Now that Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show caused so much fuss, maybe there’s a solution at hand. This compromise will satisfy both Red America and Blue America. The exhibit will rock the nation: having former President Bill Clinton and President Donald Trump testify during halftime about the Epstein files.

Republicans believe former President Clinton has something to hide Jeffrey Epstein. Democrats feel the same way about President Trump. The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the former president and Hillary Clinton to testify about the Epstein dossier. After a squabble, the Clintons will appear in court later this month to give closed-door testimony.

But both Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton are now calling for public meetings. Democrats believe having a former president appear at a public meeting would set a precedent for President Trump to answer questions about what he knew about Epstein.

GHISLAINE MaxWELL to appear before House Oversight Committee members to testify about Epstein probe

Hillary Clinton speaks to her staff and supporters about the U.S. election results at a hotel in Manhattan, New York, on November 9, 2016, while her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, applauds. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

A lawmaker who forced the release of Epstein’s dossier applauded the former first couple’s request last week to testify in a televised public hearing. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said the former president was an important witness.

“As long as (the hearing) focuses on Epstein, it’s not a wild goose chase — it’s not trying to score political points or embarrass President Clinton or President Trump, but it’s asking them what they knew happened and who they knew participated in heinous conduct,” Khanna said. “That should be a legitimate point of investigation.”

Hillary Clinton attacked X after agreeing to give closed-door testimony later this month. “If you want this fight, have it in the open,” she wrote to Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.

The next day, former President Clinton echoed his wife on X, also calling for a public meeting. The former commander-in-chief declared he would not be used as “prop for a closed-door kangaroo court”.

A spokesman for Cuomo accused the former first couple of “moving the goalposts.” Cuomo has always been open to hearings. But after a Evidence collection behind closed doors.

“Historically, testimony is more substantive than hearings,” Cuomo said. “Unfortunately, the hearings have become an entertainment activity.”

It’s hard to track exactly what the Clintons want.

Last August, the House Oversight Committee voted on a bipartisan basis to subpoena Bill and Hillary Clinton Testifying alongside former Attorney General Bill Barr and many other high-profile individuals. After some haggling, the committee summoned them to appear in court on an October date. The Clintons despise these. The committee then gave them a date before Christmas. But because of the funeral, neither of them showed up. The committee asked the Clintons to provide dates for their January appearances. They don’t. The committee then gave them an additional date to testify in January. They skipped those. That’s when Cuomo threatened to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress if they didn’t appear before Congress in January. The Oversight Board voted in a bipartisan vote to hold the court in contempt. The House Rules Committee last week planned to develop a measure that would force the entire House to vote on contempt of court and criminal referrals to the Justice Department for prosecution after the Clintons defy subpoenas.

Revealed: Trump calls police chief to support Epstein investigation, lawmakers nominate 6 men to be spared exposure

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., left, speak to reporters after closed-door testimony with Ghislaine Maxwell, the ex-girlfriend and confidante of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on February 9, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

But the Clintons ultimately agreed to take depositions later this month. Once the matter was on the agenda, the pair began calling for a public hearing.

There is a method behind this madness. Young congressional Democrats are not loyal to the Clintons. In fact, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, California Democrats were angry with some Democrats for wanting the Clintons to attend. Younger Democrats don’t respect the Clintons as much as older Democrats do. Hillary Clinton ran for president ten years ago. She has not served as a senator since 2009. She last served as secretary of state in early 2013. President Clinton left the Oval Office more than a quarter-century ago.

However, here’s the Democratic bet:

If former President Clinton emerges regarding the Epstein dossier, it may be difficult to make the case that President Trump should not appear.

“Certainly, this does set a precedent. President Trump was subpoenaed in the investigation on January 6 and did not appear. He invoked some form of executive privilege. So we forced the Clintons to step in with the threat of criminal contempt. That’s the precedent we are setting,” said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va. “In other countries, such as the UK, the prime minister attends parliament regularly. So this is not unprecedented around the world.”

Granted, this is a parliamentary system in which the Prime Minister is a member of Parliament. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer regularly attends Prime Minister’s Questions every Wednesday at noon in London. MPs typically ask questions of the Prime Minister and jeer at him, in a scene that resembles a scene from Monty Python.

But the American and British systems are fundamentally different.

It’s rare but not unheard of to have a sitting or former president — or even a first lady — appear before Congress for a hearing.

Bundy to face House Judiciary Committee grilling on Epstein documents, weaponization charges

On Friday, December 19, a photo of former President Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein appeared in Epstein documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice. (Ministry of Justice)

Three striking examples of sitting presidents appearing before Congress. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln volunteered to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. The New York Herald published the message before the “State of the Union” message to Congress was sent to Capitol Hill. Presidents at the time would send written “reports.” They did not address Congress. Lawmakers launched an investigation into leaks of information to Congress. Presumably Herald reporter Henry Wyckoff received the news in advance due to his friendship with Mary Todd Lincoln. House sergeants-at-arms briefly detained Wykoff and released him after the president addressed the Judiciary Committee.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to discuss a treaty with Germany and the creation of the League of Nations. Wilson’s efforts to promote a League of Nations failed. The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles.

In the fall of 1974, two and a half months into his term, President Gerald Ford voluntarily appeared before the House Judiciary Committee for hearings. Ford told lawmakers that his pardon of former President Richard Nixon was not something they bargained for. Ford told the committee that he pardoned Nixon because his physical and mental health had deteriorated dramatically.

In 1955, former President Harry Truman testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the United Nations Charter.

In 1983, Ford returned to the Senate as a former president to participate in the Constitution’s Bicentennial Senate Hearings.

There are also examples of current and former first ladies testifying.

Eleanor Roosevelt testified twice first lady. Once on labor issues. Then there is the organization of volunteers for civil defense agencies before World War II.

Rosalynn Carter testifies about mental health issues as First Lady.

Hillary Clinton is best known for testifying about her husband’s health care plan, even though it was dubbed (often derided) “Hillarycare” in the fall of 1993. She testified numerous times as Secretary of State. The most striking was the events surrounding Benghazi in early 2013.

On September 11, First Lady Laura Bush was on her way to Capitol Hill to testify before a Senate panel on early childhood education. The committee canceled hearings after the attacks in New York and the Pentagon.

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As a result, many Republicans were happy to hear from the Clintons about the Epstein dossier. Frankly, some people are more interested in scorning them than actually gathering any information about Epstein. But it looks like the Clintons will be testifying for at least a few weeks. It’s unclear whether a hearing will be held. Some Republicans might even push for this. But caveat emptor. The Clintons’ public meeting only intensified the efforts of Democrats and some Republicans to listen to President Trump’s remarks.

Their testimony may not come during the Super Bowl halftime show. But public testimony from former and current presidents will be a political Super Bowl.