The Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is threatening to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress if they fail to appear for closed-door depositions next week as part of the panel’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The panel previously issued a subpoena for Bill Clinton, who has been tied to Epstein, to appear before Congressional investigators Jan. 13; Hillary Clinton has been provided a subpoena to testify Jan. 14. But a committee spokesperson said Friday that, so far, neither had confirmed they would participate.
“They are obligated under the law to appear and we expect them to do so,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. “If the Clintons do not appear for their depositions, the House Oversight Committee will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings.”
This seldom-used congressional power can range in implications from a symbolic action to a precursor to forcing jail time.
In examples of the potential serious consequences to contempt of Congress charges, two Trump associates, Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, were sentenced to prison time for failing to cooperate with subpoenas from the Democratic-led select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the Capitol.
The GOP-controlled House voted to hold former Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt in 2024 over the Justice Department’s decision not to provide the audio of then-President Joe Biden’s interview with former special counsel Robert Hur.
The Biden-era DOJ did not prosecute the case, and that audio was ultimately released by the Trump-era department.
A lawyer for the Clintons did not immediately return a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Bill Clinton has insisted the former president did not know about Epstein’s crimes and that, as of 2019, had not spoken to Epstein in over a decade. In wake of the initial release of materials in the Justice Department’s possession in the Epstein case in which Bill Clinton appeared in multiple photos, the same spokesperson has called for the Trump administration to release all materials in its possession related to the former president.
“We need no such protection,” the statement read.