The House Oversight Committee advanced a resolution to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress after the couple defied a congressional subpoena to testify in Republicans’ investigation into deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The panel passed the resolutions mostly along party lines, with only a handful of Democrats joining all Republicans to vote in support. The proposals will now head to the full House for final votes, where, if approved, the Clintons will be referred to the Justice Department for possible criminal charges.
“The Committee does not take this action lightly. But subpoenas are not mere suggestions; they carry the force of law and require compliance,” Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in his opening remarks at the committee hearing on Wednesday. “Actions have consequences.”
More Democrats voted to hold Bill Clinton in contempt, with nine supporting the measure to refer the former president to the DOJ. Only three voted to refer Hillary.
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the couple last year to appear before Congress, with Bill scheduled to testify on Jan. 13 and Hillary on Jan. 14. But the two declined to appear, outlining their decision in a lengthy letter to Comer last week.
While the Clintons say the subpoenas were politically motivated, Comer argued they were approved in a bipartisan vote last summer as part of the panel’s investigation into Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking ring.
“The Clintons’ testimony is critical to understanding Epstein’s sex trafficking network and the ways he sought to curry favor and influence to shield himself from scrutiny,” Comer said on Wednesday. “Their testimony may also inform how Congress can strengthen laws to better combat human trafficking.”
The Clintons argue there is no legal basis for the two to appear in person before lawmakers, outlining a number of reasons to justify their absence. The couple also hinted at preparing for a prolonged legal fight if necessary.
Bill Clinton has appeared in several photos released over the past few months by the Department of Justice related to the Epstein investigation, but he has denied any wrongdoing.
“We are prepared to make our case to your 45 committee members, and if need be, more,” the two wrote in their joint letter. “Importantly, we also will defend ourselves in the public arena and ensure this country knows exactly what you are doing and why you are doing so, instead of helping the American people who need this Congress’s work and protection.”
With the offer of their written testimony, the Clintons accused the panel of unfairly targeting them as political opponents by not offering exceptions they gave to other witnesses who were subpoenaed in the investigation.
The couple pointed to eight other individuals who have been subpoenaed in the inquiry, seven of whom have been dismissed “without any of them saying a single word to you.”
However, Comer said the Clintons are being held to different standards because they had “documented relationships” with Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.
“No witness — not a former President or a private citizen — may willfully defy a duly issued congressional subpoena without consequence,” Comer said. “But that is what the Clintons did, and that is why we are here today.”
None of the Democrats on the Oversight Committee voted to advance the resolutions, arguing the effort was politically motivated.
“Donald Trump is leading a White House cover-up right now of the Epstein files,” California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the panel, said on Wednesday. “And we all know Epstein himself said that Donald Trump was his best friend for over 10 years. And it is shameful, illegal and unconstitutional that the Department of Justice has released 1% of the files.”
Trump signed a bill passed by Congress last year compelling the Justice Department to release all of its files related to Epstein by Dec. 19, although only a fraction of those materials have been released so far. DOJ officials say that hundreds of officials are going through the files to redact certain information, but it’s not yet clear when the full tranche of documents will be released.