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 congressional probe into Jeffrey Epstein, CNN reported Monday.
The decision came at the last moment as the couple sought to avoid a House vote on contempt of Congress.
Earlier in the day, House Oversight Chairman James Comer rejected a last-minute proposal from the Clintons’ attorneys that included several conditions. In a letter, Comer wrote, “It has been nearly six months since your clients first received the Committee’s subpoena, more than three months since the original date of their depositions, and nearly three weeks since they failed to appear for their depositions commensurate with the Committee’s lawful subpoenas. Your clients’ desire for special treatment is both frustrating and an affront to the American people’s desire for transparency."
Correspondence obtained by CNN showed that the Clintons’ legal team had been seeking a way out for days. Their attorneys have held multiple discussions with the Republican-led committee since lawmakers from both parties voted in January to hold the Clintons in contempt for refusing to appear for in-person depositions.
By rejecting the initial offer, Comer had set the stage for a final House vote on the contempt resolutions this week.
According to a January 31 letter, the Clintons’ lawyers proposed that former President Bill Clinton sit for a voluntary, transcribed interview in New York City for four hours, limited to the scope of the Epstein probe. Lawmakers from both parties could ask questions, and both sides could have their own transcriber present. The attorneys also pushed for the committee to drop its subpoena for Hillary Clinton, though they said she could submit a second sworn declaration or appear for an in-person interview under similar terms.
In exchange, Clinton attorneys Ashley Callen and David E. Kendall asked Comer to withdraw the subpoenas and contempt resolutions.
Comer rejected the offer as “unreasonable," saying he could not agree to replace a sworn deposition with a voluntary interview or accept limits on questioning. He noted that if the attorneys had offered a voluntary interview when the subpoena was first issued in August, the situation might have unfolded differently.
He added that Clinton would have incentive to “run out the clock" under a fixed four-hour limit and questioned why the Clintons wanted their own transcriber when an official court reporter would be present.
Bill Clinton has repeatedly denied wrongdoing related to Epstein.