Hillary Clinton’s team made sweeping demands about lighting, camera angles and backdrop colors before her sworn deposition connected to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, a source familiar with the matter told The New York Post.
Her team specifically requested what the source described as “beauty lighting” from the performing arts center, which managed the facility’s lighting systems.
A staffer for Clinton sat in her chair before the deposition began and directed workers to make repeated adjustments to the setup, the source said.
Among those adjustments was a push to shift the camera to the left multiple times to capture what her team considered the most flattering angle of Clinton’s face.
Her team also introduced white tablecloths onto the set with the purpose of bouncing overhead stage lighting back upward, reducing shadows on her face and softening harsh contrasts created by the stage lights above.
The original black curtains hanging as a backdrop drew objections from her team. Within approximately seven hours, a local specialized vendor produced a custom blue-paneled backdrop as a replacement.
The source said the blue backdrop was ordered because Clinton’s team did not want the setting to resemble what they described as a “hostage situation.”
Many of the visual adjustments made for Hillary Clinton’s deposition also benefited her husband, former President Bill Clinton, who gave his own sworn testimony the following day.
A spokesperson for Hillary Clinton pushed back forcefully on the characterization of events.
“First, I can assure you Hillary didn’t care what color the tablecloths were,” the spokesperson told The Post. “Second, yesterday the internet overwhelmingly agreed that the Republicans had their asses handed to them, so I guess as the old lawyer’s adage goes, if you can’t argue the facts, pound the table and make s–t up about tablecloths.”
“Finally, whatever 25-year-old House staffers leaked this to you, maybe they should spend more time focusing on their investigation into Epstein’s crimes instead of playing production assistant,”the spokesperson added.
Clinton recently made headlines after reports surfaced about her abruptly walking out of her deposition upon learning that a Republican congresswoman had taken an unauthorized photograph of her inside the hearing room.
“I’m done with this,” Clinton said before leaving. “If you guys are doing that, I am done. You can hold me in contempt from now until the cows come home. This is just typical behavior.”
Clinton and her husband, Bill, were deposed at a performing arts center near their Chappaqua, New York home.
The depositions marked the first time in American history that Congress formally deposed a former or sitting president.
Bill Clinton, 79, testified on Friday. When asked about former President Donald Trump’s connection to Epstein, Clinton said: “That’s for you to decide, but [Trump] did know him well, and I once had a brief discussion with him about it.”
Clinton added a clarification following a pause in questioning. “I hate this,” he said.
“But since there was no follow-up question, he’s never, the president, never, this is 20-something years ago, never said anything to me to make me think he was involved in anything improper.”
