Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed late Monday to testify in a House investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, though the Republican chair leading the probe said no final agreement had been reached.
Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, was moving forward with criminal contempt of Congress charges against both Clintons for defying subpoenas when their attorneys emailed committee staff saying the pair “will appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates.” The lawyers asked Comer to halt the contempt process; Comer said he had no written agreement and was not immediately dropping the charges, which could bring fines or jail time if the House approved them and the Justice Department prosecuted.
“We don’t have anything in writing,” Comer told reporters, saying he might accept the offer depending on its terms. The development came as Republican leaders advanced the contempt resolution through the House Rules Committee, a final step before a potential floor vote — a rare and serious step that could mark the first time Congress holds a former president in contempt.
Comer had earlier rejected an offer from the Clintons’ attorneys for a 4-hour transcribed interview with Bill Clinton and for Hillary Clinton to submit a sworn declaration, insisting both must sit for sworn depositions before the committee to comply with its subpoenas. A committee letter said the attorneys proposed those alternative formats “on matters related to the investigations and prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein.”
“The Clintons do not get to dictate the terms of lawful subpoenas,” Comer said.
The Clintons had resisted subpoenas issued in August and their lawyers challenged their validity. As Comer pressed contempt proceedings, the two began negotiating toward a compromise. The Republican-controlled Oversight Committee had already advanced criminal contempt charges last month; nine of the committee’s 21 Democrats joined Republicans in supporting charges against Bill Clinton, and three Democrats supported charges against Hillary Clinton, citing the need for transparency in the Epstein inquiry.
Bill Clinton’s past ties to Epstein have resurfaced as a focus for Republicans. Clinton had a well-documented relationship with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s but has not been accused of wrongdoing related to those interactions. The investigation and subpoenas come amid broader scrutiny of Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting sex-trafficking charges.
The Clintons criticized Comer’s approach, accusing him of political motives and of failing to push the Trump administration to produce Justice Department files on Epstein more quickly. “They negotiated in good faith. You did not,” Clintons spokesperson Angel Urena said, asserting the couple had told investigators under oath what they knew.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said his caucus would discuss the contempt resolutions but was noncommittal about whipping votes. Jeffries called contempt “a hard no,” accusing Comer of seeking political retribution rather than addressing delays in the release of DOJ materials. Democrats also say the Justice Department has not turned over all relevant material. “They don’t want a serious interview, they want a charade,” Jeffries said.
