The hot water being used to make clear ice cubes makes as much sense as anything.
But it's also possible to make clear ice with cold water. In college I worked at a liquor store and we sold ice that we made on premise. The ice machine was fed with cold water and the ice was crystal clear, so there must be different methods, some which work with cold water.
Wonder if Mythbusters has done the "which freezes faster, hot or cold water" experiment? I don't recall ever seeing that on their show.