Bill and Hillary Clinton push for public hearings as Comer holds firm in Epstein probe

WASHINGTON, DC: Hillary Clinton issued a sharp rebuke to House Republicans, urging them to “stop the games” and hold public hearings as lawmakers investigate her and Bill Clinton’s past ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

While the former first couple has reportedly agreed to sit for closed-door depositions, they continue to press for their testimony to take place publicly, escalating tensions with House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer.

Hillary Clinton tells Oversight Committee to ‘stop the games’

On Thursday, February 5, Clinton took to X to accuse Republicans of shifting their stance after months of discussions.

“For six months, we engaged Republicans on the Oversight Committee in good faith. We told them what we know, under oath. They ignored all of it. They moved the goalposts and turned accountability into an exercise in distraction,” she wrote.

“So let’s stop the games. If you want this fight, @RepJamesComer, let’s have it—in public. You love to talk about transparency. There’s nothing more transparent than a public hearing, cameras on. We will be there,” Clinton added.

Her comments quickly drew a response from House Republicans, who rejected claims that they were blocking transparency.

GOP Oversight Committee says Clintons are ‘trying to spin the facts'

The Oversight Committee fired back on X, accusing the Clintons of misrepresenting the situation.

“The Clintons are going to Clinton and try to spin the facts,” the committee posted, noting that their attorneys, Jonathan Skladany and Ashley Callen, accepted the terms of the depositions at the “eleventh hour.”

According to the committee, those terms were consistent with previous depositions and included video recordings, a detail they say was outlined in House deposition guidance provided alongside the subpoenas.

“We are not going to debate the meaning of the word ‘is.’ We are going to get answers for the American people. The full truth,” the committee added, attaching screenshots of email correspondence.

House voted to hold Clintons in contempt over subpoenas

Last month, the House Oversight Committee voted to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas related to the investigation.

Notably, the vote included support from nine Democrats.

Comer praised the bipartisan outcome, saying, “I’m very happy that we had a bipartisan vote today to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress, and this shows that no one’s above the law.”

“I felt like in my heart, there would be Democrats for it, and I’m very, very proud of the ones who did,” he added.

Comer says depositions will be made public

Comer announced that Hillary Clinton is scheduled to testify on February 26, while Bill Clinton’s deposition is set for February 27.

During a Wednesday interview on Newsmax, Comer said the recordings would eventually be released.

“The deposition will be made public, it's going to be audio, video and the transcripts will be released,” he said, arguing that depositions are more substantive than hearings.

He added that if the Clintons still want to appear publicly after their depositions, they will be welcome to testify before the committee.