Clintons to testify on Epstein in late February

WASHINGTON - Former president Bill Clinton and his wife, former top US diplomat Hillary Clinton, will

testify in Congress about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein

in late February, a Republican lawmaker said Feb 3.

Mr Bill Clinton will appear on Feb 27, and Mrs Clinton will do so the day before, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee said.

Mr James Comer said the Democratic power couple had “completely caved” after a House panel recommended contempt charges, “and will appear for transcribed, filmed depositions this month”.

Both Clintons had been ordered to give closed-door depositions before the House Oversight Committee, which is probing Epstein’s connections to powerful figures and how information about his crimes was handled.

In refusal letters, the couple argued that the subpoenas were invalid because they lacked a clear legislative purpose.

Democrats say the probe is being weaponised to attack political opponents of President Donald Trump – himself a longtime Epstein associate who has not been called to testify – rather than to conduct legitimate oversight.

The Justice Department last week released the

latest cache of so-called Epstein files

– more than three million documents, photos and videos related to its investigation into Epstein, who died from what was determined to be suicide while in custody in 2019.

Mr Clinton features regularly in the files, but no evidence has come to light implicating either Clinton in criminal activity.

The former president has acknowledged flying on Epstein’s plane in the early 2000s for Clinton Foundation-related humanitarian work, but said he never visited Epstein’s private island.

Mrs Clinton said she had no meaningful interactions with Epstein, never flew on his plane and never visited his island.

Mr Clinton was two-term president in the 1990s while Mrs Clinton served as secretary of state for four years under president Barack Obama. She later ran for president, losing to Mr Trump in 2016.

On Feb 2, a spokesman for the ex-president said the Clintons would in fact appear before the investigation – heading off a full House vote on holding the couple in contempt.

“The former President and former Secretary of State will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone,” Mr Angel Urena said in a statement.

The Epstein affair continues to cast a long shadow over Washington, entangling some of the most prominent names in US politics and highlighting sharp partisan battles that have shaped the scandal. AFP