WASHINGTON, Feb 26 - Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will appear for a closed-door deposition on Thursday before a congressional panel investigating the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, though it is uncertain whether her testimony will yield substantial new information.
Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president in 2016, has said she possesses little information relevant to the inquiry and has criticized the Republican-led committee for attempting to shift scrutiny away from President Donald Trump’s ties to Epstein. Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
Both Hillary and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, initially declined to comply with requests by the House Oversight Committee to testify. They agreed to appear only after lawmakers advanced a move to hold them in contempt of Congress.
Hillary Clinton's deposition is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET (1600 GMT) in Chappaqua, New York, close to the Clintons' principal residence. Bill Clinton is set to deliver a corresponding closed-door deposition at the same hour on Friday. A spokesperson for the Clintons did not respond to a request for comment. Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, a Republican, has said the transcripts of both interviews will be released to the public.
What is already on the record
The committee has gathered a large cache of material related to Epstein. The Justice Department has released more than 3 million pages of Epstein-related documents in recent months to comply with legislation passed by Congress. The department reportedly sought to emphasize photographs of Bill Clinton, but the broader document set has also identified Epstein’s connections to a wide range of business and political figures.
Among those cited in documents made public by the Justice Department are Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Overseas, the disclosures have spurred criminal inquiries into prominent individuals, including Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York.
Ties and testimony referenced by the panel
- The committee chairman has stated that Epstein visited the White House 17 times while Bill Clinton was in office.
- Bill Clinton flew on Epstein's private plane several times in the early 2000s after leaving the White House; he has denied any wrongdoing and has said he regrets the association.
- President Trump is reported to have socialized frequently with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s, prior to a 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Chairman Comer has said the panel's evidence does not implicate Trump.
Potential public disclosure and procedural notes
Chairman Comer has indicated that the transcripts of the Clintons' depositions will be made public. The extent to which those transcripts will reveal new material or clarify previously disclosed documents remains an open question. Clinton has publicly characterized the committee's actions as politically motivated, arguing they redirect attention from Trump’s connections to Epstein.
The committee’s accumulation and public release of documents have widened the list of individuals publicly linked to Epstein through records, and those disclosures have prompted or coincided with legal follow-up in multiple jurisdictions.
Summary
Hillary Clinton will testify in a closed deposition before a House committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein. She has said she has little to add and has accused the panel of political motivation. The Justice Department has disclosed more than 3 million pages of documents that reference a broad set of business and political figures, and the committee chairman plans to make deposition transcripts public.
Key points
- Hillary Clinton is scheduled to give a closed-door deposition Thursday at 11 a.m. ET in Chappaqua, New York; Bill Clinton is to testify at the same time on Friday. (Sectors impacted: politics, legal)
- The Justice Department has produced over 3 million pages of Epstein-related documents, which name numerous business and political leaders. (Sectors impacted: corporate governance, legal)
- Committee Chairman James Comer said transcripts of the Clintons' interviews will be made public; Comer also stated that evidence gathered by the panel does not implicate President Trump. (Sectors impacted: politics)
Risks and uncertainties
- It is unclear whether Hillary Clinton’s testimony will add substantive new information to the public record, as she has stated she has little to provide. (Impacted sectors: politics, legal)
- The committee's public disclosures and planned release of deposition transcripts may expand reputational or legal exposure for individuals named in the documents, creating uncertainty for those persons and associated organizations. (Impacted sectors: corporate governance, markets)
- The political framing of the inquiry - including accusations that the panel is attempting to shift focus away from President Trump - introduces uncertainty about the committee’s motivations and how disclosures will be perceived. (Impacted sectors: politics, media)
Note: The article reports the facts and statements available from the committee, the Clintons, and the Justice Department as described above. The scope of new information expected from the depositions is not specified beyond those statements.