House
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said Tuesday that he rejected a
“ridiculous” proposal from the Clintons to conduct an unofficial,
off-the-record meeting as Congress begins contempt proceedings against
the former first couple in its Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
In a post
on X, the Kentucky Republican said lawyers for Bill and Hillary Clinton
offered an arrangement that would have required him to travel to New
York for a private conversation with the former president — with no
sworn testimony, no transcript, and no participation from other members
of Congress.
Comer said he declined immediately.
“Facing contempt of Congress, the Clintons’ lawyers made an untenable offer: that I travel to New York for a conversation with President Clinton only,” Comer wrote. “No official transcript would be recorded and other Members of Congress would be barred from participating. I have rejected the Clintons’ ridiculous offer.”
The chairman said the conditions confirmed what he views as
an effort by the Clintons to seek special treatment as the
investigation closes in.
“The Clintons’ latest demands make clear they believe their last name entitles them to special treatment,” Comer wrote.
Under the Oversight Committee’s bipartisan subpoenas,
witnesses are required to appear for depositions under oath, with
testimony transcribed and preserved as part of the official record.
Comer said anything short of that would undermine the integrity of the
inquiry and leave the public without a reliable account of what was
said.
He also pointed directly to Bill Clinton’s past conduct
under oath, noting that the former president was impeached in 1998 after
misleading testimony and later suspended from the practice of law.
“Former President Clinton has a documented history of
parsing language to evade questions, responded falsely under oath, and
was impeached and suspended from the practice of law as a result,” Comer
wrote.
Comer argued that the absence of a formal transcript would defeat the purpose of the investigation.
“The absence of an official transcript is an indefensible demand that is insulting to the American people who demand answers about Epstein’s crimes,” he said.
He noted that the committee has already released
transcripts from interviews with former Attorney General Bill Barr and
former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, the U.S. attorney who approved
Epstein’s controversial 2008 plea deal, as part of what he described as a
transparency effort.
In August 2025, Comer disclosed that subpoenas had been
issued to a wide group of former senior officials, including former
attorneys general Alberto Gonzales and Jeff Sessions and former FBI
Director James Comey, as the committee expanded its review of how
federal authorities handled what he has called Epstein’s “horrific
crimes.”
Comer now says the Oversight Committee will vote Wednesday
on whether to hold Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress, with a
separate contempt effort against Bill Clinton moving on a parallel
track. If approved, the vote would formally escalate the investigation
and move the dispute into the next phase of enforcement as the Epstein
probe continues.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)