(LifeSiteNews) — Bill and Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify in the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
As The New York Times reported, the Clintons agreed Monday to appear before the House Oversight Committee, finally capitulating to Republican chairman James Comer’s demands. The couple previously refused to testify for months, arguing they were targeted for political reasons.
However, the House was expected to vote to hold them in criminal contempt if they refused to appear, and some Democrats joined Republicans in this effort.
Attorneys for the Clintons told Comer in an email that their client would “appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates.”
“They negotiated in good faith. You did not,” Clinton’s spokesmen said in a statement. “They told under oath what they know, but you did not care. But the former president and former secretary of state will be there.”
The lawyers asked that Hillary Clinton, who claims she never met or spoke to Epstein, be granted the privilege to make a sworn declaration rather than testify. Bill Clinton also asked that the scope of the question be limited to matters directly related to Epstein.
However, Comer rejected both of those demands, saying the former president “likely has an artificially narrow definition in mind” of the issues that would relate to Epstein.
The Clintons, facing a vote to be held in criminal contempt, agreed to the terms on Monday.
Nine Democrats on the Oversight Committee joined Republicans last month in supporting holding the former president, Bill Clinton, in contempt, and three backed the same process for former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. The New York Times noted that these Democrats may have been reluctant to offer support to anyone associated with the convicted sex trafficker Epstein.
Last week, a new large batch of the “Epstein files” was published by the Department of Justice. The dump features over three million pages and thousands of video and audio files, with details of Epstein’s sex trafficking operations, pedophile networks, and dealings with various government officials, celebrities, business moguls, and other noteworthy individuals. The files feature serious allegations against, among others, Bill Gates, former President George H.W. Bush, and President Donald Trump. However, none of the allegations have been substantiated enough to warrant any arrests.
Bill Clinton has had a long, documented relationship with Epstein that started in the 1990s when he was president. According to flight logs, Clinton flew on Epstein’s private planes multiple times between 2001 and 2003, often in relation to the Clinton Foundation’s philanthropic work. While Clinton has denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes or knowing about them, there are multiple photos of the former president with young women associated with Epstein. One of the photos shows a young woman who later accused Epstein of crimes, giving Clinton a back massage.
