Former US President Bill Clinton told lawmakers that Donald Trump once said he had “some great times” with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before their relationship soured. Clinton recalled the remark during a golf event in 2002 or 2003. He said Trump’s comment did not make him believe Trump was involved in any improper conduct.

Former US President Bill Clinton told lawmakers that President Donald Trump once remarked he had some great times with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before their relationship deteriorated, according to a videotaped deposition released on Monday.

In sworn testimony to the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, Clinton said Trump made the comment during a golf tournament in 2002 or 2003, after Clinton had left the White House and more than a decade before Trump was elected president.

"Somehow he knew I had flown in Jeffrey Epstein’s aircraft," Clinton told the committee, according to a report. He said, "You know, we had some great times together over the years, but we fell out all because of a real estate deal." Trump has previously said his relationship with Epstein ended after the financier hired young women who worked at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Clinton told lawmakers that Trump’s remarks did not lead him to believe Trump was involved in any improper conduct linked to Epstein. The White House did not share a statement on Clinton's remarks following the release of the video.

Both Clinton and Trump had social and professional interactions with Epstein before the well-connected financier pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. Each has consistently said they were unaware of any sex-trafficking activity at the time and neither has been accused by authorities of criminal wrongdoing related to Epstein.

Epstein, who cultivated ties with prominent political, business and financial figures and hosted them at properties in New York, Florida and the Caribbean, was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges. He died in a New York jail later that year, with his death officially ruled a suicide.

During Trump’s presidency, the US Department of Justice released millions of pages of records from its investigations into Epstein. The materials included photographs of Clinton with women whose identities were redacted.

Clinton has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has said he regrets his association with Epstein, maintaining that he severed ties long before Epstein’s most serious crimes became public.