Republican members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee emphasized the bipartisan demand for Hillary Clinton to share what she knows about Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, ahead of the former secretary of State’s closed-door deposition Thursday morning.

Committee Chair James Comer of Kentucky — flanked by Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Eric Burlison of Missouri, Michael Cloud of Texas, John McGuire of Virginia and Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, alongside South Carolina Reps. Nancy Mace and William Timmons — told reporters in Chappaqua, New York, that they are focused on better understanding Epstein’s accumulation of wealth and social cachet.

“This isn’t a partisan witch hunt,” said Comer. “This was a motion — a bipartisan motion, supported by the Democrats — to bring the Clintons in. So I don’t think it’s any type of being unfair in any way to the Clintons. They’ve never answered questions, unlike President Trump, who gets questioned every day by just about every one of you about his knowledge or involvement with Epstein.”

Neither Hillary Clinton nor her husband — former President Bill Clinton, who will be deposed by the committee Friday — have been accused of any wrongdoing. They also have denied knowledge of any sex offenses by Epstein and Maxwell.

Hillary Clinton, who has said she does not recall meeting Epstein, previously accused the Oversight panel of trying to shift focus away from President Donald Trump’s documented associations with Epstein. Bill Clinton has acknowledged flying on Epstein’s plane on several occasions but has said he never visited Epstein’s private island.

Comer clarified that the panel is not accusing Hillary Clinton of wrongdoing but noted that emails released by the Department of Justice as part of its Epstein files disclosure showed that Epstein and Maxwell discussed support for the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative.

Democratic members of the Oversight panel, also addressing reporters Thursday morning, emphasized their interest in questioning anyone who appears to have close associations with Epstein but voiced concerns that their Republican colleagues are using the Clintons’ depositions for political gain.

“Let’s get President Trump in front of our committee to answer the questions that are being asked across this country, from survivors, from those have been brutally attacked and raped — sometimes as children,” said Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the panel’s top Democrat.

He was joined by Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona and Reps. Suhas Subramanyam and James Walkinshaw, both of Virginia.

Thursay’s deposition marks one of the most high-profile moments to date in the committee’s Epstein probe, as lawmakers seek to demonstrate momentum in an investigation that has drawn intense public attention but has yet to produce criminal charges.

For House Republicans, the testimony also serves as a test of how far the committee is willing — or able — to push an inquiry that has so far generated no prosecutions.

House Oversight Chair James Comer is not ruling out slapping Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick with a subpoena to testify as part of the panel’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“That’s very possible,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters Thursday morning as members of the committee headed inside a performing arts center in Chappaqua, New York, for daylong grilling of Hillary Clinton.

The former secretary of State is testifying about interactions she may have had with Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is now serving 20-years in prison for her part in the late financier’s sex trafficking scheme.

“I think it’s a good possibility that his name will arise in some questioning today,” Comer added.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said she also intended to ask Hillary Clinton about Lutnick.

Lutnick had maintained that his relationship with Epstein ended in 2005, but newly-released materials from the Justice Department revealed they continued to have ties following Epstein’s conviction on soliciting a minor for prosecution in 2008. The files also show that Lutnick and his family had lunch on Epstein’s private island in 2012.

The Commerce secretary has not, however, been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s crimes. The Commerce Department did not immediately return a request for comment.

Comer also said Thursday morning his panel was “looking into”reporting from NPR that the Justice Department has sought to obscure information that could be damaging to Trump, including that he sexually assaulted a minor, as part of its release of the Epstein files in compliance with the law Congress passed in November.

“We don’t know the answer to that,” Comer said when asked about the missing DOJ records around the allegation against Trump. “We know what the administration says. We’re still looking to get a definitive answer on that.”

Trump has not been charged with any crimes in connection with Epstein and has maintained that the two had a falling out years before his 2019 arrest.

Reached for comment Thursday, the White House referred questions to the Justice Department about the implementation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law which compelled the administration to release materials in the Epstein case.

The White House also pointed to an earlier DOJ press release around the rollout of the Epstein materials, which stated that the production “may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos, as everything that was sent to the FBI by the public was included in the production that is responsive to the Act.

“Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election,” the statement continued. “To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.”

A DOJ spokesperson also pointed to earlier statements insisting the department was reviewing materials flagged by the public and that no files had been deleted.

“Should any document be found to have been improperly tagged in the review process and is responsive to the Act, the Department will of course publish it, consistent with the law,” read one of the statements.

The Justice Department has accused Democrats of playing politics with the investigation, after Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight panel, announced his team had been looking into missing materials related to an allegation against Trump.

Republicans are betting that Donald Trump just handed them a political lifeline on immigration. But when it comes to demands for legislative action, the president’s big speech this week gave Congress little to do.

— Reframing the immigration fight: The National Republican Congressional Committee huddled Wednesday to strategize how to best capitalize on the State of the Union moment when Trump asked lawmakers to stand if they agree “the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens,” according to one person granted anonymity to discuss a private meeting.

How the party deploys to underscore Trump’s maneuver could be critical for GOP candidates. Many of them quickly amplified the clip — which showed Democrats seated and expressionless following Trump’s rhetorical gambit — on social media.

Republicans are underwater in polling on the economy and immigration — two issues they used to own. But the made-for-TV immigration moment has given the GOP fresh political ammunition ahead of the midterms.

— Reality on Blue Light News: Trump’s speech will have little effect on the congressional agenda over the coming months.

That’s giving Republicans the freedom to focus on what they want. The Senate is expected to tee up a bipartisan housing bill at the end of this week. And Majority Leader John Thune hinted Wednesday that other legislation, like an energy permitting overhaul or a possible AI bill, could also be on the chamber’s to-do list for the rest of this Congress.

But Republicans also acknowledge there’s little on Trump’s wish list they can easily accomplish heading into the midterms with such thin majorities.

“I’ve got effectively a zero-vote margin at the point that we are now,” Speaker Mike Johnson said. “So I’ve got to have near-unanimity among Republican priorities.”

What else we’re watching: 

— Clintons’ deposition: Around 19 members of the House Oversight Committee will be in Chappaqua, N.Y., to interview Hillary Clinton Thursday (and Bill Clinton Friday) under oath and behind closed doors. It’s the latest, and perhaps highest profile, set of depositions to take place in the panel’s ongoing investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The former president and secretary of State, appearing in compliance with congressional subpoenas, have denied wrongdoing and aren’t implicated in any illegal acts. Hillary Clinton has said she has no memory of meeting Epstein at all.

— Democratic retreat: House Democrats are heading into Day Two of their annual retreat. Thursday’s agenda features breakout sessions on the cost of housing, groceries, utilities and the care economy, as Democrats try to sharpen their affordability messaging in their quest to flip control of the House in November. Speakers include historians Ron Chernow and Heather Cox Richardson and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene.

Alec Hernandez, Dasha Burns, Jordain Carney, Meredith Lee Hill and Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.