Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrive for President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)
The U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee advanced resolutions Wednesday recommending that former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton be held in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena issued by the panel in connection with the investigation of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Votes on both resolutions were bipartisan, although Democrats argued over several points during the nearly all-day meeting. The next step would be consideration by the full House. If approved by the House, the case would be referred to federal prosecutors in Washington and could potentially result in a fine of up to $100,000 or even a prison sentence of up to one year.
The resolution on Bill Clinton was adopted by a vote of 34 to 8, with all Republicans and nine Democrats voting in favor.
Democrats who voted in favor of the resolution were Maxwell Frost of Florida, Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, Stephen Lynch and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Emily Randall of Washington, Lateefah Simon of California, Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Yassamin Ansari of Arizona and Dave Min of California voted present. Greg Casar and Jasmine Crockett of Texas did not vote.
The resolution including Hillary Clinton was narrower, 28 to 15, with only three Democrats: Lee, Stansbury and Tlaib voting in favor.
Calls countered by Clintons and others
Republicans on the committee, including Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, said the Clintons resisted subpoenas to testify about Epstein’s long history of sexually abusing youthful girls.
“No witness, whether former president or private citizen, can willfully defy a properly issued congressional subpoena without consequences,” Comer said. “But that’s what the Clintons did.”
Democrats have said they also want to hear testimony from the Clintons, whose testimony was ordered last year through bipartisan subpoenas, but committee Republicans singled out the pair because of their party affiliation.
Various other officials from both sides who received subpoenas also failed to comply. Neither did Epstein’s co-conspirator, Ghislane Maxwell.
Additionally, the U.S. Justice Department under President Donald Trump has not turned over documents related to the investigation, despite a November bill requiring their full release, Democrats on the panel said.
But only the Clintons, influential Democrats, were prosecuted for opposing the commission, Democrats say.
“It’s interesting that on this call alone, Republicans and the chairman were so obsessed with devoting all their energy,” said ranking Democrat Robert Garcia of California.
Comer replied that the other examples were different. Other officials had less knowledge of Epstein than the Clintons; Maxwell said she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, eliminating the need to testify; said the Justice Department is working, albeit slowly, to release millions of documents required under the law.
“As I have said publicly many times, we would like this process to move faster,” he said. “There are many documents, many redactions. This should be given special attention. The Department of Justice is complying.”
IN open letter In an interview with Comer last week, the Clintons said they were helping with the investigation but complained that they were treated more harshly than other witnesses, while criticizing Comer’s handling of the case.
“Despite everything that needs to be done to help our country, you are one step away from stopping Congress so it can continue a rarely used process that literally seeks to imprison us,” they wrote. “This is not a way to solve America’s problems and we will defend ourselves by force.”
Negotiation or procrastination?
Members of each side argued over various issues that panel members had negotiated with the Clintons, such as where the hearing would take place, whether notes or a transcript would be allowed, and whether the Clintons could only provide written testimony, as other witnesses had done.
Democrats on the panel said the Clintons and their lawyers worked in good faith with the committee to resolve the problems. Comer, however, said they are holding the panel in hopes that Democrats will retake the House in November.
“We have been negotiating for five months,” Comer said. “This is clearly a stalling tactic, hoping that the clock will run out, the House will turn around, and you will all let them go.”
Despite Democratic arguments, not every witness was allowed to provide written testimony, Comer added, including former Republican U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr.
Hillary Clinton’s inclusion has been questioned
Bill Clinton had a well-documented personal relationship with Epstein, including travel on the billionaire’s private plane. Photos of the two were among the documents released in the first tranche that the Justice Department provided under the November law.
Garcia, however, objected to Hillary Clinton’s inclusion in the committee’s resolution on Wednesday, saying available evidence appeared to support her public belief that she had no knowledge of Epstein’s activities.
“No one who is serious about justice for Epstein survivors believes that Hillary Clinton was in any way involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes,” Garcia said.
He added that Trump pledged to pursue Hillary Clinton after winning the 2016 presidential campaign against her. Garcia said it appeared Trump was using federal weapons against a political opponent.
Other Democrats argued that the committee was enforcing a political impeachment of Trump.
Comer said Hillary Clinton had personal ties to Maxwell and financial ties to Epstein.
Trump also maintained a personal relationship with Epstein over the years. Democrats on the panel on Wednesday repeated a widely held claim that Trump’s Justice Department was shielding the president by opposing the production of documents.
