Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State, have agreed to testify in the congressional investigation into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It comes days before a vote on whether to hold the couple in criminal contempt for refusing to appear before the House Oversight Committee after a months-long standoff.
Bill Clinton was acquainted with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019, but has denied knowledge of his sex offending and says he cut off contact two decades ago. Former President Clinton will appear for a deposition on 27 February, and former Secretary Clinton will appear on 26 February.
This will be the first time a former US president has testified to a congressional panel since Gerald Ford did so in 1983. The House Oversight Committee has asked for the depositions to be filmed and transcribed, with no time limit. On Tuesday, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer stated that they have agreed, emphasizing bipartisan agreement that no one is above the law.
The Clintons had long resisted a demand to appear before the committee, arguing they had provided sworn statements representing the limited information they had on Epstein. Their initial assessments of the legal summonses were dismissive, referring to them as a political ploy to embarrass rivals.
Following negotiations, they confirmed they would testify, with both Clintons looking forward to contributing insight into the investigations surrounding Epstein, while maintaining their stance against partisanship in the proceedings. Neither Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein's abuse and firmly state that they had no knowledge of his criminal activities.
Hillary Clinton, former US senator and Democratic presidential nominee in 2016, has publicly said she never met or spoke with Epstein.
