Ammon News - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, will testify in a congressional investigation into the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a staffer said on Monday.

The decision could head off a planned vote in the Republican-led House of Representatives to hold the two prominent Democrats in contempt, which could lead to criminal charges.

The U.S. Justice Department's recent release of millions of internal documents related to Epstein has revealed the late financier and sex offender's ties to many prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business - both before and after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges.

Asked if the House would hold up its contempt votes against the Clintons, House Speaker Mike Johnson told Reuters: "They're working on that right now. The lawyers are looking into the details."

Johnson earlier welcomed the news of the former president and the former secretary of state agreeing to testify.

The House Oversight Committee recommended last week that the Clintons be held in contempt for refusing to testify about their relationship with Epstein. The Clintons had offered to cooperate with the panel but had refused to appear in person, saying the investigation was a partisan exercise aimed at protecting Republican President Donald Trump.

Reuters