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WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to testify as part of a House investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Angel Ureña, spokesperson for Bill Clinton, responded in a post Monday to a letter from House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., saying the Clintons had “negotiated in good faith” and that Comer “did not do so.”
“They told you under oath what they knew, but you don’t care,” Ureña wrote. “But the former president and the former secretary of state will be there. They’re eager to set a precedent that applies to everyone.”
It was not immediately clear when or where the Clintons would testify.
In a statement Monday evening, Comer said that although the Clintons’ lawyers said they agreed to the terms, “the terms once again lack clarity and they have not provided any dates for their depositions.”
“The only reason they said they agreed to the terms is because the House moved forward with contempt. I will clarify the terms they agree to and then discuss next steps with my committee members,” Comer said.
The Oversight Committee previously voted to advance the Clinton contempt resolutions in the House. The rules committee met Monday to approve the resolutions, with a vote expected this week.
The committee subpoenaed the Clintons in August, alongside several former senior Justice Department officials, including former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales; and former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller requesting testimony “related to the horrific crimes perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein.”
THE first set of Epstein files released by the Justice Department included numerous photos of Bill Clinton, who his spokesperson said took Epstein’s plane for Clinton Foundation trips in the early 2000s, before Epstein was accused of sex crimes.
Bill Clinton has denied any wrongdoing. He previously said he cut ties with Epstein before Epstein was accused in 2006 of having sex with a minor.
In a December statement, Hillary Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said: “Since this started, we have been wondering what Hillary Clinton has to do with this, and [Comer] was not able to find an answer.
Earlier Monday, Comer rejected an offer made by the Clintons’ lawyers over the weekend. On Saturday, the lawyers said Bill Clinton would have a four-hour transcribed interview in New York, according to a copy of the letter obtained by NBC News. The lawyers wrote that “the scope of the interview would be limited to matters related to the investigations and prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein.”
The attorneys also requested that additional questions regarding Hillary Clinton be “addressed through a supplemental affidavit” rather than in-person testimony. But they said if necessary, she would have an in-person interview in the same format requested for her husband.
In his response to this offer MondayComer called the committee’s request to withdraw his subpoena and contempt resolution before the interview “unreasonable.”
Monica Alba is a White House correspondent for NBC News.
Raquel Coronell Uribe is a breaking news reporter.
