Bill and Hillary Clinton comply with testify in House Epstein probe as contempt vote looms | EUROtoday

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed late Monday to testify in a House investigation into convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein, although the Republican main the probe stated the association had not but been finalized.

Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, had been getting ready legal contempt of Congress expenses towards the Clintons for allegedly defying a congressional subpoena when their attorneys emailed the committee, stating the couple would comply and “will appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates.”

The attorneys requested Comer to halt the contempt proceedings. Comer, nonetheless, stated he was not instantly dropping the fees, which might carry fines and even jail time if permitted by the House and prosecuted by the Department of Justice.

“We don’t have anything in writing,” Comer advised reporters, noting he was open to the Clintons’ provide however that “it depends on what they say.”

The last-minute negotiating got here as Republican leaders have been advancing the contempt decision via the House Rules Committee — a closing hurdle earlier than it headed to the House ground for a vote. It was probably a grave second for Congress, the primary time it might maintain a former president in contempt and advance the specter of jail time.

Comer earlier Monday rejected a proposal from attorneys for the Clintons to have Bill Clinton conduct a transcribed interview and Hillary Clinton submit a sworn declaration.

Comer was insisting that each Clintons sit for sworn depositions earlier than the committee so as to fulfill the panel’s subpoenas. A letter from the committee to attorneys for the Clintons signifies that they’d provided for Bill Clinton to conduct a 4-hour transcribed interview on “matters related to the investigations and prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein” and for Hillary Clinton to submit a sworn declaration.

“The Clintons do not get to dictate the terms of lawful subpoenas,” Comer, a Kentucky Republican, stated.

The former president and secretary of state had resisted the subpoenas for months after the Oversight panel issued subpoenas for his or her testimony in August because it opened an investigation into Epstein and his associates. Their legal professional had tried to argue towards the validity of the subpoena.

However, as Comer threatened to start contempt of Congress proceedings, the Clintons began negotiating in the direction of a compromise. The Republican-controlled Oversight committee superior legal contempt of Congress expenses final month. Nine of the committee’s 21 Democrats joined Republicans in assist of the fees towards Bill Clinton as they argued for full transparency within the Epstein investigation. Three Democrats additionally supported advancing the fees towards Hillary Clinton.

Bill Clinton’s relationship with Epstein has reemerged as a focus for Republicans amid the push for a reckoning over Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in a New York jail cell as he confronted intercourse trafficking expenses.

Clinton, like a bevy of different high-powered males, had a well-documented relationship with Epstein within the late Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s. He has not been accused of wrongdoing in his interactions with the late financier.

The Clintons remained extremely essential of Comer’s choice, saying he was bringing politics into the investigation whereas failing to carry the Trump administration accountable for delays in producing the Department of Justice’s case recordsdata on Epstein.

“They negotiated in good faith. You did not,” a spokesperson for the Clintons, Angel Ureña, stated in response to Comer’s threats on Monday. “They told you under oath what they know, but you don’t care.”

Still, the prospect of a vote raised the potential for Congress to make use of considered one of its most extreme punishments towards a former president for the primary time. Historically, Congress has given deference to former presidents. None has ever been pressured to testify earlier than lawmakers, though a number of have voluntarily finished so.

House Democratic chief Hakeem Jeffries stated earlier Monday that his caucus would have a dialogue on the contempt resolutions later within the week however remained noncommittal on whipping votes towards them.

Jeffries stated he was a “hard no” on contempt and accused Comer of specializing in political retribution slightly than investigating the delayed launch of case recordsdata. Democrats additionally say the Justice Department has not but launched all the fabric it has on the late financier.

“They don’t want a serious interview, they want a charade,” Jeffries stated.