, Feb. 7 -- Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, have called for their testimony before Congress over their past links to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to be held in public.

The Clintons were asked to give closed-door depositions to the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating Epstein's ties with powerful people and how authorities handled information about his crimes. Epstein died in jail in 2019 in what was ruled a suicide.

The couple said private hearings could allow Republicans to use the issue for political attacks. Democrats have also accused Republicans of turning the probe into a political tool against critics of President Donald Trump. Trump was known to have associated with Epstei...