Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrive ahead of the 60th Inauguration Ceremony at the Capitol in Washington on January 20, 2025.
Melina Mara | via Reuters
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday demanded that Republicans on the House Oversight Committee hold her and former President Bill Clinton’s testimony about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in public rather than in private as lawmakers are planning.
The request came after Hillary and Bill Clinton ceased efforts to resist subpoenas to testify before the committee. The committee’s Republican leadership had threatened to hold him in contempt of Congress if he refused to appear.
“For six months, we engaged Republicans on the Oversight Committee in good faith,” Hillary Clinton said in a post on X. “We told them under oath what we knew and they ignored everything. They moved the goalposts and turned accountability into a diversionary exercise.”
“So let’s stop the fight. If you want this fight, @RepJamesComer, let’s do it in public,” Clinton wrote, referring to the committee chairman.
“You love to talk about transparency. There’s nothing more transparent than a hearing with the cameras on.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) told reporters Tuesday that the Clintons do not receive “different treatment than other people” and that the subpoenas against them call for depositions by the committee, not public hearings.
“If we get past the deposition and still want to have a hearing, we’re going to try something,” Comer said that day.
Asked about Hillary Clinton’s X post, an Oversight Committee spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC on Thursday: “The Clintons are going to Clinton and trying to twist the facts because no one is buying their case. As always, the only ones moving the goalposts are the Clintons and their lawyers.”
“The Clintons were issued bipartisan subpoenas for depositions rather than hearings. Republicans and Democrats on the Oversight Committee voted to recommend to the House that the Clintons be held in contempt of Congress for six months for ignoring duly issued subpoenas,” the statement said.
“Facing a contempt of Congress lawsuit, the Clintons’ lawyers ultimately agreed to film and transcribe their depositions on February 26 and 27,” the spokesperson said.
“These depositions are in accordance with House and Committee rules. All witnesses interviewed as part of the Epstein investigation have been treated fairly and consistently. The Committee has filmed interviews with all witnesses, including former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr and U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, both Republican witnesses.”
