(CHAPPAQUA, N.Y.) — Former President and first lady Bill and Hillary Clinton are facing lawmakers this week over their ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Clintons are scheduled to participate in closed-door depositions with the House Oversight Committee in Chappaqua, New York, after months of continuous negotiations over their appearance. 

Hillary Clinton is appearing on Thursday, with Bill Clinton appearing the day after. Friday’s deposition will be the first time a former president has appeared in front of a congressional panel since former President Gerald Ford in 1983. 

The committee first attempted to subpoena the Clintons in July of last year as Republicans demanded more information on the former president’s travels on Epstein’s private aircraft and what the committee called the “family’s past relationship” with Epstein and his convicted associate Ghislaine Maxwell, as part of their probe into Epstein. 

The Clintons were subpoenaed to appear under oath in front of the committee for a deposition in January, but failed to comply, arguing the subpoenas were without legal merit. Rather, they proposed a four-hour transcribed interview instead. 

David Kendall, the Clintons’ lawyer, argued that the couple has no information relevant to the committee’s investigation of the federal government’s handling of investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, and should not be required to appear for in-person testimony. Kendall contends the Clintons should be permitted to provide the limited information they have to the committee in writing.

Former Secretary of State Clinton “has no personal knowledge of Epstein or Maxwell’s criminal activities, never flew on his aircraft, never visited his island, and cannot recall ever speaking to Epstein. She has no personal knowledge of Maxwell’s activities with Epstein,” Kendall wrote in an Oct. 6 letter to the committee. “President Clinton’s contact with Epstein ended two decades ago, and given what came to light much after, he has expressed regret for even that limited association.”  

Republican House Oversight Chairman James Comer responded that the committee was “skeptical” of the claim that the Clintons only had limited information. 

“[T]he Committee believes that it should be provided in a deposition setting, where the Committee can best assess its breadth and value,” Comer responded in October.  

Comer had long threatened to hold the Clintons in contempt if they failed to appear before the committee, so when they didn’t, a contempt resolution was drafted and put to a vote. The Oversight Committee passed the contempt resolution, with nine Democrats voting in favor of it, teeing it up for a full House vote. 

At the last minute, before the resolution was brought for a full House vote, the Clintons agreed to sit for a deposition, postponing further consideration of a contempt vote. 

This week’s interviews with committee investigators will be video recorded and transcribed in accordance with the House’s deposition rules.

“We look forward to questioning the Clintons as part of our investigation into the horrific crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors,” Comer said in a statement when the deposition was agreed upon.

While the Clintons have agreed to speak with the committee behind closed doors, they have still pushed for public hearings as part of the committee’s probe into Epstein. 

“I will not sit idly as they use me as a prop in a closed-door kangaroo court by a Republican Party running scared,” Bill Clinton wrote in a lengthy post on X. “If they want answers, let’s stop the games & do this the right way: in a public hearing, where the American people can see for themselves what this is really about.”

Hillary Clinton has echoed her husband’s sentiments while also continuing to call for the full release of the Epstein files, which they have accused the Department of Justice of selectively releasing. 

“It is something that needs to be totally transparent,” Hillary Clinton said during a panel appearance at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month. “I’ve called for, many, many years, for everything to be put out there so people can not only see what is in them, but also — if appropriate — hold people accountable. We’ll see what happens.”

Neither Bill Clinton nor Hillary Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing and both deny having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. No Epstein survivor or associate has ever made a public allegation of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior by the former president or his wife in connection with his prior relationship with Epstein. 

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(CHICAGO) — Memorial services for Rev. Jesse Jackson began on Thursday in Chicago, where the late civil rights icon, Baptist minister and politician lay in repose at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition — the organization he founded in 1996 to fight for social justice.

Jackson’s family departed the Leaks and Sons Funeral Home on Thursday morning and their procession drove down Cottage Grove Avenue to reach Rainbow PUSH Coalition, where thousands are expected to pay their respects to the civil rights leader on Thursday and Friday.

“Jesse Jackson, Sr. changed the United States — and the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement on Wednesday. “We are deeply honored to know there are people from every walk of life who want to join us to pay their respects.”

Jackson, who died on Feb. 17 at the age of 84, experienced health issues over the past several years, including a battle with Parkinson’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare neurological disorder.

Jackson was born in Greenville, S.C. on Oct. 8, 1941 and will lie in honor at the South Carolina State House in Columbia on Monday. Afterwards, his body will be transported to Washington, D.C. for a formal funeral service on Wednesday, before returning to Chicago for “The People’s Celebration,” a public homegoing service on Friday, and a private final homegoing service on Saturday.

Jackson’s children honored their father’s legacy, reflecting on his 1984 and 1988 presidential runs and how he dedicated his career to advancing economic justice and building political power for Black Americans.

Jesse Jackson, Jr. called for unity in the Feb. 18 press conference ahead of his father’s funeral services.

“Do not bring your politics out of respect to Rev. Jesse Jackson and the life that he lived to these home going services,” he said. “Come respectful and come to say thank you, but these homegoing services are welcome to all Democrat, Republican, liberal and conservative, right wing, left wing, because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American.”

He asked people to “be respectful in the context of the extraordinary life” his father lived.

“Dad would have wanted us to have a great meeting to discuss our differences, to find ways of moving forward and moving together, and if his life becomes a turning point in our national political discourse, amen,” he said.

After Jackson’s death, civil rights icons, politicians and thought leaders across the U.S. shared tributes reflecting on the pioneering civil rights leader’s legacy.

In addition to the city of Chicago, governors of Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and South Carolina ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to honor Jackson. In announcing plans to lower the flags, governors highlighted the impact that Jackson made on the communities in each of those states.

“Jesse Jackson, Sr. marched beside Martin Luther King, Jr. for civil rights for all people. He traveled the world fighting economic and gender inequity. Until his last days, he fought for better healthcare, education, and peace in Chicago, Illinois, the United States, and beyond,” the Jackson family said in a statement on Wednesday. “I hope everyone who joins us to honor his legacy will also continue to champion these causes. That would be the best possible tribute and celebration they could offer.”

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(NEW YORK) — An 8-year-old Navajo Nation girl who mysteriously died last month may have been struck and killed by a truck, the FBI said.

Maleeka “Mollie” Boone was “likely struck by a passing vehicle” and it’s possible the driver hit the 8-year-old “without realizing it,” the FBI in Phoenix announced on Wednesday.

The 8-year-old went missing on Jan. 15 in her neighborhood in Coalmine, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation, the FBI said.

Mollie was playing late that afternoon and was walking home when authorities believe she was struck, according to the FBI. Her body was found the next morning.

The FBI said it’s looking for information about cars on Cedar Loop Road in the Coalmine Navajo Housing Authority between 5:50 p.m. and 6:20 p.m. on Jan. 15. The driver may have been in a larger car, possibly a pickup truck, the FBI said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.

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(NEW YORK) — A man has been arrested after a viral incident between New Yorkers and NYPD officers during Monday’s blizzard has snowballed into Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first test with the police brass after he appeared to downplay the issue.

Gusmane Coulibaly, 27, has been arrested for “assaulting” police officers earlier this week in Washington Square Park, the New York City Police Department announced Thursday.

“Coulibaly was previously arrested less than three weeks ago for an attempted robbery in the transit system,” according to the NYPD.

With Mamdani capturing attention on the national stage, the progressive mayor is threading the needle carefully to avoid repeating the mistakes some of his predecessors made to ensure he doesn’t lose that critical police support, according to a political expert.

Mamdani came under fire on Tuesday after the president of the Police Benevolent Association — the union representing NYPD officers — accused the mayor of downplaying the severity of an incident. The NYPD said people playing in the snow on Monday in Manhattan were “attacking” officers with snowballs.

“I’ve seen the videos of this snowball fight. I think that it was a snowball fight,” the mayor said during a news conference when asked repeatedly if anyone should be charged for the incident.

Mamdani echoed his sentiment on Wednesday at another news conference.

“What I saw was a snowball fight that got out of hand and it should be treated accordingly,” he said.

The incident took place Monday afternoon in Washington Square Park when police were called in about parkgoers playing aggressively, according to the NYPD.

Parkgoer Rahul Nag told WABC 7 that it started off as harmless fun but escalated when several young people began tossing snow from the roof of the park’s restrooms. The officers were confronted after they arrived to investigate.

“It wasn’t supposed to be violent. It started out as a very fun thing to do, and then, you know, it just escalated, and there weren’t any older kids or older people out here,” he told the station.

“It was just young kids having fun. And then it kind of became a back-and-forth thing between NYPD and those young kids,” Nag added.

Police say the crowd began throwing snowballs at them and continued to pelt them and their vehicles with snowballs as they left the park. The mayor and NYPD said two officers were treated for minor injuries, including lacerations.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in an X post Tuesday night that the incident was being investigated. The NYPD also released images of the people who allegedly threw the snowballs at the officers.

“The NYPD is aware of certain videos taken earlier today in Washington Square Park showing individuals attacking cops. I want to be very clear: The behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal,” Tisch said in her post.

No arrests had been made as of Wednesday afternoon.

Although Mamdani did not describe the incident as an attack, he repeatedly has condemned anyone who would antagonize the police, and praised their work during the snowstorms over the last two months.

“I want to say that officers have been on the front line of helping our city respond to this blizzard. They have been keeping New Yorkers safe, and they have also been at the heart of our efforts of digging New Yorkers’ cars out of these kinds of conditions and ensuring that our ambulances, our MTA buses can keep functioning across this city” he told reporters during the Tuesday news conference.

“They and our entire city workforce deserve to be treated with respect. The only person in our city’s workforce who deserves to be treated with a snowball is me,” Mamdani added.

The mayor’s remarks, however, did not sit well with the leaders of the Police Benevolent Association. The union’s president, Patrick Hendry, released a statement Tuesday calling the mayor’s response “a complete failure of leadership.”

“This was disgraceful. It wasn’t a joke. It wasn’t a game. It was a vicious attack,” he said.

Mamdani told reporters Wednesday that he and Tisch are in constant communication but declined to talk more about the investigation into the incident.

Christina Greer, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University, told ABC News it was inevitable that Mamdani and the police brass would butt heads, given the mayor’s past criticism of the NYPD and the pushback by Republicans across the country against him and his progressive policies.

“Mamdani is cognizant of that and trying to balance what some people felt was pretty innocuous and the NYPD saw it as a different way,” she said. “He’s also cognizant that there are groups that, frankly, do not want him to succeed.”

Greer noted that Mamdani is taking hard lessons from previous Democratic mayors, especially Bill de Blasio and David Dinkins, who had extremely strained relationships with the NYPD.

Greer said that De Blasio’s relationship with the police seemed to crystalize in 2014 when officers turned their back to him during the funeral for two slain officers, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu. That came weeks after protests broke out over the death of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who died after he was put in a chokehold during an arrest.

“You never want to be in a position where the NYPD turns their back to you and you never regain their trust,” she said.

Greer noted that even though he is extremely early in his tenure, Mamdani has taken smart first steps to show not just the NYPD but also his critics that he cares about his officers. Those moves include apologizing for his previous criticisms and retaining Tisch as his commissioner after his predecessor Eric Adams’ term ended.

Even in his response to the snowball incident, where the mayor repeatedly said that snowballs should be thrown at him, indicated a sense of humility, according to Greer. She said Mamdani is willing to take on New Yorkers’ frustrations, especially over the weather.

“It’s putting the onus on him,” she said. “I think it’s brilliant because it says I’m the one in charge. The NYPD is not in charge, it’s me. It’s hard for people to wrap their heads around, but that’s the truth and a brilliant way to articulate a very real fact.”

Greer said the snowball incident is unlikely to hamper Mamdani’s status or alter his overall “report card” on the local or national level, given fast-paced nature of the city’s politics.

However, she said that the mayor will need to continue to thread the needle with the NYPD for his entire tenure in City Hall, as he is seen as the star figure in the Democratic progressive movement.

“The question behind all of this, really, is can he keep the city safe? That’s not fair to make this situation a real assessment when we’re talking about snowballs and not bullets,” Greer said.

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