Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have postponed their scheduled depositions before the House Oversight Committee as part of the panel’s ongoing investigation into the federal government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases, according to congressional officials.
A spokesperson for the committee confirmed Monday that neither Clinton appeared on their originally scheduled dates. Hillary Clinton had been expected to testify last week, while Bill Clinton was slated to sit for questioning on Tuesday.
“The deposition won’t occur tomorrow,” the spokesperson told The New York Post, adding that the committee is “having conversations with the Clintons’ attorney to accommodate their schedules.” No new dates have been announced.
The subpoenas were issued in early August by Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) as part of the committee’s broader review of Epstein’s prosecution history, Maxwell’s conviction, and the federal government’s management of related investigations. Comer has said the panel intends to examine potential lapses in the Justice Department’s oversight of Epstein’s activities and connections to high-profile individuals.
“Everybody in America wants to know what went on at Epstein Island,” Comer said during an interview with Newsmax in August, referring to Epstein’s private estate in the U.S. Virgin Islands. “We’ve all heard reports that Bill Clinton was a frequent visitor there, so he’s a prime subject to be deposed by the House Oversight Committee.”
Comer, who has chaired the committee since January 2023, described the subpoenas as among “the most challenging” of his tenure, noting that Democrats joined Republicans in approving the measure.
Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender, was arrested in July 2019 on federal child sex trafficking charges. He died in a Manhattan jail the following month while awaiting trial. Federal prosecutors later described his death as suicide. Maxwell, his longtime associate, was convicted in 2021 of conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Epstein’s association with numerous influential figures—including business leaders, politicians, and academics—has been the subject of renewed congressional scrutiny. According to White House visitor logs released in 2016, Epstein visited the Clinton White House at least 17 times between 1993 and 1995. Records also show that he donated $10,000 to the White House Historical Association in 1993.
Bill Clinton has acknowledged traveling on Epstein’s private jet, sometimes referred to as the “Lolita Express,” multiple times in connection with his work for the Clinton Foundation and its global initiatives.
However, the former president has consistently denied visiting Epstein’s private island or having knowledge of any criminal activity.
“I wish I had never met him,” Clinton wrote in his 2024 memoir Citizen: My Life After the White House, adding that his travel on Epstein’s plane “was not worth the years of questioning afterward.”
In an interview earlier this year with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Maxwell said her relationship with the Clintons was primarily through her own acquaintance with the former president. “President Clinton was my friend, not Epstein’s friend,” she said. “President Clinton liked me, and we got along terribly well. But I never saw that warmth with Mr. Epstein.”
Maxwell also told Blanche that Bill Clinton “absolutely never” visited Epstein’s island.
The House Oversight Committee’s inquiry is one of several ongoing reviews into how federal law enforcement handled Epstein’s activities and associates before his death.
Comer has said the panel is examining whether officials within the Justice Department or FBI “interfered, ignored, or downplayed evidence” that could have led to additional prosecutions.
While the Clintons are not accused of any criminal wrongdoing, their testimonies are expected to address the extent of their interactions with Epstein and Maxwell, as well as any potential awareness of his conduct during and after Bill Clinton’s presidency.
The committee has not released a full witness list for upcoming depositions but has indicated that additional subpoenas could follow.
“We are going to get answers,” Comer said last month. “This investigation is about accountability and transparency for the American people.”