Washington — Bill and Hillary Clinton have accepted the House Oversight Committee’s conditions to testify in its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the panel said Tuesday, reversing course after facing potential contempt of Congress.
The committee set a transcribed deposition for Hillary Clinton on Feb. 26 and for Bill Clinton on Feb. 27. House Republicans announced they would pause contempt proceedings to allow the Clintons to comply with the scheduled interviews.
Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky said in a statement that the Clintons “completely caved” after the threat of contempt and would appear for filmed, transcribed depositions this month. In a letter to the committee, the Clintons requested a public hearing, saying they believed that depositions in public “will best suit our concerns about fairness.” A source familiar with the plans told CBS News the depositions are expected to be conducted behind closed doors.
Lawyers for the Clintons initially proposed over the weekend that Bill Clinton sit for a four-hour transcribed interview in New York limited to questions related to the Epstein probe, and that Hillary Clinton either provide a sworn declaration or appear under the same terms if required. Comer rejected that proposal as “unreasonable.” On Monday night the Clintons’ legal team emailed the committee saying the couple “accept the terms of your letter and will appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates.”
The development halted an expected House vote this week on criminal contempt charges after the Clintons’ legal team notified the committee it would accept the terms. Comer asked for clarification of the agreement, and the House Rules Committee postponed consideration of the contempt resolutions. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that “contempt is on pause to ensure that everybody goes through with their obligations.” Comer later warned that contempt “is still on the table,” noting the committee had already offered three dates to the couple.
The committee first sought the Clintons’ testimony in October and postponed initial dates to December. The Clintons declined the December schedule, citing a funeral, and also did not appear for dates set in January. After their absence in January, the committee voted to recommend holding both in contempt; nine Democrats supported the Bill Clinton contempt resolution and three Democrats backed the measure targeting Hillary Clinton.
Both Bill and Hillary Clinton previously submitted sworn declarations in January describing their contacts with Epstein, a convicted sex offender, and with Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a prison sentence on sex trafficking charges. Bill Clinton’s declaration said Epstein provided his private plane to the former president, his staff and Secret Service detail in support of Clinton Foundation work between 2002 and 2003. Bill’s filing denied any visit to Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands — a location where alleged crimes occurred — and said he had had no contact with Epstein for more than a decade prior to Epstein’s 2019 arrest.
Hillary Clinton’s declaration said she did not recall encountering Epstein or specific interactions with him, and that she never flew on his plane or visited his private island. Both declarations said the Clintons did not recall details of meetings with Maxwell, beyond noting that she later was in a relationship with a mutual friend and that their last interaction with her was “many years ago.”
“To be clear, I had no idea of Mr. Epstein’s or Ms. Maxwell’s criminal activities,” the filings said. Bill Clinton’s statement added, “And, irrespective of any intent either may have ever had, I did not take any action for the purpose of helping them to avoid any type of scrutiny.”
The committee has not publicly detailed the scope of questioning planned for the depositions. Whether the sessions will be open to the public or remain behind closed doors appears to be unresolved between the committee and the Clintons.
Patrick Maguire and Nikole Killion contributed to this report.