Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified before US House lawmakers in New York on Thursday as part of a congressional investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying she has no information on Epstein's criminal activities and never recalls meeting him.

Her testimony starts off two days of depositions that will also include former President Bill Clinton.

The closed-door depositions in the Clintons' hometown of Chappaqua, a typically quiet hamlet north of New York City, come after months of tense back-and-forth between the former high-powered Democratic couple and the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee.