Subpoenas and Sworn Silence: The Bipartisan Dance Around Epstein’s ‘Birthday Book’

In a high-stakes political showdown, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) is threatening to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for their refusal to comply with subpoenas for in-person depositions. The Clintons, through their attorney David Kendall, have argued that written answers are the “most efficient and equitable way to proceed,” insisting they have “little to contribute” to the committee’s probe into Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking network. Comer has deemed this arrangement unacceptable, stating that “any attempt by the Clintons to avoid sitting for a deposition would be in defiance of lawful subpoenas,” and has set firm dates for their appearances in mid-December.

The legal standoff unfolds against a backdrop of extraordinary bipartisan momentum to unearth the full truth about Epstein’s circle, a push that now legally implicates figures from both sides of the political aisle. This new era of transparency was cemented when President Donald Trump signed The Epstein Files Transparency Act, compelling the Justice Department to release all unclassified records related to Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and individuals referenced in Epstein’s legal cases. The legislation was propelled forward after both parties released troves of documents, including emails from Epstein’s estate that mentioned not only Bill Clinton but also Trump himself, ensuring that the investigation’s glare falls on a wide, bipartisan spectrum of powerful associates.

This creates a fascinating political paradox: while Chairman Comer publicly pressures the Clintons to testify, the very legislative engine driving this investigation was signed by a president who is himself a named associate in the newly released documents. The committee’s pursuit of in-person testimony suggests a belief that live questioning could yield details not found in the thousands of pages of documents or the “Birthday Book” now being handed over by Epstein’s estate. As both a former Democratic president and a former Republican president find their names woven into the fabric of this sprawling investigation, the public is left with a stark realization—the quest for accountability in the Epstein case is a drama with no partisan boundaries, where the demand for sworn testimony may be the only way to separate verified fact from the unverified claims of a convicted financier.