<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Former US Secretary of State </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/bill-clinton-hillary-clinton-jeffrey-epstein-files-testify-congress-house-oversight-usa-news/759f2255-ba69-4397-82c3-ab8af43d5bb2" rel="" target="" title="Hillary Clinton"><span>Hillary Clinton</span></a><span> is testifying before US House lawmakers in New York on Thursday as part of a congressional investigation into convicted sex offender </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/jeffrey-epstein" rel="" target="" title=""><span>Jeffrey Epstein</span></a><span>, starting off two days of depositions that will also include former US President Bill Clinton.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The closed-door depositions in the Clintons' hometown of Chappaqua, a typically quiet hamlet north of New York City, come after months of tense back-and-forth between the former high-powered Democratic couple and the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It will be the first time that a former president has been forced to testify before Congress.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Yet the demand for a reckoning over Epstein's abuse of underage girls has become a near-unstoppable force on Capitol Hill and beyond.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US President </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="" title="Donald Trump"><span>Donald Trump</span></a><span>, a Republican who has expressed regret that the Clintons are being forced to testify, bowed last year to pressure to release case files on Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Clintons, too, agreed to testify after their offers of sworn statements were rebuffed by the Oversight panel and its chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., threatened criminal contempt of Congress charges against them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We have a very clear record that we've been willing to talk about," Hillary Clinton said in an interview with the BBC earlier this month.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/hillary-clinton-deposition-jeffrey-epstein-investigation/82edb9b0-fa41-4f7c-8073-7aa5e8a43f44" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She added that her husband had flown with Epstein for charitable trips and that she did not recall meeting Epstein but had interacted with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend and confidant, at conferences hosted by the Clinton Foundation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Maxwell, a British socialite, also attended the 2010 wedding of their daughter, Chelsea Clinton.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are more than happy to say what we know, which is very limited and totally unrelated to their behaviour or their crimes, and we want to do it in public," Hillary Clinton said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Bill Clinton, however, has emerged as a top target for Republicans amid the political struggle over who receives the most scrutiny for their ties to Epstein.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Several photos of the former president were included in the first tranche of Epstein files released by the Department of Justice in January, including a number of him with women whose faces were redacted.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing in his relationship with Epstein.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Comer has also pointed to Hillary Clinton's work as secretary of state to address sex trafficking as another reason to insist on her deposition.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The committee's investigation has sought to understand why the Department of Justice under previous presidential administrations did not seek further charges against Epstein following a 2008 arrangement in which he pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl but avoided federal charges.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Yet conspiracy theories, especially on the right, have swirled for years around the Clintons and their connections to Epstein and Maxwell, who argues she was wrongfully convicted. Republicans have long wanted to press the Clintons for answers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I mean if you're the wife of Bill Clinton, aren't you going to have some questions about your husband's activities?" said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the House Oversight Committee.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We only go where the facts take us. We didn't put the president and the secretary in this position. They put themselves in it."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Democrats, now being led by a new generation of politicians, have prioritized transparency around Epstein over defending the former leaders of their party.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Several Democratic lawmakers joined with Republicans on the Oversight panel to advance the contempt of Congress charges against the Clintons last month. Several said they had no relationship with the Clintons and owed no loyalty to them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight panel, said that both Republican and Democratic administrations "have failed survivors in not getting more information out to the public."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He also said he wanted to ask about Epstein's possible ties to foreign governments.</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2022/06/29/14/32/jeffrey-epstein-ghislaine-maxwell-sex-abuse-case-timeline"><img alt="" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/c9Xd0uNmsGhN9eiLcIrxCiYA9b0=/410x0:2517x1185/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F7c2f3edc-4bec-46a0-864e-f82347a8b027" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/c9Xd0uNmsGhN9eiLcIrxCiYA9b0=/410x0:2517x1185/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F7c2f3edc-4bec-46a0-864e-f82347a8b027 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/pWDispdPRElEQ4mnAKJTiIdIIpw=/410x0:2517x1185/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F7c2f3edc-4bec-46a0-864e-f82347a8b027 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">A timeline of the Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell sex abuse case</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2022/06/29/14/32/jeffrey-epstein-ghislaine-maxwell-sex-abuse-case-timeline">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Democrats are also coming off an effort this week to confront Trump about his administration's handling of the Epstein files by taking women who survived Epstein's abuse as their guests to Trump's State of the Union address.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Even senior Democrats, such as former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, said it was appropriate for the committee to interview anyone, including the former president, who was connected to Epstein.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We want to hear from everyone," Pelosi said, adding that she did not see why Hillary Clinton was being interviewed and that it was important to "believe survivors".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>