Epstein Scandal: Bill and Hillary Agree to Testify Before Congress

Darwin, 03 February:

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify in the U.S. Congress’s investigation into the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

A spokesperson for the former president confirmed the information on Monday, according to a report by Qatar-based news outlet Al Jazeera.

As a result of this decision, a proposed vote in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to hold the Clinton couple in contempt of Congress may be avoided. Had such a vote taken place, it could have opened the door to potential criminal charges against them.

Bill Clinton’s former deputy chief of staff, Angel Ureña, said in a post on social media: “The former president and the former secretary of state will appear. They want to set a precedent that applies to everyone.”

Ureña attached a statement from the House Oversight Committee to his post, in which the committee had accused the Clintons of “defying lawful subpoenas” and “seeking special treatment to avoid contempt.” The statement said, “The Clintons are not above the law.”

Last week, the House Oversight Committee had recommended holding Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt for refusing to testify about their connections to Epstein.

However, from the beginning, the Clintons said they were willing to cooperate with the investigation but were not prepared to testify in person. They argued that the investigation was primarily a partisan political effort aimed at protecting former President Donald Trump, who had long-standing ties with Epstein.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson welcomed the Clintons’ decision but did not clearly state whether the proposed contempt vote would be withdrawn. He said, “This is a positive development. We hope everyone will respect congressional subpoenas.”

Democrats allege that the investigation is being used as a political weapon. According to them, Donald Trump—who had close ties to Epstein—has not been called to testify, while his political opponents are being targeted.

It is worth noting that the Trump administration initially tried to block the release of investigative files related to Epstein. However, under pressure from his own “Make America Great Again” supporters and some Republican lawmakers, Trump ultimately ordered the release of millions of documents related to the case.

Bill Clinton has acknowledged that he traveled multiple times on Epstein’s plane in the early 2000s after leaving the presidency. However, he has said he had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities and has expressed regret over the association.

Hillary Clinton has stated that she had no meaningful relationship with Epstein. She never boarded Epstein’s plane nor visited his private island.

The Epstein scandal has cast a long shadow over U.S. politics, and its impact is now extending to the United Kingdom as well. Those linked to the scandal include Britain’s former Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson, the former UK ambassador to the United States.

On Monday, British police said they are reviewing allegations of misconduct against Mandelson. His name appears more than 5,000 times in U.S. Department of Justice documents related to Epstein.

Mandelson was dismissed from his post as ambassador last year. Emails released later showed that he referred to Epstein as “my best friend” and advised him on seeking early release from prison.

Mandelson has apologized to Epstein’s victims and denied all allegations against him.