Clintons To Be Deposed in Hometown of Chappaqua Rather Than on Capitol Hill

President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be deposed in their hometown of Chappaqua, New York next week rather than on Capitol Hill, as most witnesses have done. The former first couple were due to be deposed months ago, and only agreed to sit down with no conditions after House Republicans moved to hold them in contempt. Mr. and Mrs. Clinton are being deposed as part of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and the government’s response to his crimes. Mr. Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane multiple times, though he has insisted that it was only for trips related to charity and that nothing untoward ever occurred. There is no evidence he sexually abused anyone. There is also no evidence that Mrs. Clinton ever met Epstein. On Thursday, a spokeswoman for the House Oversight Committee said that the depositions would take place in Chappaqua, rather than behind closed doors at an office building on Capitol Hill, which is were most of the depositions and interviews have taken place. “The Clintons’ depositions will be held in Chappaqua, New York on February 26 and 27 as an accommodation for their schedules,” the committee staffer said. “The depositions are in accordance with House and Committee rules.”For months, the Clintons demanded that they be allowed to submit sworn declarations about Epstein. After that was rejected, their attorneys asked that the committee interview only the former president, and only at his home in New York. The Clintons’ lawyers also asked that only the chairman, Congressman James Comer, and the top Democrat on the committee, Congressman Robert Garcia, be allowed to attend the deposition with barebones staff. When Mr. Comer rejected that demand, he moved to hold the former first couple in contempt of Congress. If that had happened, they would have been vulnerable to potential prosecutions by the Justice Department. Contempt of Congress convictions carry a maximum sentence of one year in prison. Even after they finally agreed to sit for depositions, Mr. and Mrs. Clinton made a public push to have a full Oversight Committee hearing in the open for the public to see. The Clintons went after Mr. Comer personally multiple times on social media. “Chairman Comer says he wants cameras, but only behind closed doors. Who benefits from this arrangement? It’s not Epstein’s victims, who deserve justice. Not the public, who deserve the truth,” Mr. Clinton wrote on X earlier this month. “It serves only partisan interests. This is not fact-finding, it’s pure politics.”The contempt vote in the House was almost guaranteed to pass, not only because of the fact that Republicans control the majority, but because a number of Democrats sided with the GOP when the Oversight Committee voted to advance the contempt resolutions. After debating the resolutions for hours in January, nine Democrats — a plurality — voted with all Republicans to advance the contempt resolution for Mr. Clinton. Among other Democrats, eight voted no, two voted “present,” and two others were absent from the hearing. The vote for Mrs. Clinton was narrower, though still bipartisan. Only three Democrats voted to advance the resolution for her. Speaking to the BBC about the Epstein investigation, Mrs. Clinton insisted that she and her husband have no “ties” to Epstein, given there is no evidence of sex crimes, business ties, or any visits to Epstein’s island by the former first couple. “We have a very clear record,” Mrs. Clinton said. “My husband has said he took some rides on the airplane for his charitable work. I don’t recall ever meeting [Epstein].”When asked if she had met Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, Mrs. Clinton said she had, though only “on a few occasions” and only when they were discussing the Clinton Global Initiative. “To me, it’s not something that is really at the heart of what this matter is about,” Mrs. Clinton said. “[Epstein and Maxwell were] accused and, in both cases, were convicted of horrific crimes against girls and women. That should be the focus.”“We are more than happy to say what we know, which is very limited and totally unrelated to [Epstein’s and Maxwell’s] behavior or their crimes,” Mrs. Clinton said.

Clintons To Be Deposed in Hometown of Chappaqua Rather Than on Capitol Hill

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