‘Stop the games’: Hillary Clinton demands public hearing in Epstein probe
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is calling for her upcoming testimony before the House Oversight Committee to be made public in a congressional probe of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a pair of social media posts on Feb. 5, the former first lady and Democratic presidential candidate railed against the committee and Republican lawmakers whom she said had “ignored” previous testimony by her and former President Bill Clinton.
Clinton said that they had engaged with the committee in “good faith,” but the goalposts kept moving in what she called “an exercise in distraction.”
“We told them what we know, under oath,” Hillary Clinton said on X, alluding to their submitted sworn statements to the committee in January, mentioned in a widely circulated letter about the couple’s initual refusal to testify in person. “They ignored all of it.”
Hillary Clinton then challenged committee chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, to allow the nation to watch the Clintons’ testimony live.
“Let’s stop the games. If you want this fight, @RepJamesComer, let’s have it – in public,” Hillary Clinton said. “You love to talk about transparency. There’s nothing more transparent than a public hearing, cameras on. We will be there.”
Her comments come two days after Comer announced that the Clintons had “caved” and agreed to testify later this month as part of the committee’s investigation into Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislane Maxwell. The agreement came just days before a potential vote to hold the Clintons in contempt for refusing to appear before the committee.
“Once it became clear that the House of Representatives would hold them in contempt, the Clintons completely caved and will appear for transcribed, filmed depositions this month,” Comer said in a Feb. 3 press release. “We look forward to questioning the Clintons as part of our investigation into the horrific crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors.”
Hillary Clinton is set to testify on Feb. 26, and the former president’s deposition will take place the following day, Feb. 27.
Trump and Bill Clinton appear in Epstein records
The Epstein furor has dogged President Donald Trump, who was close friends with financial advisor Epstein for more than a decade during the 1990s and early 2000s. Epstein pleaded guilty to child prostitution-related charges in Florida in 2008 and died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Last year, Trump signed a law he had initially opposed requring the Justice Department to release reams of investigative documents from its Epstein probes. Those and other disclosures have revealed Epstein’s ties to leading figures in politics, entertainment, and business − including Bill Clinton.
“I think it’s really time for the country to maybe get onto something else,” Trump told reporters Feb 3. “Now that nothing came out about me, other than it was a conspiracy against me, literally by Epstein and other people.”
Trump’s name, and that of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and other references to Trump appear 38,000 times across 5,300 files in the Justice Department’s Jan. 30 document release, according to a review by the New York Times. Several of the files appear to be duplicates, the news outlet reported.
Neither Clinton nor Trump has been accused of criminal wrongdoing in their dealings with Epstein and Trump has vehemently denied wrongdoing in connection with his former friend.
The oversight committee initially issued subpoenas in August 2025 and scheduled appearances for January, but the Clintons defied them at that time.
Bill Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, Angel Urena, said on social media Feb. 2 that “the former President and former Secretary of State would be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone.”
Clintons change their tune about testifying
The Clintons’ reversal came less than a month after the couple defiantly said they would not participate in the “dismantling of America.” In a scathing Jan. 13 letter to Comer, the Clintons said the committee chair should be focused on preventing crimes like Epstein’s from happening again, but was instead playing “partisan politics.”
They had accused Comer of trying to embarrass them, calling the subpoenas “invalid and legally unenforceable,” and said they were prepared to state their case to the 45-member committee if necessary.
Neither Clinton has been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and both have said they do not know about any criminal acts related to the investigation.