The Epstein files, the subpoenas and the depositions

In July 2025 the Justice Department and FBI said in a two-page memo that their review found no incriminating “client list,” no credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed powerful people, and no reason to doubt that he killed himself. People across the spectrum refused to accept that, and Congress acted. [1]

The Epstein Files Transparency Act passed the House 427–1 on 18 November 2025 and the Senate by unanimous consent the next day. President Trump, who had opposed the effort before reversing course days earlier, signed it on 19 November. It gave the department 30 days to publish its unclassified Epstein and Maxwell records. [2][3]

The first release came on the deadline, 19 December. Critics in both parties said the partial release did not meet the law. By 30 January 2026 the department said it had published nearly 3.5 million pages plus images and video. Its archive warns that it may contain errors and unverified material. [3][4][6]

On 27 August 2026 the department filed its required report, published in the Federal Register. It lists government officials and politically exposed people who are “named or referenced” in the material. Being named or referenced is not an accusation. The report is not a list of clients. [5]

The idea of a “client list” — a roster of men who paid Epstein for sex with minors — is one of the most widespread beliefs about the case. In July 2025 the Justice Department said no incriminating client list exists. [1]

What does exist: Epstein’s address book (released before and again in December 2025, with Trump and many others in it), flight logs, photos, and the department’s August 2026 list of officials “named or referenced.” Each of those is a list of contacts or mentions. None is a list of crimes. [2][3]

Skepticism is reasonable. The department said in July 2025 that nothing more would be released, then was forced by law to release millions of pages. But doubting the government is not evidence that a list with Clinton’s name on it exists. [1]

On 14 November 2025, President Trump asked the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s relationships with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman and JPMorgan Chase. Attorney General Pam Bondi assigned Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan. Trump’s request came days before the House vote that forced the files out. [1]

Supporters said the inquiry was overdue. Critics, including Clinton’s spokesman, said it was a diversion from Trump’s own ties to Epstein. Both claims are about motive; neither is evidence about Clinton’s conduct. [2][3]

As of this edition, no charges or public findings have come out of the inquiry. An investigation opened at a president’s request is not evidence that a crime occurred. Its silence is also not an exoneration. [1]

A House Oversight subcommittee voted without objection on 23 July 2025 to subpoena ten people, including both Clintons. Chairman James Comer issued them on 5 August. Dates in October were moved to 17 and 18 December; the Clintons declined, citing a funeral. New subpoenas set 13 and 14 January 2026. They did not appear. [1][2]

The Clintons argued the subpoenas had no legal merit and offered a four-hour transcribed interview instead. On 21 January the committee voted to recommend contempt of Congress for both. Nine Democrats voted with Republicans. [3][5]

On 3 February, with a House floor vote coming, the Clintons agreed to filmed depositions. Comer’s press release said they “completely caved.” That headline is his; the dates and votes are the record. [4]

Hillary Clinton was deposed on 26 February 2026 and Bill Clinton on the 27th, both in Chappaqua, New York. The committee released video on 2 March. ABC News reported this was the first time a former president had been compelled to testify before a congressional committee. [1][2]

Bill Clinton said he never saw Epstein abuse anyone, never had sexual contact with anyone Epstein introduced him to, and that Epstein never discussed sex with him. Asked whether Giuffre’s claim that he pressured Vanity Fair not to publish stories about Epstein was true, he said: “No. And no, not no. Hell no.” Asked whether he accepted that Epstein killed himself, he said: “That he did. But I don’t know. None of us know. We weren’t there.” His summary: “I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong.” [2]

He also said Trump told him, at a charity golf event in the early 2000s, that his relationship with Epstein had fallen apart over a real-estate deal. [2]

Hillary Clinton said she did not recall meeting Epstein. Pressed about the island, she said: “I have never been on his island. Period. I’ve never been in his homes, his offices, his anything.” Rep. Lauren Boebert asked her whether the files related to Pizzagate; she rejected the theory. [3][4]

The 2026 releases include emails between Ghislaine Maxwell and an address labelled with Clinton’s initials, WJC. Most, CNN reported, are about travel, dinners and invitations. One from Maxwell is sexually explicit. Online, they were read as Maxwell writing to Bill Clinton. [1]

Clinton told the committee in February that he could recall sending only two emails in his life, that he did not use that account, and that he believed the explicit message went to Band. He said Band “thought it would increase his cache if he had an email with WJC on it.” [1][2]

In June 2026 Band told the committee, per a source who spoke to CNN, that the WJC address was his and no one else had access to it. He said he could not recall the individual emails, denied any sexual contact with Maxwell, and said he cut Maxwell and Epstein out of Clinton’s circle once the allegations came out. Rep. Mace called him “the worst witness we’ve ever had.” [1]

In February 2026 a recording spread online that claimed to be an Epstein survivor accusing both Clintons. PolitiFact traced it to a clip already circulating from a site called The People’s Voice and found experts who judged it AI-generated. [1]

With millions of real pages online, fake “files” are easy to slip in. The official archive is at justice.gov/epstein. If a document or clip is not there, or in a court record, ask where it came from, who made it and whether anyone with first-hand knowledge stands behind it. [2]

Real items get distorted too. The “Parsing Bill” painting is real; the claim that it proves something about Clinton is not. [3]