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Days ahead of a House vote that could hold them in criminal contempt, former US president Bill and Hillary Clinton have agreed to cooperate with Congress by testifying in the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The couple had previously declined to appear before the House Oversight Committee, prompting the threat of contempt charges. Bill Clinton has acknowledged past acquaintance with Epstein but has denied awareness of the sex‑offender’s crimes and says he ended ties roughly 20 years ago.
The House Oversight Committee has asked for the depositions to be filmed and transcribed in February, with no time limit. The committee gave the Clintons a deadline of Tuesday at 12:00 EST (17:00 GMT) to agree with the proposed deposition terms. The Clintons had long resisted a demand to appear before the committee, saying they had already given sworn statements representing the limited information they had on Epstein.
They had dismissed the legal summons issued by the committee as nothing more than a ploy to attempt to embarrass political rivals, as President Trump has directed. The oversight committee, led by Republicans, then approved the measure to hold the Clintons in contempt late last month, with the support of several Democrats. On Saturday, lawyers for the Clintons made an offer for them to provide limited testimony that would have centred on a four-hour interview by Bill Clinton. But Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer expressed concerns that the former president would stonewall questions and run down the clock. On Monday evening, Bill Clinton's Deputy Chief of Staff Angel Ureña posted on X confirming the couple would appear before the panel.
They negotiated in good faith, Ureña wrote in a tweet directed at the House Oversight Committee. You did not.
They told you under oath what they know, but you don't care. But the former President and former Secretary of State will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone. Afterwards, it was announced that lawmakers consideration of the contempt resolutions against the Clintons would be postponed. House Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia
Foxx said the Oversight Committee needed more time to clarify with the Clintons what they are actually agreeing to. Neither Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein's abuse, and they have denied knowledge of his sex offending. Hillary Clinton, former US senator and secretary of state, and the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016, has said she never met or spoke to Epstein.