Clintons to Testify in Epstein Investigation Ahead of Contempt of Congress Vote

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify in the House Oversight Committee's investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.

The Details: The Clintons will appear before the Committee in closed-door interviews on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27, according to a letter from their attorney, who also asked the House to "not move forward with contempt proceedings." He said the Clintons agreed to the terms of the subpoena, but "those terms lack clarity." According to the letter, Bill Clinton would sit for four hours for a voluntary, transcribed interview about his relationship with Epstein. The decision comes ahead of an expected vote on contempt of Congress on Wednesday. House Oversight Chair James Comer said, "Republicans and Democrats on the Oversight Committee have been clear: no one is above the law—and that includes the Clintons."

For Context: The Clintons previously refused to testify in the investigation, posting a joint statement to X in January calling the subpoenas "legally invalid." They also criticized the Committee for focusing on them rather than pursuing other aspects of Epstein-related oversight, including the release of the Epstein files. Bill Clinton has appeared in many Epstein-related documents and acknowledged flying on Epstein's private jet for foundation work. Subpoenas were also issued to 10 other individuals connected to Epstein.

How the Media Covered It: Several Center-rated outlets including Wall Street Journal and The Hill noted building up pressure of the contempt proceedings vote. The Hill outlined an apparent argument between Democrat lawmakers and Comer after the Clintons' decision. Outlets on the Left detailed negotiations between the Clintons and the Committee. Politico (Lean Left) said the Clintons have "long sought to negotiate" their cooperation with the panel. It mentioned House Republicans seemed "genuinely hopeful" about avoiding the contempt vote and included quotes from Republicans that the contempt was "just the game that has to be played." Outlets on the Right, including Washington Examiner (Lean Right) and New York Post (Lean Right) generally framed the move as the Clintons "caving" to pressure and noted Comer rejecting the Clintons' terms to drop the subpoena. Newsmax (Right) quoted a Republican lawmaker saying he's "skeptical" of the Clintons as they'd "dodged and weaved" the subpoena previously. The Post noted nine Democrats had voted with Republicans to hold Bill Clinton in contempt.

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