Bill Clinton says he had no clue Jeffrey Epstein was allegedly exploiting, abusing and sex trafficking young girls … telling the House Oversight Committee he “had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing.”

The former President is testifying right now at a building in Upstate New York, near where the Clintons have a house.

Bill told the panel in his opening statement, “Now, let me say what you’re going to hear from me. First, I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing. No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that, at the end of the day, matter more than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos.”

Bill said he would have turned Epstein in himself if he “had any inkling of what he was doing” … and he said by the time Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring a minor for prostitution, he “had long stopped associating” with Epstein.

Clinton made sure to mention early on that a lot of his answers would be through the veil of the events in question happening over two decades before … “You’ll often hear me say that I don’t recall … That might be unsatisfying, but I’m not going to say something I’m not sure of. This was all a long time ago, and I’m bound by my oath not to speculate or to guess. This is not merely for my benefit, but because it doesn’t help you for me to play detective 24 years later.”

Hillary Clinton testified before the committee yesterday, saying she didn’t recall ever meeting Epstein. Bill ripped the committee for making his wife testify.

A photo of Hillary inside the closed-door deposition leaked during her testimony … so it will be interesting to see if the same thing happens with Bill.