The House Oversight Committee voted Wednesday to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena to testify in the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Republican-led panel voted 34-8 to advance the resolution holding Bill Clinton in contempt and 28-15 to hold Hillary Clinton in contempt. The effort will be sent to the full House in coming weeks for a vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told MS NOW last week that he would support holding the Clintons in contempt.
The committee’s vote marks a rare and consequential step, setting the stage for a contentious House debate and potentially prolonged legal battles in the weeks ahead. If approved by the full House, the contempt citations would be referred to the Justice Department, which would determine whether to pursue criminal charges. Punishment for conviction of criminal contempt of Congress, a federal misdemeanor, can include a fine of up to $100,000 and imprisonment for up to 12 months.
Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., argued that the couple’s failure to appear for scheduled depositions amounted to an unlawful defiance of congressional authority.
“The committee does not take this action lightly, but subpoenas are not near suggestions; they carry the force of law and require compliance,” Comer said.
Comer said the committee had issued subpoenas that required sworn, transcribed testimony to further the panel’s effort to understand what the Clintons knew about Epstein’s activities and the federal government’s handling of the case. He said the panel had acted in “good faith” and had provided flexibility on scheduling.
“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. Their testimony may also inform how Congress can strengthen laws to better combat human trafficking,” Comer said.
The panel initially subpoenaed the Clintons in August in connection with its investigation into Epstein, and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. But the Clintons refused to appear before the committee last week after previously postponing depositions, citing scheduling conflicts and offering written statements instead. In a letter released publicly, the Clintons defended their decision and accused Comer of pursuing a process “literally designed to result in our imprisonment.” Their legal team argued that the subpoenas lacked a legitimate legislative purpose and were part of a broader political campaign by Republicans.
Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, the former president made a last-ditch effort to avert the contempt process, offering a limited interview in New York with the committee’s two senior lawmakers, according to a letter from the Clintons’ attorneys to Comer. Comer rejected the proposal, calling it “unreasonable.”
In sworn declarations from Jan. 12, obtained by MS NOW, the Clintons said they were unaware of any involvement by Epstein or Maxwell in child sex trafficking or abuse during the period they knew him. Bill Clinton also said he did not recall any direct interactions with Epstein while he was president and that he had never discussed a federal investigation into Epstein, emphasizing that he did not learn of any allegations against Epstein until years after leaving office.
Republicans have maintained that Bill Clinton’s earlier contact with Epstein merits closer examination. The former president appeared in several photographs released last month as part of the Justice Department’s Epstein-related records. Neither Bill nor Hillary Clinton has been accused of any wrongdoing tied to Epstein.
Democrats on the panel criticized Wednesday’s move, warning that it risks turning congressional oversight into a political weapon. They also blasted the DOJ and proposed an amendment in the nature of a substitute to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt for not complying with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The law requires all files related to the investigation be released by the Dec. 19 deadline, but so far only 1% of the files have been released, and more than two million additional documents are being reviewed. Democrats also proposed a second amendment to pursue the Clintons’ inherent contempt charges civilly instead of criminally. Both amendments failed.
House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., suggested there are alternative ways to seek answers from the Clintons and that he believes there is room for negotiations.
“If we want to actually ask questions of President Clinton, of which those of us in the minority want to do, then let’s get him in. Let’s negotiate a recorded transcription of that interview to further our investigation,” Garcia said.
The committee also announced Wednesday that it has scheduled a deposition with Maxwell for Feb. 9.
Mychael Schnell and Syedah Asghar contributed to this report.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at CNN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.