Former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, are set to provide testimony in a congressional investigation concerning the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as confirmed by a staffer on Monday. The House’s Republican-led oversight committee had recommended holding the Clintons in contempt for their refusal to testify about their interactions with Epstein, a recommendation supported by several Democrats on the panel. Although the Clintons had expressed willingness to cooperate with the panel, they declined to appear in person, citing concerns that the investigation was politically motivated to shield Republican President Donald Trump.
The House of Representatives had been planning to vote on holding the two prominent Democrats in contempt later this week, a decision that could potentially result in criminal charges. In a similar vein, Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, both former members of Trump’s initial administration, served brief prison terms in 2024 for failing to appear before a House committee probing Trump’s actions surrounding the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
When asked about the status of the contempt votes against the Clintons, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson informed Reuters that the matter was under current review. Johnson had previously expressed satisfaction upon learning that the former president and the former secretary of state had agreed to testify.
The recent disclosure by the U.S. Justice Department of numerous internal documents related to Epstein has shed light on the late financier and sex offender’s connections with various prominent figures in politics, finance, academia, and business, both before and after his 2008 guilty plea to prostitution charges.
It would be highly unusual in modern times for a former president to provide congressional testimony in such a contentious context. Since the Second World War, only Harry Truman and Gerald Ford have testified in Congress, with Truman discussing the United Nations Charter and Ford addressing the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution.
Bill Clinton, like Trump, has been reported to have flown on Epstein’s plane on multiple occasions. Although Clinton has expressed remorse over the association and claimed ignorance of Epstein’s criminal activities, his representatives stated that he severed ties with Epstein following the initial criminal charges in 2006. Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s confidante currently incarcerated, attended Clinton’s daughter Chelsea’s wedding in 2010.
Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and 2016 presidential candidate, asserted through a spokesperson that she has no recollection of ever conversing with Epstein. Republican James Comer of Kentucky, chair of the oversight committee, disclosed that the Clintons have not yet scheduled their depositions and that he plans to confer with panel members regarding next steps.
Comer rejected an offer from the Clintons’ attorneys for Bill Clinton to participate in a transcribed interview and for Hillary Clinton to submit a sworn declaration. Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized Comer’s approach as partisan and aimed at humiliating the Clintons, stating that the couple had made good faith efforts to cooperate.
Democrats have also criticized the Justice Department for not fully releasing all relevant material on Epstein and claimed that Republican leaders have not pursued this issue.