Top US officials have been ordered to testify in an oversight probe involving late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
The US House panel investigating the Jeffrey Epstein case has subpoenaed former President Bill Clinton, ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and several former top law enforcement officials to testify in a probe involving the disgraced financier.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by House Committee on Oversight Chairman James Comer, the subpoenas formalize demands made last month as part of the panel’s push to obtain more information about Epstein.
In 2019, Epstein died in a Manhattan jail in what was ruled a suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges involving minors. Some of the abuse allegedly occurred on his private island, Little St. James, in the US Virgin Islands. The case sparked global outrage fueled by widespread speculation of a cover-up to protect the powerful figures in politics, finance, media, and royalty that Epstein had been associated with.
The subpoenaed include former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Alberto Gonzales, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, and Eric Holder, as well as former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller. The committee also ordered the Justice Department to hand over “full, complete, unredacted Epstein files” by August 19. Depositions are set to begin August 18 and run through mid-October.
Lawmakers are seeking testimony from the Clintons over Bill Clinton’s ties to Epstein. In 2019, a spokesman confirmed that Clinton had flown on Epstein’s private jet multiple times but denied that the ex-US leader had visited the financier’s island.
Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Clinton wrote a personal note for Epstein’s 2003 birthday album, which also included a letter from Donald Trump with a drawing of a naked woman. Trump responded with a defamation suit.
On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to release all documents related to Epstein if elected. In July, US authorities sparked public uproar when they concluded that Epstein had not kept a client list that could implicate his high-profile associates. Trump claimed the case is being used to discredit his presidency.
The panel says the findings could help tighten laws on sex trafficking and plea deals in sex-crime cases.
