A former First Lady and Secretary of State gave closed-door testimony as part of an investigation seeking justice for hundreds of women victimized by a notorious child sex trafficker.

And the first big news we got out of that deposition was that it had been abruptly paused.

For context here, today's deposition comes after months of back and forth

between the Clintons and the Republican-controlled committee about whether they would testify and how.

Hillary Clinton had specifically asked for an open hearing where she could answer questions publicly

with live cameras rolling. But the committee's Republican chairman, James Comer, insisted that

she testified privately behind closed doors. And that was how Secretary Clinton's deposition had been

proceeding, right up until the moment when Republican congresswoman Lauren Bobert snapped this photo

from inside the room, leaked it to a right-wing influencer who quickly shared it online.

That photo appears to have violated House rules on disseminating information from closed-door depositions.

And since it was Republicans who insisted on a closed-door testimony in the first place, well, Clinton wanted answers.

A source tells MS now that after learning about the

photo, Clinton paused the hearing and asked for the press to be let in. Chairman Comer refused.

And his choice is notable, given that House Republicans have spent months telling us that their

number one goal in this Epstein investigation is transparency.

Here was Oversight Chairman James Culmer on the day the House passed,

the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

I've always believed that sunshine is the best disinfectant.

For years, the American people have demanded transparency about Jeffrey Epstein and Galang Maxwell's

horrific crimes.

We are committed to accountability, transparency, and justice for the American people and for the

survivors.

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