The agreement, which comes as the House considers contempt charges against the couple, quells a potential conflict between the legislative and executive branches over who will be forced to testify.
These Epstein photos feature Trump, Clinton and other VIPs
House Democrats have released dozens of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate showing Bill Clinton, Woody Allen and other alleged sex traffickers.
WASHINGTON – Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to submit a deposition to a House committee about suspected sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to defuse a potential conflict between the legislative and executive branches.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee issued the subpoena in August 2025 and was scheduled to appear in court in January, but the Clintons defied the subpoena at the time.
“Former presidents and former secretaries of state will also be in attendance. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone,” Angel Urena, President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff, said on social media on February 2.
The announcement comes as the House Rules Committee considers a resolution to hold the Clintons in criminal contempt. If approved by the House and prosecuted by the Justice Department, the Clintons could face prison terms.
A letter from Clinton’s lawyers to lawmakers, reviewed by USA TODAY, said the former president and secretary of state had accepted the terms laid out by Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) and “will appear for depositions on a mutually agreeable date.” The letter also asked the committee to confirm that “the House will not proceed with the contempt proceedings.”
Comer said the Clintons had previously resisted testifying, so their proposal should be considered. His staff did not receive the offer until minutes before he began testifying on the contempt motion. He argued that allowing witnesses to avoid testifying until it was clear that a majority of lawmakers would approve contempt proceedings would set a bad precedent.
“We’re going to have to look at this and reconsider,” Comer said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) welcomed the news but did not say whether Congress would withdraw its planned contempt vote.
“That’s a good development,” he said. “We expect everyone to comply with Congressional subpoenas.”
The Justice Department is in the midst of releasing millions of pages of documents obtained from criminal investigations. Despite new laws mandating the release of documents, millions more pages remain secret, and hundreds of department lawyers are scrutinizing the documents in an effort to block the publication of the names of people who have accused Epstein of abuse.
Bill Clinton is one of the politicians and business leaders who interacted with Epstein and who appears in the documents. Clinton appeared in a photo and in a handwritten note in a book that Epstein’s colleague Ghislaine Maxwell put together for Epstein’s 50th birthday.
But Mr. Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing. The Clintons have been out of government for more than a decade and have maintained they had no relationship with Epstein for more than 20 years.
Comer argued that their testimony remains important to understanding Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking network and how he courted those in power to avoid scrutiny.
Criminal contempt is a misdemeanor punishable by a $100,000 fine and up to one year in prison. Former Trump political adviser Steve Bannon and Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro were each found guilty of contempt and sentenced to four months in prison for defying subpoenas related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Mr. Navarro was fined $9,500 and Mr. Bannon was fined $6,500.
However, the Justice Department may decide not to prosecute in such cases. The House of Representatives passed a resolution to hold Trump’s first-term aides on contempt charges, including Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Attorney General Bill Barr, and former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. However, no one was charged.
In a scathing letter dated January 13, Bill and Hillary Clinton called the subpoena “null and unenforceable” and accused Comer of trying to embarrass them.
“We are confident that any reasonable person, both inside and outside Congress, will see, based on everything we publish, that what you are doing is an attempt to punish those you consider to be your enemies and protect those you consider to be your friends,” the Clintons wrote.
The committee moved to hold them in contempt after Bill Clinton missed a hearing on January 13th and Hillary Clinton missed a hearing on January 14th.
Urena, a Bill Clinton staffer, said the former president offered to meet with Comer and the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, in his New York office on January 30. Clinton agreed to answer questions about her travels with Epstein, her knowledge of his criminal activities and Epstein’s efforts to gain influence.
Mr. Comer rejected the offer.
“The Clinton family does not have the authority to determine the terms of a lawful subpoena,” Comer said on social media.
This story has been updated to add new information and new video.
