Former President Bill Clinton is set to testify before a House committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein in a closed-door deposition on Friday, one day after his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, did the same.
Bill Clinton is among the prominent men who appear in the Epstein files, including in photos alongside the convicted sex offender, his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, celebrities and several women whose faces were redacted.
The documents released by the Justice Department also show that Maxwell was involved in kicking off the Clinton Global Initiative years before Epstein was indicted for sex crimes in Florida in 2006.
Bill Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing. He has said he cut ties with Epstein prior to Epstein’s indictment and eventual conviction on state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution and soliciting prostitution with a minor.
The Clintons were first subpoenaed in August by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Although they initially declined to comply, the Clintons ultimately agreed in early February to separately testify after the committee voted to advance contempt resolutions against them.
Both have expressed their disagreement with their depositions taking place behind closed doors.
“I have called for the full release of the Epstein files. I have provided a sworn statement of what I know. And just this week, I’ve agreed to appear in person before the committee. But it’s still not enough for Republicans on the House Oversight Committee,” the former president said in a statement on Feb. 6.
“Now, Chairman Comer says he wants cameras, but only behind closed doors,” he said. “Who benefits from this arrangement? It’s not Epstein’s victims, who deserve justice. Not the public, who deserve the truth. It serves only partisan interests. This is not fact-finding, it’s pure politics.”
Like his wife’s, Clinton’s deposition will take place in Chappaqua, New York, where the coupl lives, and the testimony will be filmed and transcribed. Comer said Wednesday that the committee would release those recordings, as it did with last week’s deposition of Ohio retail magnate Les Wexner.
The Kentucky Republican said he would be open to a public hearing with the Clintons later, if they want that.
President Donald Trump, who has struggled to fend off his past ties to Epstein and has raged against the controversy over the release of the files, has called for the DOJ to investigate Bill Clinton. However, earlier this month he appeared to express some uncertainty about the committee’s investigation into the former president over Epstein, telling NBC News, “It bothers me that somebody’s going after Bill Clinton.” Trump is not accused of wrongdoing. But Clinton’s deposition marks the first time a former president has been compelled to testify in a congressional investigation under subpoena, and Democrats on the committee have pointed to that precedent in demanding that Trump be similarly deposed. “If Oversight Republicans were serious about the Epstein investigation, they would be focusing on the fact the Department of Justice has been exposed for concealing Epstein documents that have to do with President Trump being accused of sexual abuse,” ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said in a statement Thursday. “It’s time to bring in President Trump for testimony under oath.” This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News. Recommended
