Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is calling for a public hearing after she and former President Bill Clinton agreed to testify on their relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mrs. Clinton is set to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Feb. 26, and Mr. Clinton on Feb. 27.
They agreed earlier this week to appear at the 11th hour, after staring down a looming contempt-of-Congress vote. They agreed to the terms laid out by Oversight Chair James Comer, Kentucky Republican, but then said the committee “moved the goalposts” because the deposition will be recorded.
“For six months, we engaged Republicans on the Oversight Committee in good faith. We told them what we know, under oath,” Mrs. Clinton wrote Thursday on X. “They ignored all of it. They moved the goalposts and turned accountability into an exercise in distraction.”
“So let’s stop the games,” she wrote in another post. “If you want this fight @RepJamesComer, let’s have it — in public. You love to talk about transparency. There’s nothing more transparent than a public hearing, cameras on. We will be there.”
The Oversight Committee pushed back on X, saying a public hearing would risk a public spectacle and that “the Clintons are going to Clinton and try to spin the facts.”
When Mr. Clinton had to testify in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case, special prosecutor Ken Starr’s lawyers believed Mr. Clinton ran out the clock by filibustering and dithering over the meaning of “is.” To that end, Mr. Comer’s panel also has refused a requested four-hour limit.
The panel also posted screenshots of email exchanges with the Clinton lawyers from Tuesday, showing that taping was mentioned, though the attorneys accused the committee of adding “new stipulations.”
“Despite our unambiguous agreement to all of his terms last night, you added new stipulations this morning, for the first time, most notably the requirement of videotaping the interview,” the Clinton legal team wrote.
The lawyers then also pushed for a public hearing.
“Though you have notably never asked the Clintons to appear in an open hearing, we now believe that will best suit our concerns about fairness,” they wrote to the committee. “Their answers, and your questions, can be seen by all to be judged accordingly.”
A committee spokeswoman said the Clintons were issued subpoenas for private depositions, not public hearings.
“Republicans and Democrats on the Oversight Committee voted to recommend the House hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress for defying duly issued subpoenas for six months,” the spokeswoman said. “These depositions are in accordance with House and Committee rules. All witnesses appearing for interviews as part of our Epstein investigation are being treated fairly and consistently. The Committee has filmed interviews with all witnesses, including former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr and U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta — both of whom are Republican witnesses.”
Mr. Comer told reporters Tuesday that a hearing could come after their late-February depositions, but that the depositions must come first.
“If we get through the deposition and there’s something meaningful to have a hearing, if they still want some more oversight, then I think the members of my committee would love to have them in for a public hearing,” he said.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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