Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Monday they would participate in the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, narrowly averting a contempt of Congress vote that could have carried criminal penalties.
The development came after Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, set a Tuesday noon deadline for the couple to formalize their agreement and establish concrete dates for depositions before the end of February. Without signed compliance, the committee warned it would resume contempt proceedings that had been temporarily paused.
The standoff represents an extraordinary confrontation between Congress and two of the Democratic Party’s most prominent figures, highlighting the intersection of political power, investigative authority and the lingering questions surrounding Epstein’s decades-long pattern of abuse.
Negotiations Stall Over Deposition Terms
The Clintons’ legal team initially proposed significant restrictions on their testimony, including a four-hour limit per session, questions confined strictly to Epstein-related investigations and prosecutions, and permission for the former president to bring his own transcriber. Comer rejected these conditions outright.
According to the chairman’s statement, the couple’s counsel indicated agreement to terms but failed to provide clarity or specific deposition dates. Comer suggested their willingness to cooperate emerged only after the House advanced contempt proceedings.
Representative Virginia Foxx, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the House Rules Committee, acknowledged the fluid situation during Monday evening proceedings. She explained the committee needed additional time for the Oversight panel to clarify exactly what the Clintons were agreeing to accept. Foxx announced the postponement of contempt consideration but warned that without substantial overnight compliance and agreement, the committee would reconvene to continue the contempt hearing.
The committee seeks transcribed, filmed depositions of unlimited duration—a format the Clintons had resisted until facing the contempt threat. This disagreement over deposition structure has prolonged an investigation that began months ago and has already encountered multiple delays.
Epstein Investigation Expands Congressional Scrutiny
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed ten individuals as part of its comprehensive examination of Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution involving a minor, faced federal sex trafficking charges in 2019 before dying in federal custody that same year in what authorities ruled a suicide.
Judges and lawmakers have stated that over decades, Epstein abused, trafficked and molested scores of girls, many of whom have publicly shared their experiences in court and other forums.
Maxwell was convicted on sex trafficking charges in 2021 after prosecutors proved she recruited girls for Epstein and facilitated sexual encounters with the financier. Currently serving a 20-year sentence in a minimum security facility, Maxwell has agreed to a deposition scheduled for Feb. 9, according to Comer.
Neither Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing connected to Epstein’s crimes. A spokesman for the former president previously confirmed Bill Clinton met Epstein several times and took four trips aboard his aircraft but maintained no knowledge of criminal activities. Photographs showing Bill Clinton in Epstein-related contexts have been released by both Congress and the Justice Department.
Both Clintons submitted sworn statements asserting they possess no relevant information about Epstein’s criminal conduct. They argued these written affidavits should suffice, noting that former Attorneys General Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales submitted sworn statements rather than appearing for depositions.
Pattern of Delays Escalates Tensions
The Clintons were originally scheduled for October 2025 testimony, which was rescheduled to December, then postponed again when the couple cited funeral attendance, according to committee aides. When they declined to appear for rescheduled Jan. 13-14 depositions, arguing the subpoenas were legally invalid, the confrontation reached a breaking point. Their attorneys repeated this claim in correspondence sent ahead of the committee’s contempt vote.
In a letter to the committee explaining their mid-January decision, the Clintons characterized the proceedings as driven by partisan politics and described the assertion that the committee couldn’t complete its work without speaking to them as bizarre.
The Oversight Committee responded with bipartisan contempt resolutions in late January, creating momentum toward a full House vote. Comer accused the couple of believing their surname entitled them to special treatment compared to other witnesses.
Contempt Power Gains Modern Prominence
While contempt of Congress carries potential imprisonment up to one year, it has historically been invoked sparingly. Recent years have seen increased utilization of this congressional enforcement mechanism. Stephen Bannon and Peter Navarro were both found in contempt in 2021 for defying subpoenas from the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, with both serving four-month sentences.
The Oversight Committee’s work runs parallel to another congressional initiative led by Representatives Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, a California Democrat. Their legislation mandated Justice Department disclosure of Epstein investigation files by Dec. 19—a deadline the department missed. The agency released tens of thousands of pages in December 2025 and claimed to have provided an additional 3 million pages in late January.
As Tuesday’s deadline approaches, the Clintons face a stark choice: sign the committee’s agreement and submit to depositions on congressional terms, or risk becoming the latest high-profile figures held in contempt of Congress—a designation that would carry both legal and political consequences.
Source: The Washington Post
