Former US President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, ending months of resistance and pausing a planned contempt vote in Congress.
According to congressional officials, Hillary Clinton is scheduled to give a closed-door deposition on 26 February, followed by Bill Clinton on 27 February. The committee has requested that the sessions be recorded and transcribed, with questioning not subject to a fixed time limit.
The decision comes days before the House was expected to vote on whether to hold the Clintons in criminal contempt of Congress for failing to comply with subpoenas issued by the Republican-led panel. Lawmakers have since delayed consideration of those resolutions.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said the agreement reflects bipartisan support for requiring senior political figures to cooperate with congressional investigations.
The committee is examining how federal authorities handled past investigations related to Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Bill Clinton has acknowledged knowing Epstein in the early 2000s but has said he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal conduct and ended contact years before the financier’s arrest. Hillary Clinton has said she never met or spoke with Epstein.
Previously released flight records show that Bill Clinton took several international trips on Epstein’s private aircraft in 2002 and 2003. At the time, Clinton’s office said the travel was linked to work connected to the Clinton Foundation. His representatives have said he severed ties with Epstein long before allegations against him became public.
The Clintons had earlier accused the committee of pursuing a politically motivated inquiry, arguing they had already submitted sworn written statements outlining what they described as their limited knowledge of Epstein.
Negotiations over testimony intensified over the weekend after the committee raised concerns about proposed limits on questioning. Talks resumed this week, resulting in an agreement for both Clintons to appear for depositions.
Neither Bill nor Hillary Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing by Epstein’s victims, and no criminal allegations have been brought against them in connection with the case.
The Oversight Committee said the depositions will inform its broader review of whether legislative changes are needed to strengthen oversight of federal law enforcement handling of sex trafficking cases.