Today, Hillary Clinton will appear before the House Oversight Committee in New York, responding to inquiries under oath about her connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. This meeting comes after a contentious negotiation with the Republican-led committee, which nearly resulted in a contempt of Congress vote against her and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
The Clintons' decision to testify behind closed doors followed a bipartisan push from the committee, which was prepared to recommend criminal contempt charges for their failure to comply with a subpoena. The impending vote, expected to garner support from both sides of the aisle, prompted the couple to acquiesce to the committee's demands for in-person questioning. This shift is seen as a significant win for Rep. James Comer, the committee's Republican chairman.
Comer has rejected requests for public testimony but hinted that a public hearing could occur after the private depositions. Bill Clinton's deposition is scheduled for tomorrow.
According to a committee aide, at least ten Republican members are anticipated to attend the depositions in Chappaqua, New York, alongside nine Democrats, as confirmed by a source familiar with the proceedings.
Both Clintons have maintained their innocence and have called for the complete release of documents related to Epstein. In a recent BBC interview, Hillary Clinton suggested that Comer's insistence on in-person depositions serves to distract from President Trump's connections to Epstein and his administration's management of related files.
"I have very strong opinions about what it is they're hiding and who they are protecting," she stated. "Why do they want to pull us into this? To divert attention from President Trump. This is not complicated."
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing associated with Epstein. In a sworn declaration submitted to the committee earlier this year, Hillary Clinton claimed she had no "personal knowledge" of any crimes committed by Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, nor did she have any involvement in the Justice Department's investigations during her time in public office.
"I do not recall encountering Mr. Epstein or any specific interactions with him," she noted in her declaration, acknowledging only a vague connection through a mutual friend with Maxwell, who is currently imprisoned for sex trafficking.
During her BBC interview, Clinton mentioned having met Maxwell "on a few occasions" through the Clinton Foundation. Comer emphasized that the Clintons' testimony is essential for unraveling Epstein and Maxwell's sex trafficking network and understanding how they sought influence to evade scrutiny.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the leading Democrat on the committee, expressed interest in exploring Epstein's ties to foreign governments. "There's a lot of evidence that points in a certain direction around Jeffrey Epstein's involvement with foreign governments. I think those are questions that I certainly have and that I'll be asking," he remarked to reporters.
As the day unfolds, all eyes will be on Chappaqua as the Clintons navigate this high-stakes inquiry.
