Colorado Politics

House oversight to grill Bill Clinton about Epstein visiting White House 17 times

Former President Bill Clinton is set to testify Friday before the House oversight committee, where Republicans say they plan to press him about Jeffrey Epstein’s visits to the White House and his past travel aboard the late disgraced financier’s private plane.

The closed-door deposition is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center in Westchester County, New York, near the Clintons’ primary residence. Committee Chairman James Comer (R-OK) said lawmakers intend to question Clinton about Epstein’s 17 visits to the White House during his presidency, as well as flight logs showing Clinton flew on Epstein’s jet at least 27 times, the chairman said.

“We know President Clinton had — and Secretary Clinton confirmed this yesterday — Jeffrey Epstein was in the White House 17 times while Bill Clinton was president,” Comer told reporters Friday morning, referring to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s testimony before the committee yesterday. “We know that Bill Clinton flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane at least 27 times. So those are questions that we’re going to ask.”

Comer described the deposition as part of a broader effort to question powerful figures connected to Epstein, while stressing that neither Bill nor Hillary Clinton is currently accused of wrongdoing.

“No one is accusing anyone of any wrongdoing,” he said. “But I think the American people have a lot of questions, and our House oversight committee is committed to getting answers.”

Meanwhile, pressure has mounted for the committee to question Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has also been seen in numerous photos and records alongside Epstein, as recently released Justice Department files show. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) asked an “interesting” question of the former first lady, Comer said Friday.

Bill Clinton’s appearance comes a day after his spouse sat for more than six hours of questioning. Comer said she deferred numerous inquiries about her husband.

“There were at least a dozen times when she said, ‘You’ll have to ask my husband,’” Comer said, adding that the committee’s “portfolio of questions” for the former president expanded as a result.

Flight records and Justice Department-released materials show Clinton traveled on Epstein’s aircraft multiple times and appears in photographs with Epstein and his convicted associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Neither Clinton has been charged with or implicated in Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes.

The Clintons’ depositions follow months of negotiations between their attorneys and committee Republicans. House leaders had previously considered holding the couple in contempt of Congress before they agreed to comply.

Democrats, meanwhile, are using the high-profile testimony to renew calls for questioning of President Donald Trump.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the panel’s top Democrat, said Bill Clinton’s appearance establishes precedent for summoning Trump.

“We are now asking and demanding that President Trump officially come in and testify in front of the oversight committee,” Garcia said, arguing that Trump appears frequently in Epstein-related files and should answer questions about the Justice Department’s handling of records.

Lawmakers indicated video of Hillary Clinton’s deposition could be released as soon as later in the day on Friday, while footage of Bill Clinton’s testimony may face a longer turnaround because it is being recorded the same day.

Friday’s session is expected to last several hours as investigators continue examining the government’s handling of Epstein and his network.

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