Former US President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to appear for in-person depositions in Washington, DC, as part of the House investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, in a late move aimed at avoiding a looming contempt of Congress vote.
It remains unclear whether House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer will accept the last-minute offer, which could halt a full House vote to hold the Clintons in contempt for months of refusing to testify. Such a vote could carry potential legal consequences.
The proposal, which has not been independently reviewed, underscores the urgency of the Clintons’ effort to prevent the contempt proceedings from moving forward.
“They negotiated in good faith. You did not. They told you under oath what they know, but you don’t care. But the former President and former Secretary of State will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone,” Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña said in a post directed at Comer.
Comer responded Monday evening, saying the offer still lacked clarity. He said the Clintons’ lawyers had not provided specific dates for the depositions and argued that the agreement only came after the House advanced contempt proceedings. He said he would seek clarification on the terms before consulting with committee members on next steps.
The top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, however, expressed confidence that the offer would be accepted, telling CNN that the Clintons had agreed to every condition laid out by Comer.
Representative Robert Garcia said the committee had long sought Bill Clinton’s testimony and welcomed the development, adding that discussions with the Clintons’ legal team had been ongoing.
Just hours before the offer was made, Comer had indicated he was prepared to proceed with contempt resolutions, citing the Clintons’ failure to comply with subpoenas issued nearly six months earlier and their absence from scheduled depositions. He accused them of seeking special treatment and said their conduct undermined the public’s demand for transparency.
At the time the offer was submitted, the House Rules Committee was setting the framework for a vote on the contempt resolutions. The proposal from the Clintons’ attorney was delivered via email during a committee meeting as Comer was addressing the issue, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Later that evening, House Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx said the panel would pause consideration of the contempt resolutions in light of the new developments, while warning that the issue could be revisited if no progress is made.
The Clintons had previously attempted to avoid the proceedings through alternative proposals. In recent days, their attorneys offered a four-hour, in-person voluntary interview in New York, an option Comer rejected earlier the same day.
Correspondence obtained by CNN showed that the Clintons’ legal team had been seeking a resolution for days. Attorneys for the former president and former secretary of state had engaged in multiple discussions with the Republican-led committee since January, when lawmakers voted to pursue contempt over their refusal to appear for in-person depositions tied to the Epstein investigation.
In a letter dated January 31, the Clintons’ lawyers outlined conditions for Bill Clinton to participate in a voluntary, transcribed interview limited to the Epstein probe. The proposed interview would have allowed questioning by lawmakers and staff from both parties, with both sides permitted to have their own transcriber present.
Bill Clinton has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, the late convicted sex offender.
Although the attorneys continued to oppose a subpoena for Hillary Clinton’s testimony, they said she could submit an additional sworn declaration or appear for an in-person interview under similar terms.
In exchange, the lawyers asked Comer to withdraw the subpoenas and contempt resolutions, a request he dismissed as unreasonable. Comer said he could not agree to replacing sworn depositions with voluntary interviews or to limits placed on the scope of questioning.
He also argued that agreeing to a fixed four-hour interview could allow the former president to delay proceedings and questioned why the Clintons wanted their own transcriber if an official court reporter would already be present.
Given Bill Clinton’s earlier failure to appear for a deposition and months of resistance to in-person testimony, Comer said the committee could not simply assume he would fully cooperate in a voluntary interview, warning that doing so could leave the panel back at an impasse.
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