Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are set to face depositions this week in Chappaqua, New York, as part of the House Oversight Committee’s deep dive into the sprawling and still-unfolding saga of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The scheduled testimonies—Hillary Clinton on Thursday, February 26, and Bill Clinton on Friday, February 27—come after months of political wrangling, public speculation, and the release of millions of pages of Epstein-related documents by the Department of Justice.
The decision by the Clintons to testify did not come easily. Their agreement followed a protracted standoff with House Republicans, who, led by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, threatened to hold the couple in contempt of Congress—a move that could have led to up to 12 months in prison. According to the BBC and USA Today, the Clintons initially resisted, arguing the inquiry was politically motivated and part of a broader campaign of retribution aligned with former President Donald Trump. Ultimately, the threat of a bipartisan contempt vote forced their hand.
“We will show up, but we think it would be better to have it in public because what we want is for everybody to get to the facts about this. We have nothing to hide,” Hillary Clinton said, as quoted by NBC News. The Clintons’ spokesperson, Angel Urena, echoed that sentiment, stating the couple agreed to testify but criticized the Oversight Committee for not negotiating in good faith.
Despite the Clintons’ push for public hearings—Hillary Clinton even challenged Chairman Comer on social media, writing, “If you want this fight…let’s have it—in public”—the depositions will be held behind closed doors. However, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer has promised that the sessions will be both transcribed and filmed, with videos and transcripts to be made public later. “Hearings are more for entertainment than substance, unfortunately,” Comer told NEWSMAX earlier this month. “My job isn’t to entertain people. My job is to get the truth to the American people.”
So, what exactly is Congress investigating? The House Oversight Committee’s focus, according to USA Today, is multifaceted. At its core, the probe seeks to unravel the extent of Epstein’s sex-trafficking network, the mismanagement of federal investigations into Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, the circumstances of Epstein’s death in federal custody, and the ways in which Epstein and Maxwell may have sought to curry favor and shield themselves from legal scrutiny. The committee is also examining potential ethics violations by current and former elected officials and considering legislative reforms to strengthen anti–sex trafficking measures and tighten ethical standards.
The Clintons’ connection to Epstein has long been the subject of public curiosity and political fodder. FEC filings and visitor logs, as reported by the Daily Mail and The Daily Beast, show that Epstein made 17 visits to the White House during Bill Clinton’s presidency in the 1990s. In 2006, the Clinton Foundation received a $25,000 donation from Epstein’s non-profit, C.O.U.Q. After leaving office, Bill Clinton’s relationship with Epstein centered on charity work for the Clinton Foundation. According to his spokesperson, Clinton took four international trips on Epstein’s private plane for foundation business and met Epstein once in New York, but he has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Flight logs and court documents indicate Clinton flew on Epstein’s private jet at least 16 times between 2002 and 2003. In a 2019 statement, Clinton said he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal conduct at the time and hadn’t spoken to him for years before his arrest. The CNN analysis and recent court documents unsealed in early 2024 referenced Clinton’s name but did not allege criminal misconduct.
Hillary Clinton’s name, meanwhile, appears over 700 times in the Epstein files, but as USA Today clarifies, the vast majority of those instances are simply news articles about her 2016 presidential campaign that were shared with Epstein. There is nothing in the files that establishes a direct link between Hillary Clinton and Epstein, and no victim has accused her of any wrongdoing since the first Epstein investigation began in 2005. In a BBC interview, Clinton reiterated she had never met or spoken to Epstein, though she acknowledged meeting Ghislaine Maxwell “on a few occasions,” including at large events like the Clinton Global Initiative. Maxwell also attended Chelsea Clinton’s wedding in 2010.
Other high-profile figures are also being drawn into the congressional spotlight. Ghislaine Maxwell and billionaire Les Wexner have already testified before the committee, while Epstein’s longtime accountant Richard Kahn and personal lawyer Darren Indyke have been subpoenaed to appear. The investigation has led to a series of high-profile resignations and ripple effects in multiple countries, underscoring the global reach and complexity of Epstein’s network.
The Clintons’ scheduled depositions mark a rare moment in American political history. It’s the first time a former president has been deposed by Congress since 1983, when Gerald Ford testified about the bicentennial anniversary of the Constitution. The precedent is not lost on lawmakers. As Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, told the New York Times, “There’s no question that Oversight Democrats will want to speak to Donald Trump and others.” Some Democrats warn that this could open the door to future congressional depositions of former presidents and their families, further blurring the lines between oversight and political theater.
Not everyone is convinced the inquiry is a fair pursuit of truth. Some Democrats have labeled the investigation a “one-sided political hit job,” questioning why so much energy has been devoted to the Clintons’ testimonies while other figures and officials, such as Attorney General Pam Bondi, have not faced the same level of scrutiny. “It’s interesting that it’s this subpoena only that Republicans and the Chairman have been obsessed about putting all the energy behind,” Garcia remarked. He also called for Bondi to be held in contempt for not releasing all the Epstein files.
The road to these depositions has been anything but smooth. The Clintons initially declined to testify before Congress, despite a subpoena issued by Chairman Comer. The depositions were originally slated for October 2025, postponed twice to January 2026, and only now—after further delays—scheduled for late February. At one point, the Clintons offered a private interview in New York with a limited scope, but Comer rejected the proposal, calling it “ridiculous” and “untenable.” Urena, the Clintons’ spokesperson, disputed Comer’s characterization, insisting the couple never refused a transcript and only wanted to limit questions to the Epstein investigation.
As the nation waits for the transcripts and videos to be released, one thing is certain: the Clintons’ testimonies will be scrutinized for both substance and spectacle. With the ghosts of past political scandals—like Bill Clinton’s 1998 deposition in the Paula Jones case—hovering in the background, the stakes could hardly be higher. The outcome may shape not just the legacy of Epstein’s case, but how Congress wields its investigative powers for years to come.
With depositions set to proceed behind closed doors, the American public is left to wait for answers—hoping that, when the curtains finally lift, the truth will be as clear as the headlines promise.