WASHINGTON, D.C — Bill and Hillary Clinton have agreed to appear on Capitol Hill for closed-door depositions tied to the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Oversight Republicans said up until this week, the Clintons had resisted testifying — despite congressional subpoenas. But once the House made plans to move forward with holding them in contempt of Congress, a deal was struck and they will now appear later this month before lawmakers.
“No one’s above the law,” said Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., a member of the House Oversight Committee.
The agreement comes just days before the Clintons were set to be held in contempt for refusing to appear — contempt proceedings that were supported by members of both parties.
“The mandate to go to the floor to hold them in contempt when they refused to participate, also passed by wide bipartisan margins,” said Langworthy. “If you’re subpoenaed, you have to answer to it. And I’m sure they’re going to come in and tell their side of the story.”
Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., says the former president and former secretary of state will sit for closed-door depositions at the end of the month. If they don’t show, he says contempt proceedings are still on the table.
“This will be their third date that we’ve given the Clintons. Three strikes and you’re out,” Comer told reporters this week.
The Clintons said they’ll accept the deposition terms — but also suggested they could testify in a public hearing instead, which Chairman Comer has not offered. Hillary Clinton took aim at Comer Thursday on social media, encouraging him to allow a public hearing.
“For six months, we engaged Republicans on the Oversight Committee in good faith. We told them what we know, under oath. They ignored all of it. They moved the goalposts and turned accountability into an exercise in distraction,” the former secretary of state said.
“So let’s stop the games. If you want this fight, @RepJamesComer, let’s have it — in public. You love to talk about transparency. There’s nothing more transparent than a public hearing, cameras on,” Clinton added.
Comer said the original subpoena and the contempt was on the deposition. However, he hinted that a hearing could still be possible after the closed-door deposition with the committee.
“Depositions have historically been much more substantive than hearings. Hearings unfortunately, have become more of an entertainment thing,” Comer said. “If they get through the depositions and they still want a public hearing, we’ll try to do something.”
This week, committee leaders were pressed on whether bringing in former presidents could set a precedent — especially if Democrats win the House in November and turn their attention to President Donald Trump.
“Obviously, Republicans have set a pretty substantial new precedent as it relates to former presidents. And so I think everything has to be on the table. We obviously want to talk to President Trump. There’s no question about that,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., ranking member of the Oversight Committee. “And so there is a new precedent that has been set. I think that’s something that we’re absolutely going to look into.”
Neither Bill Clinton nor Hillary Clinton have been accused of any wrongdoing, but the 79-year-old former president has admitted he’s known Epstein for years.
Hillary Clinton’s deposition will take place first on Feb. 26, followed by former President Bill Clinton on Feb. 27.
