President Donald Trump has expressed discomfort over the House Oversight Committee’s deposition of former President Bill Clinton as part of an investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, while also floating the possibility of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba.
Speaking to reporters before departing for Texas and Florida, Trump said of Clinton: “I like him and I don’t like seeing him deposed. But they certainly went after me more than that.” The remark came as Clinton gave a recorded, transcribed testimony in Chappaqua, New York, defending his past association with Epstein and denouncing the subpoena of his wife, Hillary Clinton, who he said had “nothing to do” with the late sex offender.
In a prepared statement, Clinton told lawmakers he had “no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing” and insisted he “saw nothing and did nothing wrong” during their friendship. He also criticised the panel for compelling Hillary to testify, noting she had no memory of meeting Epstein and never travelled with him.
Turning to foreign policy, Trump revealed that his administration is in talks with Cuba’s government, which he described as “reeling” from the US trade embargo and recent oil blockade. He teased a “friendly takeover” of the island, saying: “Maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba … after many, many years. They have no money, they have no oil, they have no food, and they want our help.”
The comments followed a deadly incident off Cuba’s north coast, where an American-owned speedboat was fired upon by Cuban security forces, killing four aboard and wounding six. At least one US citizen died. Senator Marco Rubio said the Department of Homeland Security and Coast Guard are investigating, adding that “the majority of facts publicly reported are those by the Cubans” and that the US will verify them independently.
