Former US President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, will testify in a congressional investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Clintons’ Deputy Chief of staff, Angel Urena, said in a post on social media that the former President and former Secretary of State will be there, adding, “They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone.”
Urena posted the announcement above an earlier House Oversight Committee statement that accused the Clintons of “defying lawful subpoenas” and of “trying to dodge contempt by requesting special treatment.” “The Clintons are not above the law,” the Oversight Committee said.
The decision by the Clintons could head off a planned vote in the Republican-led House of Representatives to hold the high-profile Democratic Party veterans in contempt for refusing to appear before lawmakers, which could lead to criminal charges.
Last week, the Oversight Committee recommended the couple be held in contempt for refusing to testify about their relationship with Epstein.
The Clintons had offered to cooperate with the committee’s probe into Epstein, but refused to appear in person, saying that the investigation was a partisan exercise aimed at protecting President Donald Trump, who was a longtime friend of Epstein.
Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane several times in the early 2000s after leaving office. He has expressed regret about the relationship and said he knew nothing about Epstein’s criminal activity. Hillary Clinton said that she had no meaningful interactions with Epstein, never flew on his plane and never visited his private island.
Democrats claim that the House probe is being weaponised to attack political opponents of Trump – who has not been called to testify despite being long associated with Epstein – rather than to conduct legitimate oversight.
Trump spent months trying to block the disclosure of investigative files linked to Epstein, but pressure from his Make America Great Again (MAGA) base and some Republican lawmakers forced the President to order the release of millions of documents in the case.
Fate Of Contempt Vote Uncertain
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson welcomed the news from the Clintons, but did not say whether the chamber would drop its planned contempt vote.
“That’s a good development. We expect everyone to comply with Congress’s subpoenas.”
Mike Johnson
Meanwhile, Rep. James Comer, the Chair of the House Oversight Committee, continued to press for criminal contempt of Congress charges against both Clintons for defying a congressional subpoena when Attorneys for the Clintons emailed staff for the Oversight panel, saying the pair would accept Comer’s demands and “will appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates.”
The Attorneys requested that Comer agree not to move forward with the contempt proceedings. Comer, however, said that he was not immediately dropping the charges, which would carry the threat of a substantial fine and even incarceration if passed by the House and successfully prosecuted by the Department of Justice.
The Epstein affair continues to cast a long shadow over US politics, and now, the United Kingdom’s, entangling prominent figures including the disgraced former-prince Andrew and ex-UK Ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson.
UK police said on Monday they are reviewing reports of alleged misconduct involving Mandelson, whose name surfaced more than 5,000 times in the US Justice Department files on Epstein.
The veteran British politician was fired as ambassador to the US last year after emails came to light that showed him calling Epstein “my best pal” and advising him on seeking early release from prison. Mandelson has apologised to Epstein’s victims and denied wrongdoing.
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