Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have been summoned to testify in the case of financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The Clintons were sent by the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The information has been published on the committee’s website.
In addition to the Clintons, similar subpoenas were received by former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller, as well as former attorneys general Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales.
The hearings will begin on August 18 and continue until mid-October. Bill Clinton will be called to testify on October 14, and Hillary Clinton on 9 October. Separately, committee chairman James Comer sent a request to the US Department of Justice to provide all documents related to the investigation of Epstein’s activities by August 19.
Investment banker Jeffrey Epstein, who pleaded guilty to organizing prostitution and was convicted of raping a minor in 2008, was re-arrested in the US in the summer of 2019. He was accused of trafficking girls, including 14-year-olds, and soliciting them for prostitution. In August of that year, 66-year-old Epstein committed suicide in prison before standing trial.
The publication of materials related to the Epstein case was one of US President Donald Trump’s campaign promises. However, in July, the Republican criticised his party colleagues for attacking US Attorney General Pam Bondi “over a guy who just won’t die.” Bondi initially stated that she had a “client list” on her desk that Epstein had offered sexual services of underage girls, but later retracted her statement, explaining that she did not mean a list of the financier’s accomplices by name, but rather the case files as a whole.
Trump insists that he severed ties with Epstein more than 20 years ago. However, The Wall Street Journal reported that in May, Justice Department officials told the American president that his name appeared several times in Epstein’s files.
