Comer reconsidering contempt resolutions against Clintons after they agree to depositions
The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee says he is reconsidering moving contempt resolutions forward after former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to sit for closed-door depositions in the committee's Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
The House was expected to vote as soon as Wednesday on two contempt of Congress resolutions against the Clintons -- until the Clintons agreed to Republicans' demands on Monday evening.
"They negotiated in good faith. You did not," Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureñaposted on X. "They told you under oath what they know, but you don't care. But the former President and formerSecretary of State will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone."
Last month, the House Oversight Committeevoted to advance two bipartisanresolutionsholding the Clintons in contempt of Congress forfailing to comply with itssubpoenasrelating to convicted sex offenderEpstein.
Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said Monday evening he needs more clarity on what the Clintons are offering.
"The Clintons’ counsel has said they agree to terms, but those terms lack clarity yet again and they have provided no dates fortheirdepositions," Comer said. "The onlyreason they have said they agree to terms is because the House has moved forward with contempt. I will clarify the terms they are agreeing to and then discuss next steps with my committee members."
Formonths, the Clintons had insisted that the subpoenas were without legal merit. Comer, aRepublican, has pushed back, saying the Clintons are not above the law and must comply with a subpoena.
Besides defying the subpoenas to testify before the House committee, neitherBill Clinton norHillary Clintonhas been accused of wrongdoing and both deny having any knowledge of Epstein'scrimes.No Epstein survivororassociate has ever made a public allegation of wrongdoing orinappropriate behaviorbythe formerpresident orhis wifeinconnection with his priorrelationship with Epstein.
In a letter dated Jan. 31, the Clintons' legal teams wrote the committee to lay out the parameters of a prospective interview -- alongside a request for the committee to withdraw its subpoena and contempt resolution -- proposing a four-hour transcribed interview in lieu of a deposition conducted under oath.
The letter states the interview should occur in New York City -- open to all committee members --while the scope of questions would be "confined to matters related to the investigations and prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein." The president also asked to designate his own transcriber, alongside a court reporter employed by the House.
"This framework is consistent with your priorities as communicated by Committee staff and asidentified during the business meeting on January 21st," the letter, signed by Clinton attorneys Katherine Turner and Ashley Callen, stated. "Pursuant to your request for this comprehensive written proposal, we ask that you respond in kind should there remain any specific area of disagreement to continue this good-faith effort to avoid legal proceedings that will prevent our clients from providing testimony in addition to the sworn statements they already submitted."
Comer wrote back Monday, citing "serious concerns with the offer," beginning with the proposed scope restriction -- predicting President Clinton "would refuse to answer questions" related to his personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Comer also balked at the proposed four-hour time limit for the interview, and the president’s bid to break blocks of questioning into 30-minute periods -- rather than 60-minute periods -- that alternate between Republicans and Democrats.
“A hard time-limit provides a witness with the incentive to attempt to run out the clock by giving unnecessarily long answers and meandering off-topic. This is a particular concern where a witness, such as President Clinton, has an established record of being a loquacious individual,” Comer said.
"Limiting President Clinton’s testimony to four hours is insufficient time for the Committee to gain a full understanding of President Clinton’s personal relationship with them, his knowledge of their sex-trafficking ring, and his experience with their efforts to curry favor and exercise influence to protect themselves," he added of President Clinton's relationship with Epstein and Maxwell.
Finally, Comer took umbrage with the proposition for a transcribed interview, not a sworn deposition.
“A transcribed interview is voluntary, meaning that the subject may refuse to answer questions absent any assertion of privilege or constitutional right,” Comer noted. “The conditions requested thus would enable President Clinton to refuse to answer whatever questions he wanted for whatever reasons he wanted and leave as the Committee’s only recourse to again subpoena President Clinton’s testimony, effectively restarting this entire process from the beginning."
As for Hillary Clinton, the lawyers' letter echoes her sworn declaration, stating she "never held an office with responsibility for, or involvement with, DOJ’s handling of these investigations or prosecutions," adding "the same is true as a private citizen after leaving office in 2013."
The lawyers also requested that Comer withdraw the subpoena and resolution of contempt "so that we may continue to work in good faith toward an agreement that meets the Committee’s needs while accounting for the limited information Secretary Clinton can provide."
In response, Comer emphasized “the necessity” of Hillary Clinton’s in-person testimony juxtaposed against the "unacceptability of simple sworn declarations."
Comer concluded that the Clintons' "desire for special treatment is both frustrating and an affront to the American people’s desire for transparency."
