Why are Bill and Hillary Clinton testifying over Epstein?

24 snips

Feb 4, 2026

Lawmakers summon Bill and Hillary Clinton to testify about ties to Jeffrey Epstein and why they initially resisted. The conversation probes political motives, potential precedents for questioning presidents, and risks of feeding conspiracy theories. Reporters sift legal files, missing records and reputational fallout as social media and partisan bases react to each new disclosure.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Clintons' Testimony Aims To Set A Precedent

Bill and Hillary Clinton agreed to testify under oath to avoid contempt and to set a precedent for future probes.
Their testimony may pressure future figures like Donald Trump to appear before Congress in similar investigations.

INSIGHT

Files Show Connections, Not Convictions

The released Epstein files show social ties but not concrete criminal evidence against most powerful people.
Email trails and photos are damaging reputationally but don't by themselves prove crimes.

INSIGHT

Testimony Carries Risks For Political Figures

For some, forcing Hillary Clinton to testify is a way to clear her name amid past conspiracy theories.
But testimony risks hyper-scrutiny and could create fresh lines of inquiry or controversy.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In one of the biggest US headlines to emerge from the latest Epstein files, former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State, have agreed to testify in the congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

Sarah, Anthony, and Marianna explain why they are testifying, having previously dismissed legal summons issued to them, saying they had already submitted sworn statements covering the "limited information" they had on Epstein.

Bill Clinton denies knowledge of Epstein‘s crimes during his association with him.

We also look at whether this represents a fork in the road for Republicans and how their party responds to the new information in the files. Donald Trump is urging people to move on, but as more documents are released, how are his supporters reacting?

HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, North America Editor • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent • Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent

GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use #Americast

This episode was made by Rufus Gray, Grace Reeve and Kris Jalowiecki. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app.

You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers.

US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155

Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including Newscast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below.

Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd