Bill and Hillary Clinton Subpoenaed by House Committee Investigating Jeffrey Epstein's 'Horrific Crimes' By Ben Brachfeld

A committee of the House of Representatives has subpoenaed a slew of former officials, including former President Bill Clinton and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for testimony on the “horrific crimes” of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer issued the subpoenas to the former president and first lady on Aug. 5, after a subcommittee voted to issue them on July 23, he announced in a statement. The committee is seeking to have the Clintons complete depositions by October regarding their knowledge of Epstein’s myriad sex offenses.

Comer also subpoenaed two former FBI directors, James Comey and Robert Mueller, as well as six former Attorneys General: Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder and Alberto Gonzales.

The Kentucky Republican also issued a subpoena to the Department of Justice for records related to Epstein.

Bill Clinton’s relationship with Epstein has been a source of public fascination for years. When Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges in 2019, Clinton’s spokesperson said the former commander-in-chief had been on Epstein’s jet four times and had taken a meeting at his Manhattan mansion in 2002, painting a picture of a professional relationship between the pair.

Clinton knew nothing of Epstein’s crimes and the two had not spoken in over a decade at the time of his arrest, said the spokesperson. A rep for the Clintons did not immediately return an inquiry from PEOPLE on Tuesday.

However, more recent reporting has suggested Clinton’s association with Epstein may have been more extensive than previously understood. The Wall Street Journal reported that Clinton allegedly wrote a letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday, included in the same commemorative book as a bawdy alleged message from future President Donald Trump, who purportedly wrote the two have “certain things in common.”

In a Tuesday New York Times story featuring images of Epstein’s palatial Manhattan townhouse, Epstein and Clinton can be seen in a framed photograph looking warmly at each other.

The subpoenas come as Trump faces increasing scrutiny over his administration’s handling of the government’s Epstein files — and of his own long, well-documented friendship with the convicted child sex offender.

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Months after current Attorney General Pam Bondi said on TV that Epstein’s reputed “client list” was sitting on her desk, her Justice Department reported that no such list existed and there was not enough evidence to prosecute any potential co-conspirators in Epstein’s massive child sex trafficking scheme.

Trump has urged his followers to forget about his connections with Epstein — and to focus instead on Clinton’s relationship with the financier. The DOJ has since interviewed Epstein’s convicted “madam” Ghislaine Maxwell, who reportedly named about 100 Epstein associates during the interview. She has since been moved to a prison with lighter security.

Maxwell — who is angling for a pardon or a commutation — has also been subpoenaed for a deposition before Congress, though she has said she will plead the Fifth Amendment unless she is guaranteed immunity from prosecution for whatever she says.

Epstein died in a federal jail in 2019 while under indictment for sex trafficking charges, in what was controversially ruled a suicide. At the time, Trump was president and Barr was attorney general.