Bill Clinton to testify to Congress about Epstein
Former president Bill Clinton will testify behind closed doors to a congressional panel about his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in what could be a tense clash between the former Democratic leader and US President Donald Trump’s Republican friends.
Clinton’s testimony, scheduled for Friday morning, follows that of her husband, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who told the House oversight committee on Thursday that she did not remember meeting Epstein and had nothing to share about his sex crimes.
But Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane several times after leaving office in the early 2000s, and a slice of millions of documents released by the Justice Department includes photos of him with women with their faces redacted.
He denied wrongdoing and expressed his regret for the affair.
Representative James Comer, the panel’s Republican chairman, said the Clintons are not accused of wrongdoing but must answer questions about their relationship with Epstein’s charitable foundations.
They agreed to testify near their principal residence in Chappaqua, New York, after the House of Representatives threatened them with contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate.
Some Democrats supported the move.
Both Clintons accuse Republicans of engaging in a partisan exercise designed to shield President Donald Trump from scrutiny, noting that others in the investigation are allowed to submit written testimony rather than testify in person.
Democrats say the panel should also subpoena Trump, whose name is frequently mentioned in the files on Epstein.
Trump socialized extensively with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s before Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Democrats also accuse the Trump Justice Department of withholding records from a woman who accused Trump of sexually abusing her when she was a minor.
The Ministry of Justice said it was reviewing the material in question and would release it if appropriate.
The department had previously warned that the material it released contained false accusations and sensational claims about Trump, and authorities had not accused him of any crimes related to Epstein.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges.
His death was ruled a suicide.
