Hillary Clinton will testify on Thursday before a US House of Representatives panel investigating the crimes of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The former Democratic secretary of state and presidential candidate recently agreed, along with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, to testify to the House Oversight Committee.
Both had previously resisted demands to appear, calling them politically motivated. Their agreement to testify averted potential contempt-of-Congress proceedings.
Hillary Clinton has said she does not recall meeting or speaking to Epstein. Her husband, who knew Epstein, has denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein's crimes.
Bill Clinton has said he cut ties with Epstein two decades ago and expressed regret over his association with the financier, who died in 2019.
He is expected to provide his own testimony on Friday.
In an interview with the BBC last week in Berlin, Hillary Clinton called the deposition a Republican ruse to divert attention from questions about Trump's association with Epstein.
She maintained that she never met Epstein but did meet his convicted associate Ghislaine Maxwell "on a few occasions." Maxwell attended the wedding of the couple's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, in 2010 in New York.
The Clintons' agreement to testify marked a reversal from their previous defiant stance and came as a potential contempt vote loomed in the House.
Some Democratic committee members voted to initiate contempt proceedings.
The Clintons have previously accused the panel's Republican leader, James Comer, of "partisan politics" in handling the investigation. They described the legal summonses as "nothing more than a ploy to attempt to embarrass political rivals, as President Trump has directed."
They insisted they had already submitted sworn statements covering the "limited information" they had on Epstein.
Nonetheless, they will appear, a spokesperson for Bill Clinton said, and "they look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone."
For his part, Comer said the effort to secure depositions from both Clintons was a bipartisan move to show that "no one is above the law."
Bill Clinton appears in text and photos recently released in stages by the US Department of Justice in its disclosure of material uncovered during federal investigations into Epstein's crimes.
The files more broadly reveal the extent of Epstein's connections with multiple high-profile individuals, including after his conviction for sex crimes.
As with others who appear in the files—including current President Donald Trump, who previously had his own association with Epstein—appearing in the documents does not imply any wrongdoing.
The Clintons' hearings will take place in Chappaqua, New York, near their home. Such depositions normally occur behind closed doors, though the Clintons fought for their testimony to be public so selective portions could not be leaked to the media.
Both Democratic and Republican committee members are expected to address reporters after Hillary Clinton's deposition, scheduled for 11:00 EST (16:00 GMT).
Bill Clinton's highly anticipated testimony on Friday will mark the first time a former US president has testified before a congressional panel since Gerald Ford did so in 1983.
Source: www.bbc.com