Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton says she has no information about the criminal activities of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

“I do not recall ever encountering Mr Epstein. I never flew on his ‌plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that,” Clinton said in her opening statement to the House of ‌Representatives Oversight Committee on Thursday (US time).

The hearing was held behind closed doors but Clinton shared her statement on social media.

“Like every decent person,” she wrote, “I have been horrified by what we have learned about their crimes.”

Clinton’s statement came as she was due to deliver her deposition to the committee in Chappaqua, New York.

Clinton, the 2016 Democratic US presidential nominee, also accused the Republican-led panel of trying to shift focus away from President Donald Trump’s ties to Epstein. The disgraced financier died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

She said a committee trying to stop human trafficking would seek to understand what was needed to fix a system that allowed Epstein to get away with his crimes.

“Instead, you have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump’s actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers,” she said.

Clinton said Trump’s administration had “gutted” a US State Department office focused on international sex trafficking.

The testimony was paused after political commentator Benny Johnson shared an image on X of Hillary Clinton testifying under oath.

Republican representative Lauren Boebert later confirmed to the BBC that she had sent the unauthorised image.

Clinton and ‌her husband, former Democratic president Bill , initially refused to testify before the committee. They relented when lawmakers moved to hold them ​in contempt of Congress.

Bill Clinton is scheduled to testify on Friday.

Before the hearing, committee chairman James Comer, a Republican, denied the probe was a partisan effort targeting Trump’s 2016 presidential rival. He noted that several Democrats had pushed for the Clintons to testify.

Comer has said transcripts of ⁠their interviews will be made public.

Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, said Trump and his Commerce ‌Secretary Howard Lutnick should also testify. Lutnick has admitted to visiting Epstein’s private island years after he says he broke off ties.

Hillary Clinton’s ties ‌to ​Epstein are unclear. Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane several times in the early 2000s after he ​left office. He ‌has denied wrongdoing and expressed regret for his association.

According to Comer, Epstein visited the White ​House 17 times while Clinton was in office.

Trump also socialised extensively with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s, before the latter’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Comer said ​evidence ​gathered by the panel did not implicate ​Trump.

Trump’s Justice Department has released more than three ‌million pages of Epstein-related documents over the past several months to comply with a law passed by Congress.

The department sought to draw attention to photos of Bill Clinton, but the documents also have revealed Epstein’s ties to a long list of business and political leaders, including Lutnick and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Overseas, they have prompted criminal investigations of Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, ​the former duke of ⁠York, and other prominent figures.

Global figure quits 

The president and CEO of the World Economic Forum is stepping down, a few weeks after the forum ‌launched an independent investigation into his relationship with Epstein.

Borge Brende’s announcement followed disclosures in the US Justice Department files that showed he had three business dinners with Epstein and had also communicated ‌with him via ⁠email and text message.

“After careful consideration, I have ​decided to step down as president and CEO of the World Economic Forum. My time here, spanning 8½ years, has been profoundly rewarding,” he said.

“I am grateful for the incredible collaboration with my colleagues, partners, and ⁠constituents, and I believe now ‌is ​the right moment for the forum to continue its important work without distractions,” said Brende, ‌a former Norwegian foreign minister.

Brende made no mention of Epstein.

In ​a separate statement, Andre Hoffmann and Larry Fink, co-chairs of the Geneva-based forum that organises the annual Davos summit, said the ​independent ​review ​into Brende’s ties with Epstein had ‌concluded.

There were no additional concerns beyond what had been previously disclosed, it said.

—with AAP