Washington — Bill and Hillary Clinton agreed to testify in the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, ahead of expected votes in the House later this week on holding the pair in contempt of Congress.
In an email to the committee on Monday, the Clintons’ legal team said the former president and former secretary of state “accept the terms of your letter and will appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates.”
“As has been the Committee’s practice, please confirm the House will not move forward with contempt proceedings, as the Chairman stated in his letter this morning,” said the email, which was obtained by CBS News.
Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, who chairs the oversight panel, said in a statement late Monday: “The Clintons’ counsel has said they agree to terms, but those terms lack clarity yet again and they have provided no dates for their depositions. The only reason they have said they agree to terms is because the House has moved forward with contempt. I will clarify the terms they are agreeing to and then discuss next steps with my committee members.”
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the Clintons last year, but the pair called the subpoenas legally invalid and refused to appear before the panel, which is probing the Justice Department’s investigations into Epstein. The committee then recommended holding the Clintons in contempt in January.
Both contempt resolutions advanced out of the House Oversight Committee with bipartisan support, though more Democrats supported the one related to Bill Clinton, who has acknowledged previous interactions with Epstein.
Neither Clinton has been accused of any wrongdoing in the Epstein case.
In an effort to avoid the contempt of Congress votes, lawyers for the Clintons said in Jan. 31 letter to the committee that the former president would agree to sit for a four-hour transcribed interview if it takes place in New York City and is “confined to matters related to the investigations and prosecutions” of Epstein. The former secretary of state would offer another sworn declaration to answer any questions the committee still has, the lawyers said. If the committee still requires her in-person testimony, her appearance should follow the same terms as her husband’s testimony, they said.
The Clintons’ legal team asked that the subpoenas and contempt resolutions be withdrawn if the conditions were agreed to.
Responding in a letter earlier Monday, Comer said the panel has “serious concerns” about the offer.
Comer argued the proposed scope of Bill Clinton’s testimony was too limited and “would result in your client answering few questions.” The other demands were “not reasonable” and “insufficient,” Comer said. Comer said the terms proposed for Hillary Clinton’s sworn declaration or appearance were also unacceptable.
The news of the Clintons’ offer was first delivered by Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw of Virginia during Monday night’s House Rules Committee meeting, which was expected to advance the contempt resolutions and tee them up for floor votes in the coming days.
“I understand that the Clintons have agreed to appear for depositions and have agreed to the terms that you laid out in your most recent letter,” Walkinshaw told Comer as they both appeared before the committee.
Comer said he was unaware of the news. The Clintons’ attorney had emailed the committee with the offer while Comer was testifying, according to a committee aide.
