The Clintons have agreed to testify on Capitol Hill about information regarding deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The pair is expected to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Feb. 26 and 27. Both Bill and Hillary Clinton were under a deadline set by Republican lawmakers to agree to appear or be held in contempt of Congress.
“Republicans and Democrats on the Oversight Committee have been clear: no one is above the law – and that includes the Clintons,” Oversight Chair James Comer said in a statement. “Once it became clear that the House of Representatives would hold them in contempt, the Clintons changed their decision and will appear for transcribed, filmed depositions this month,” he continued.
The couple wanted to negotiate their cooperation with the investigation and said that the subpoenas they received were invalid and motivated by a need to humiliate or incarcerate them. They decided not to comply with the congressional subpoenas and failed to show up to depositions that were scheduled for last month. At that point the committee decided to hold them in contempt.
On Monday, as the House was gearing up to vote on contempt resolutions, the notable politicians changed their decision. It should be noted that a contempt of Congress charge could have led to both of their incarceration.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky) who was very vocal about releasing the Epstein files, said that he didn’t believe that the Clintons were likely to be ruled in contempt.
“I thought it was always just a negotiation on the terms…That’s just the game that has to be played,” he said.
The former president and secretary of state have said they didn’t know about Epstein’s crimes despite their connection to him.
“I think anybody that had a relationship with Epstein, especially as long as the Clintons have had, should be able to provide any information….that will help with the healing with a lot of the Epstein survivors,” said Rahida Tlaib (D-Mich.). Tlaib voted to approve contempt and noted that partisanship wasn’t a factor in such a serious matter.
“I don’t see party lines when it comes to little children being molested.”
