Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to sit for transcribed depositions with the US House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, following months of refusing to comply with subpoenas issued by the committee’s Republican chair, James Comer.
The move came shortly before the House was expected to consider contempt proceedings that could have referred the matter to the Justice Department.
Comer had rejected earlier proposals from the Clintons’ lawyers that would have imposed limits on testimony time or narrowed the scope of questioning. The agreement announced late on 2 February is framed by Republican aides as full compliance with the subpoenas, with depositions to take place on mutually agreed dates, according to the New York Times.
Why the Clintons are in the frame
Committee Republicans argue that the Clintons should be questioned because of Epstein’s links to prominent political figures and because Bill Clinton had documented contact with Epstein in the early 2000s. Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and has previously said he cut off contact years before Epstein’s later criminal cases.
Hillary Clinton has said she never met or spoke to Epstein, and Democrats have questioned why she was subpoenaed at all.
The wider backdrop: new document releases and renewed political pressure
The depositions come amid intensified scrutiny after the US Justice Department released a large new batch of Epstein related material under transparency legislation, while warning that parts of the archive may include unverified claims or material without full context.
In recent days, the latest releases have driven fresh reporting on Epstein’s contacts with high profile figures, including renewed attention on Prince Andrew and on efforts by Ghislaine Maxwell to shape public narratives around accusers, according to summaries of newly surfaced emails.
A late shift after months of resistance
The immediate next step is scheduling and conducting the Clintons’ depositions under oath, with the committee expected to decide whether it still pursues any contempt route once testimony is secured.
The Clintons have reversed course and agreed to appear, in a congressional investigation that remains politically charged and still short on publicly confirmed findings about what new, admissible information the committee expects to obtain from them.
Victims push back on data release
Victims and their lawyers have also pushed back hard against the way the latest tranche of documents was published, saying it exposed private identifying information and should be taken down or reissued with proper protections. In court filings and complaints to federal judges, lawyers for Epstein’s victims asked the Justice Department to remove material that included names and other sensitive details, warning that sloppy redactions put people at risk and retraumatised survivors.
The Justice Department acknowledged the problem, withdrew thousands of documents and media files, and said it was revising its review and takedown protocols after “technical or human error” led to disclosures that included victim names and other personal information.
Sources: AP News, PBS, Reuters