Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not appear before a House committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein and have released a joint statement confirming they will not comply with congressional subpoenas, setting the stage for potential contempt of Congress proceedings.
The Clintons were scheduled to testify this week after requesting that their originally planned December appearances be postponed to January 13 and 14. A committee spokesperson confirmed neither appeared, and Chairman James Comer said the panel will move forward with contempt proceedings as early as next week.
Comer subpoenaed the Clintons to testify in closed-door depositions regarding Bill Clinton’s past association with Epstein. The chairman has said the committee is seeking answers, not alleging criminal wrongdoing.
“No one’s accused Bill Clinton of any wrongdoing. We just have questions,” Comer previously said, noting that Democrats joined Republicans in voting to subpoena the former president.
Following their failure to appear, the Clintons released a lengthy statement addressed directly to Comer, accusing the committee of abusing its power and acting out of partisan motives. In the statement, the Clintons said they had decided not to participate, citing what they described as unprecedented government actions, politicization of law enforcement, and selective use of congressional authority.
“We expect you will direct your committee to seek to hold us in contempt,” the statement said. “You will say it is not our decision to make. But we have made it. Now you have to make yours.”
The Clintons argued that the committee’s Epstein investigation has made little progress and accused Comer of failing to compel testimony from other subpoenaed witnesses. According to the statement, eight individuals were subpoenaed, but seven were dismissed without testifying, and only two people have been interviewed since the investigation began.
They also claimed that legal analyses prepared by two law firms concluded the subpoenas were invalid and called on Comer to release that analysis publicly. The Clintons further criticized the committee for not using its oversight authority to compel the Department of Justice to release all Epstein-related files, including any records involving them, which they said they have publicly supported releasing.
Comer has rejected claims of political motivation and said the committee has repeatedly attempted to secure cooperation from the Clintons’ legal team. “We’ve communicated with President Clinton’s legal team for months now, given them opportunity after opportunity,” Comer said. “They continue to delay.”
The chairman has indicated that the committee will move to hold both Clintons in contempt of Congress next week. Lawmakers have pointed to recent cases in which individuals, including Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon, served prison sentences for defying congressional subpoenas.
In their statement, the Clintons said they are prepared to defend themselves both before Congress and publicly, accusing the committee of prioritizing contempt proceedings over legislative work and justice for Epstein’s victims.
As of now, no formal contempt vote has been taken, but committee leaders say action is imminent.
