Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said they would not show up for their closed-door depositions this week as part of a House committee’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Bill Clinton skipped testifying before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday and faces the possibility of being held in contempt of Congress. Hillary Clinton is scheduled to testify on Wednesday. If she does not appear, she could be held in contempt, as well.
The panel issued subpoenas for the Clintons, along with several former attorneys general and FBI directors, in August to testify about their knowledge of and connections to Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. But the committee scheduled and rescheduled deposition dates — and the Clintons have yet to give sworn testimony.
Bill Clinton appeared in photos among the Epstein documents released by the Justice Department last month.
“Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences. For us, now is that time,” the Clintons wrote in a letter to the House oversight chair, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.
In the letter, the Clintons said they had provided the committee with the “little information we have,” adding that “we’ve done so because Mr. Epstein’s crimes were horrific.”
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, Comer said the committee will formally launch contempt of Congress proceedings against Bill Clinton next week.
“No one’s accusing Bill Clinton of anything, any wrongdoing. We just have questions, and that’s why the Democrats voted along with Republicans to subpoena Bill Clinton,” Comer said.
Despite the letter from the Clintons, Comer told reporters: “Hillary Clinton is supposed to show up tomorrow. We’ll see what happens there.”
The representative noted that the subpoenas for the Clintons were authorized through a bipartisan vote by the committee, even though the overall effort has been driven largely by Republican lawmakers.
“This wasn’t something that I just issued as chairman of the committee,” he said.
In a social media post on Tuesday with pictures attached of Bill Clinton, Epstein and some redacted individuals, Comer said, “Epstein’s survivors deserve justice and answers.”
The Clintons were scheduled to give testimony last month, but they requested and received a postponement, citing scheduling conflicts, including attendance at a funeral.
Punishment for criminal contempt of Congress, a federal misdemeanor, can include a fine of up to $100,000 and imprisonment for 1 to 12 months.








