WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lawmakers in Washington have advanced contempt proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton, accusing the couple of defying subpoenas tied to a Congressional committee’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“We are sincere. We want to know the answers. We want to get the truth to the American people,” said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.
On Wednesday, members of the Oversight Committee voted to formally hold both Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress after they did not appear for sworn depositions.
“They were issued, they were received and then they were ignored and they were defied,” said Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., who sits on the committee. “They have openly flouted those, denied those, refused to cooperate.”
The subpoenas were authorized months ago, with bipartisan support. Now, members from both sides — including Langworthy — have voted to push forward with contempt referrals.
“I think it’s a necessary step. It’s an unfortunate step,” said Langworthy. “It’s about respect for the legal process in these subpoenas. If you’re subpoenaed, you have to show up.”
Republicans say the next step — a House floor vote — could happen within two weeks, a move that could trigger criminal referrals to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and force federal prosecutors to decide whether charges should be pursued.
“The Clintons are working in good faith to try to reach an accommodation with the oversight committee in order to sit down and offer their testimony,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
“No one’s accused Bill Clinton of any wrongdoing. But we have a lot of questions,” said Chairman Comer.
Democrats hit back this week, specifically on the slow rollout of Epstein-related documents by the Department of Justice. Democratic leaders accused the DOJ of dropping the ball on files that were required to be released more than one month ago.
“The Department of Justice was supposed to release those documents — 5 million documents — by December 19. More than a month has passed. That sounds to me like contempt,” said Jeffries.
“We expect Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice to deliver the documents, and we hope that people are finally held accountable,” said Comer.
“I think they all need to get out and I don’t quite understand the delay, but they all need to be released,” said Langworthy. “Nor do I think that there’s necessarily some smoking gun that some people in the social media orbit have surmised — that there’s a black book sitting there that tells the whole tale… There’s a lot of victims. The victims have to be protected. That’s the one thing that we were very concerned about.”
Epstein associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is expected to appear for a closed-door deposition in early February. Lawmakers anticipate she will invoke her constitutional right against self-incrimination and decline to answer questions.
