Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Feb 26: Members of the Republican-led House Oversight Committee are scheduled to question former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday as part of their investigation into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The closed-door interview, which will be videotaped, is set to take place in Chappaqua, New York, where the Clintons have a residence. The committee is also expected to depose former President Bill Clinton the following day.

The in-person interviews come after months of back-and-forth between the former first couple and the panel, which had earlier threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena issued in August. Committee chair James Comer has accused the Clintons of delaying their testimony.

While the Clintons had offered to testify at a public hearing, Comer said the panel’s practice is to conduct closed-door depositions before holding open hearings.

Both Hillary and Bill Clinton have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein and have not been accused of crimes in connection with him. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

In a recent interview with the BBC, Hillary Clinton said she had little information to offer the committee and accused it of attempting to divert attention from President Donald Trump.

“Other witnesses were asked to testify. They gave written statements under oath. We offered that,” she said. “Why do they want to pull us into this? To divert attention from President Trump. This is not complicated.”

Undated photographs of Bill Clinton with Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell were released in December under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a 2025 law mandating the public disclosure of investigative files related to Epstein and Maxwell.

A spokesperson for Bill Clinton has said he traveled on Epstein’s plane four times in 2002 and 2003 for trips connected to the Clinton Foundation. Hillary Clinton has said she does not believe she ever met Epstein.

Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking charges and is serving a 20-year prison sentence, has said in an interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that “President Clinton was my friend, not Epstein’s friend,” and that she had arranged for Clinton and foundation associates to use Epstein’s plane in 2002.

In sworn declarations submitted to the Oversight Committee, both Clintons said they had “no personal knowledge” of Epstein’s or Maxwell’s criminal activities. Bill Clinton stated he had no recollection of when he first met Maxwell and that it had been many years since he last saw her. Hillary Clinton used similar language in her declaration.

Maxwell also stated she never witnessed Bill Clinton or Trump engage in inappropriate conduct.

Following her interview last year, Maxwell was transferred from a prison in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas.

The committee’s investigation into Epstein’s network and associations continues, with further hearings expected in the coming months.