Bill and Hillary Clinton, who are due to be questioned separately about the Epstein case at the end of February by a US Congressional committee, have called for public hearings, saying they want to avoid exploitation by Republicans.

The commission, whose work is being conducted behind closed doors, wishes to hear from the former Democratic president because of his ties of friendship with the sex offender, and the former US Secretary of State for what she knows of these ties between her husband and the financier who died in prison in 2019.

"Let's stop playing around and do this the right way: with a public hearing," the former president wrote on X on Friday.

Hillary Clinton said she had already told the Republican-led committee "what we know." "If you want this fight (...), let's do it in public," she said Thursday.

After refusing to appear in court for several months, the couple reversed course on Monday, shortly before a House vote on obstruction of Congress proceedings against them. The prosecution was reportedly recommended to the Justice Department, and the couple could have faced up to a year in prison.

The former US Secretary of State will testify on February 26, while the former Democratic President (1993-2001) will be heard on February 27.

Bill Clinton, who travelled several times on Jeffrey Epstein's private jet and was photographed in his company many times, claimed in 2019 that he had not spoken to him for more than a decade.

The former president has also always denied having any knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes and is not facing any legal repercussions regarding his relationship with him.

Hillary Clinton stated that she had no significant interaction with Jeffrey Epstein, never flew on his plane, and never visited his island.

The US Department of Justice has released a massive new batch of documents from the Epstein case: more than three million documents, photos and videos related to its investigation into the sex offender who died in custody in 2019, a death ruled a suicide.

The mere mention of a person's name in the Epstein file does not imply any wrongdoing on the part of that person. However, the documents released to the public reveal links between Jeffrey Epstein or his associates and certain individuals who have often downplayed, or even denied, the existence of such relationships.

AFP