Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have reached a final agreement with House Republicans to testify in the House's investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein case on the 3rd (local time). AP reported that this decision was made under threat of being charged with contempt of Congress.

Hillary Clinton is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on February 26th, and Bill Clinton on February 27th. This will be the first time in U.S. history that a former president is compelled to testify before Congress.

Historically, Congress has shown deference to former presidents. While some former presidents have testified voluntarily, none have ever been forced to appear before lawmakers. Notably, in the 250-year history of the United States, no former president has ever been indicted for contempt of Congress.

The agreement comes after months of negotiations between the two sides, during which Republicans sought to make the Clintons central figures in the committee's inquiry into the sex offender Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019.

Although the Clintons did not initially comply with subpoenas, House Republicans, with the support of some Democrats, were preparing to vote on criminal charges for contempt of Congress this week. If convicted, the Clintons could have faced significant fines or imprisonment.

It is well-documented that Bill Clinton had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Despite this, he has not been accused or indicted for any wrongdoing in his dealings with Epstein.

The Clintons strongly criticized the decision by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), accusing him of politicizing the investigation and failing to hold the Trump administration accountable for delays in submitting Justice Department files related to Epstein.

However, with the possibility of a vote looming, Congress was on the verge of applying one of its most severe sanctions against a former president for the first time. President Trump indirectly increased the pressure by sharing photos of Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon on social media, posting, "Two very good friends have been treated very unfairly by sleepy Joe Biden. But now, they are bigger than ever!!!"

These two individuals refused to testify at the January 6th Select Committee hearings on the Capitol riot and were ultimately indicted and served prison sentences for contempt of Congress.

NNP Chief Reporter Sung Ku Hong / Special Correspondent for this paper NNP info@newsandpost.com