FILE - Former President Bill Clinton speaks in the Cash Room of the Treasury Department during an event for the anniversary of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund,, Nov. 21, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton told members of Congress on Friday that he “did nothing wrong” in his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and saw no signs of Epstein’s sexual abuse as he faced hours of grilling from lawmakers over his connections to the disgraced financier from more than two decades ago.

“I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,” the former Democratic president said in an opening statement he shared on social media. The closed-door deposition ended after more than six hours of questioning from lawmakers who said he answered every question posed to him.

The deposition in the Clintons’ hometown of Chappaqua, New York, marked the first time a former president has been compelled to testify to Congress. It came a day after Clinton’s wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sat with lawmakers for her own deposition.

Bill Clinton has also not been accused of any wrongdoing, and Republican members of the House Oversight Committee did not immediately level any accusations against the Clintons as they departed Chappaqua. They planned to review the depositions but said their attention was mostly shifting to other individuals.

Lawmakers are grappling with what accountability in the United States looks like at a time when men around the world have been toppled from their high-powered posts for maintaining their connections with Epstein after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.

“We have questions about anyone who spent time with Epstein post-conviction,” said Republican Rep. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee. “Once you knew Jeffrey Epstein was a sex offender, why did you continue a relationship?”

Bill Clinton, in his opening statement, said that he had long stopped associating with Epstein by the time of his 2008 guilty plea. He also said it would be difficult to recall the specifics of events from more than 20 years ago, but expressed certainty that he had not witnessed signs of Epstein’s abuse.

Republican Rep. John McGuire accused Bill Clinton of having “selective memory” during the questioning, but other GOP members departed acknowledging that he had handled the deposition with skill and candor. Comer called Bill Clinton “charming” during the questioning.

Epstein visited the White House several times during Clinton’s presidency, and the pair later made several international trips together for their humanitarian work.