Clintons agree to testify in House Epstein probe after contempt threat

Clintons agree to testify after contempt threat in House Epstein investigation

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reached an agreement with House Republicans to testify in a House investigation into the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, a step taken after the committee advanced the possibility of contempt-of-Congress proceedings. The deal sets a schedule for closed-door depositions in late February, with Hillary Clinton appearing first and Bill Clinton following the next day.

Hillary Clinton is set to testify Feb. 26 before the House Oversight Committee, and Bill Clinton is scheduled to appear Feb. 27, the Associated Press reported. The agreement also marks what the AP described as the first time lawmakers have compelled a former president to testify.

Rep. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, said the committee was moving forward with its questioning of the Clintons as part of an investigation focused on Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Comer said in a statement that he and other investigators looked forward to “now questioning the Clintons as part of our investigation into the horrific crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors.”

Comer said the parties agreed to have the closed-door depositions transcribed and recorded on video. He also told the AP that while he would insist on closed-door testimony, there would be a later release of a transcript of the interviews, and he said he was open to holding a later public hearing if the Clintons wanted it.

The negotiations that produced the agreement followed months of resisting the subpoenas issued by the committee. House Republicans, backed by some Democrats, had advanced criminal contempt of Congress resolutions to the point that the committee was preparing for a possible vote, a move that they said would expose the Clintons to substantial fines and even prison time if convicted.

After the negotiations culminated in the agreement, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that any effort to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress were “on pause.” The AP reported that even as the Clintons bowed to the pressure, the negotiations between GOP lawmakers and the Clintons’ attorneys reflected distrust as both sides worked through details about the depositions.

The House inquiry has also been shaped by the committee’s efforts to focus on the Clintons’ place in Epstein’s broader circle, including in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The AP said that while both Clintons and other prominent figures had relationships with Epstein in that period, neither Trump nor Clinton has been credibly accused of wrongdoing in their interactions with the late financier, according to the report.

The Clintons have said they had no knowledge that Epstein was sexually abusing underage girls before prosecutors brought charges against him. They initially argued that the subpoenas were invalid and offered sworn declarations about their limited knowledge, but they later sought an off-ramp as Comer advanced the contempt charges.

The AP reported that Comer’s decision to move forward with contempt resolutions last month included support from some Democrats on the Oversight panel. It said nine Democrats out of 21 on the committee voted to advance charges against Bill Clinton, and three Democrats joined with Republicans to support charges against Hillary Clinton, while House Democratic leaders said they would not expend much political capital to rally votes against the contempt resolutions.

As Democrats and Republicans assessed the political implications, some Democrats said the Clintons’ concession could be used as a precedent going forward. Rep. Daniel Goldman, a New York Democrat, wrote on social media that the Democrats “look forward to using this same precedent when we take back the majority in November,” the AP reported.

The AP also noted that the outcome differs from an earlier fight over a congressional subpoena faced by Donald Trump’s attorneys in 2022, when a House committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot withdrew a subpoena after Trump’s lawyers argued that legal precedent shielded an ex-president from being ordered to appear. In remarks to reporters at a signing for an unrelated bill later Tuesday, Trump criticized the Clintons’ depositions, calling them “a shame,” according to the AP—after a correction to the quote the AP said had previously misstated whether he said “him” or “them.”