Clintons Agree to Testify Before House Oversight Committee in Epstein Probe, Averting Contempt Vote

For a while now, the House Oversight Committee, which is led by Republican James Comer from Kentucky, has been looking into how the government dealt with the Jeffrey Epstein case. Epstein was a wealthy banker who was convicted of sex crimes and killed himself in a New York jail in 2019 while waiting for trial on federal sex trafficking charges. He had connections to many powerful people over the years. The committee wants to know more about what different authorities and people close to him knew or did—or didn't do—during investigations and trials that were related to him.

In August 2025, the Clintons will get their subpoenas. The committee wanted to hear their sworn statements in private so they could learn more about Epstein's actions, his network, or other related issues. Everyone knows that Bill Clinton knew Epstein. He flew on Epstein's private jet several times in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and there are pictures of them together at social events. It's important to remember that no credible accusations of wrongdoing have ever been made against Bill Clinton in connection with Epstein's actions. He has always said that he didn't know about the illegal things that were going on.

Hillary Clinton's role doesn't seem as direct, probably because she was Secretary of State while the U.S. government was working with other countries to stop human trafficking. The committee, on the other hand, said that both had to swear to tell the truth when they answered questions.

The Clintons fought back hard for months. Their lawyers said that the subpoenas weren't issued for a real legislative reason, weren't legal, or were politically motivated. They missed scheduled depositions in late 2025 and again in January 2026. Last month, the Oversight Committee voted to move forward with resolutions calling for criminal contempt proceedings against both of them. This was a rare bipartisan move. Some Democrats on the panel went against their party's wishes and supported moving forward with at least the complaint against Bill Clinton. They stressed how important it is to be completely honest in a case like this.

It's not smart to take criminal contempt of Congress lightly. If the whole House agrees to the resolution and the Department of Justice decides to go after people, those who are found guilty could have to pay fines, go to jail, or both. This isn't something that happens often, and Congress has never done it to a former president before. Even when they spoke freely, Congress has always shown respect for past presidents.

As the contempt resolutions went through the House Rules Committee, which is a necessary step before a vote on the floor, the pressure grew. Republican leaders seemed determined to move it forward, saying it was about holding powerful people accountable, no matter what party they were in. Comer kept saying, "No one is above the law," which stopped the Clintons from trying to reach a settlement.

In late January, one of these offers was that Bill Clinton would do a four-hour recorded interview (not a full sworn deposition) that would only be about investigations and charges against Epstein. After that, Hillary Clinton would write a sworn statement. Comer slapped it down and said that both people had to go to Washington for regular sworn depositions without any special arrangements.

Then, on Monday night, everything changed. The Clintons' lawyers sent an email to the committee staff saying that the couple would "appear for depositions on dates that work for both parties." In exchange, they told Comer to stop the contempt proceedings. Angel Ureña, a spokesperson for the Clintons, went on social media to say that the former president and secretary of state will be there. She even said that it would be a good example for everyone. Ureña said that Comer was negotiating in bad faith and that the Clintons had always been willing to testify under oath, but the chairman didn't want to hear the truth.

Comer told reporters that night that he wasn't ready to say he had won yet. "We don't have anything in writing," he said, adding that he was open to the idea but wanted clear terms and dates that were set in stone. He made it clear that the offer only came up because the threat of contempt was real and moving forward. In the middle of all the back-and-forth, the House Rules Committee decided to put off moving the resolutions forward. This gave them more time to come up with a solution.

This last-minute change stopped what could have been a dramatic and historic vote on the House floor as early as Wednesday. People like Hakeem Jeffries said that the whole thing was just about getting back at the other party and not really looking into it. They said that the last administration's Justice Department took too long to give them all of the Epstein case files and that Comer was only going after the Clintons and not other people.

Clintons agree to depositions in Epstein probe, halting contempt vote threat from House Oversight Committee.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced on February 2, 2026, that they would appear for sworn depositions before the House Oversight Committee in its ongoing Jeffrey Epstein investigation. This came after months of resisting subpoenas issued in August 2025, with the committee advancing bipartisan contempt resolutions last month. Bill Clinton's known flights on Epstein's jet and social ties were cited, though no wrongdoing accusations exist against him.

The committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer, sought testimony on Epstein's network and government handling of related cases. The Clintons' lawyers cited political motivation in the subpoenas. Comer rejected prior compromise offers, insisting on full sworn depositions in Washington. The last-minute agreement paused the contempt process, though Comer sought firm dates and terms.