Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s legal questioning Thursday was briefly paused after photos of her were leaked to the public by someone present at the deposition. Lauren Boebert sent the photos to YouTuber Benny Johnson.
When asked why she leaked the photo of Clinton, Boebert said she admired Clinton’s blue suit and wanted to capture it. “I really admire her blue suit, so I wanted to capture that for everyone,” she said.
A reporter later asked why she would release photos from the deposition. Boebert responded, “Why not?”
She later added, “So I guess in regards to taking photos, I do not recall,” declining to elaborate further. Johnson later posted the photo publicly on X and stated that it had been provided by Rep. Lauren Boebert.
🚨BREAKING: The first image of Hillary Clinton testifying under oath about Jeffery Epstein to the Republican Oversight Committee.
This is the first time Hillary has had to answer real questions about Epstein. Clinton does not look happy.
Photo provided by Rep. Lauren Boebert. pic.twitter.com/mPtUyA4u5i
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 26, 2026
The photo was taken while Hillary Clinton was being questioned about her relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. In a post on X, Benny Johnson said Clinton did not appear pleased with the questions related to Epstein.
Johnson later shared another photo in which Rep. Lauren Boebert’s nameplate was clearly visible alongside others present at the deposition.
Not long after the images were made public, Clinton’s adviser left the room to inform reporters that the question-and-answer session had been paused because the photos were leaked. The adviser’s name was Nick Merrill.
Merrill said that because taking photos violated committee rules, the meeting had to be put on hold. He acknowledged that some reporters present had likely seen the now-public photographs.
He added that the deposition was expected to be made public at a later time, but not while it was still underway. The pause, he said, was intended to determine who leaked the photos and why.
The House Oversight Committee’s deposition of Hillary Clinton was paused after Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert sent a photo of the closed-door proceeding to conservative influencer Benny Johnson. https://t.co/oRn212hymp
— PBS News (@NewsHour) February 26, 2026
Benny Johnson later said that after the photos were leaked, Hillary Clinton left the room and that her public relations team expressed frustration over the incident. According to Johnson, members of her team raised concerns to reporters and accused Lauren Boebert of “trying to get out of answering questions about Epstein because of a pic.”
Boebert did not appear apologetic after sharing the photo. She said Johnson was not at fault for posting it on X and added that the legal questioning was continuing.
Clinton told reporters before 6 p.m. that the questioning had to be stopped because someone on the committee violated agreed-upon rules by leaking her photos online.
She added that since the rules had already been violated, it would not be surprising if other rules were disregarded as well. Clinton said the session was paused to ensure no further rules were broken. When questioning resumed, she said she had to answer the same question repeatedly.
