2:22House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer addresses reporters after former President Bill Clinton and his spouse, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, declined to attend a deposition related to the panel’s inquiry into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 13, 2026.J. Scott Applewhite/AP
On Wednesday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced that the committee intends to proceed with contempt of Congress proceedings against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for ignoring a subpoena for a deposition connected to the panel’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
This follows a day after Comer, a Republican, indicated that the committee also aims to hold former President Bill Clinton in contempt of Congress for failing to show up for a scheduled deposition. Comer stated that the committee will vote next Wednesday on whether to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress.
“Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has joined her husband in disregarding a bipartisan, lawful congressional subpoena to appear today,” Comer remarked, adding, “We intend to hold both Clintons in criminal contempt of Congress.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer addresses reporters following the refusal of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to attend a deposition as part of the panel’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 13, 2026.J. Scott Applewhite/AP
When asked if he would consider having the Clintons testify in a public hearing, Comer replied, “That’s something we can discuss.”
On Tuesday, the Clintons sent a sharply worded four-page letter to the committee, which may indicate a prolonged struggle with Congress over what they characterized as “partisan politics.”
“Every individual must determine when they have witnessed or endured enough and are ready to stand up for this country, its values, and its citizens, regardless of the repercussions,” the Clintons stated in the letter. “For us, now is that moment.”
The Clintons criticized Comer, asserting in the letter that, “There is no credible justification for your actions other than partisan politics.”
“We are confident that any reasonable individual, whether inside or outside of Congress, will recognize, based on everything we disclose, that your actions are aimed at punishing those you perceive as adversaries and shielding those you consider allies. Continue to mislead Americans regarding what is genuinely at stake, and you will find that Americans are more adept at uncovering the truth than you are at concealing it,” they wrote.
Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State, during an interview for an episode of “The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations” at the 92nd Street Y in New York, May 4, 2023.Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
For several months, Republicans on the committee have insisted that the Clintons provide testimony to lawmakers, referencing the former president’s journeys on Epstein’s private jet in the early 2000s and the Clinton family’s previous association with Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. The panel initially issued subpoenas for the Clintons on August 5 to testify in October.
David Kendall, an attorney for the Clintons, has maintained that the couple possesses no pertinent information relevant to the committee’s investigation regarding the federal government’s management of inquiries into Epstein and Maxwell, and therefore should not be compelled to provide in-person testimony. Instead, Kendall suggested they should be allowed to submit the limited information they have to the committee in writing.
Hillary Clinton “has no personal knowledge of Epstein or Maxwell’s criminal actions, never boarded his aircraft, never visited his island, and cannot recall ever speaking to Epstein. She possesses no personal knowledge of Maxwell’s interactions with Epstein,” Kendall stated. “President Clinton’s connection with Epstein ceased two decades ago, and in light of revelations that emerged much later, he has expressed remorse for even that limited association,” an October 6 letter to the committee mentions.
Neither Bill Clinton nor Hillary Clinton has been charged with
Sourse: abcnews.go.com