Bill and Hillary Clinton, staring down a looming contempt of Congress vote backed by Democrats, agreed Tuesday to testify before a House committee about their relationship with convicted sex offender and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
They are set to appear later this month before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to answer questions about their years of history with the late financier.
Epstein visited the Clinton White House at least 17 times, donated to the Clinton Foundation and traveled around the globe with Mr. Clinton.
The Clintons have agreed to testify amid intense public demand for transparency and accountability for Epstein’s victims.
The Justice Department has released millions of documents related to its investigation of Epstein, and Mr. Clinton appears in many of the photographs. His name shows up 17 times on the flight logs of Epstein’s private jet. Mr. Clinton has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
“It’s a shame, to be honest,” President Trump said of the need for the Clintons to testify.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump said he “always liked” Mr. Clinton and called Mrs. Clinton “a smart woman.”
“I hate to see it in many ways,” he said. “I hate to see it, but then look at me. They went after me, they wanted me to go to jail for the rest of my life.”
The House committee will ask the Clintons about Epstein associate and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping procure underage girls for Epstein. She was a Clinton friend and a guest at the 2010 wedding of former first daughter Chelsea Clinton.
By agreeing to testify, the Clintons dodged what likely would have been an unprecedented contempt of Congress vote Wednesday. The resolution would have passed with the support of House Democrats.
No former president or former secretary of state has ever been held in contempt of Congress, and few former presidents have ever been called to testify on Capitol Hill.
Democrats have been clamoring for maximum transparency from the federal government and the release of all investigatory documents related to Epstein and Maxwell, making it difficult for them to reject Republican efforts to interview the Clintons.
Eight Democrats on the House committee voted last month to advance Mr. Clinton’s contempt resolution to the floor. Three Democrats supported advancing the contempt resolution against Mrs. Clinton. Democrats said they also wanted to hear from the Clintons about their relationship with Epstein.
“Once it became clear that the House of Representatives would hold them in contempt, the Clintons completely caved and will appear for transcribed, filmed depositions this month. We look forward to questioning the Clintons as part of our investigation into the horrific crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors,” said Chairman James Comer, Kentucky Republican.
The Clintons’ attorneys have been wrangling with the committee for months. Among other criticisms, they argued that the subpoenas compelling an appearance on Capitol Hill were “legally invalid” and violated the separation of powers.
The attorneys tried to work out a compromise: The Clintons would be available for an interview in New York, but only Mr. Comer, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the committee’s top Democrat, and two staffers could attend.
Mr. Comer rejected that offer, as well as a last-ditch bid by the attorneys Monday to provide a four-hour transcribed interview with Mr. Clinton and a sworn statement from Mrs. Clinton.
He said the couple had already defied subpoenas by failing to appear for scheduled depositions in January.
“Had President Clinton initially offered to participate in a transcribed interview upon receiving his subpoena, the Committee might have considered that approach,” Mr. Comer’s letter said. “But given that he has already failed to appear for a deposition and has refused for several months to provide the Committee with in-person testimony, the Committee cannot simply have faith that President Clinton will not refuse to answer questions at a transcribed interview, resulting in the Committee being right back where it is today.”
Mr. Clinton denies wrongdoing and has never been accused of a crime in connection with Epstein. He said he stopped associating with Epstein in the mid-2000s, before Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution with a minor and before Epstein’s 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges.
Mrs. Clinton’s attorneys said they were baffled as to why the committee wanted to interview her about Epstein.
Mr. Comer said the testimony can help the committee understand Epstein’s sex trafficking network “and the ways he sought to curry favor and influence to shield himself from scrutiny.”
Congressional testimony by former presidents is rare.
The last to do so was former President Gerald Ford, who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1983 about the forthcoming bicentennial of the Constitution.
Clinton spokesman Angel Urena said the Clintons have already provided sworn statements about what they know about Epstein and negotiated with the committee “in good faith.”
Mr. Comer, he said, had not negotiated in good faith.
“But the former president and former secretary of state will be there,” Mr. Urena said. “They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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