Former US president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton are calling for their congressional testimony regarding ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to be held publicly, in a bid to prevent Republicans from politicising the matter.
The couple had been ordered to give closed-door depositions before the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating the late financier’s connections to influential figures and how information about his crimes was handled.
Hillary Clinton is scheduled to appear for her deposition on 26 February, while Bill Clinton will appear on 27 February, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said in a statement.
Democrats argue that the probe is being weaponised to attack political opponents of President Donald Trump—himself a former Epstein associate who has not been called to testify—rather than to carry out genuine oversight.
House Republicans had previously threatened a contempt vote if the Democratic couple did not appear, which they have since agreed to do.
However, holding the depositions behind closed doors, Bill Clinton said on Friday, would be akin to being tried at a “kangaroo court”.
“Let’s stop the games & do this the right way: in a public hearing,” the former Democratic president said on X.
Hillary Clinton stated that the couple had already told the Republican-led Oversight Committee “what we know”.
“If you want this fight…let’s have it in public,” she said on Thursday.
Last week, the Justice Department released the latest batch of so-called Epstein files—more than three million documents, photos and videos related to the investigation into Epstein, who died in custody in 2019 from what was ruled a suicide.
Bill Clinton features regularly in the files, though no evidence has emerged implicating either Clinton in any criminal activity.
The former president has acknowledged flying on Epstein’s plane in the early 2000s for Clinton Foundation humanitarian work but said he never visited Epstein’s private island.
Hillary Clinton, who ran against Trump for president in 2016, said she had no meaningful interactions with Epstein, never flew on his plane, and never visited his island.
