someone who was invited,” Clinton told reporters outside the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center after the session.
Both Hillary and Bill Clinton agreed to participate in depositions on Feb. 26 and 27, respectively, in the House panel’s Epstein investigation. Their testimony comes after the committee threatened the couple with contempt of Congress charges if they defied subpoenas.
Clinton did not identify the guest who invited Maxwell to the wedding. At the time of the wedding, Maxwell had already been named in a civil lawsuit filed by the late Virginia Giuffre. Giuffre, a key Epstein accuser, died by suicide in April 2025.
Maxwell, a British socialite and Epstein’s former girlfriend, was convicted in 2021 for sex trafficking minors. Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a minor, died by suicide in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of child sex trafficking.
Why is Hillary Clinton being deposed over Epstein?
Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, who is leading the House committee inquiry, said lawmakers want to learn more about how Epstein raised his money and how he accumulated a social network of rich and powerful people. He said lawmakers would ask why Epstein raised money for the Clinton family foundation and why Maxwell attended her Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. Comer said Epstein visited the White House 17 times while Bill Clinton was president and then Clinton traveled 27 times on his private plane after leaving office.
Hillary Clinton told the committee on Feb. 26 she didn’t know Epstein and never flew on his plane. She accused House lawmakers who subpoenaed her of going on a “fishing expedition,” and said questions should be directed at Justice Department officials who failed to prosecute Epstein.
“What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up?” she said.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has said the Department of Justice has ended its review of the so-called Epstein files after releasing about 3 million of 6 million pages in response to a law mandating the files be made public. President Donald Trump, despite bipartisan pressure to release the entirety of the files, has said America should move on.
When did Chelsea Clinton get married?
Chelsea Clinton married investment banker Marc Mezvinsky on July 31, 2010.
The wedding took place at the Astor Courts Estate in Rhinebeck, New York, and featured more than 400 guests.
The couple, who now share three children, met as teenagers and both attended Stanford University, but didn’t start dating until 2005.
Contributing: Zachary Schermele and Bart Jansen
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.