Clinton refuses to testify in the House investigation into Epstein

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton say they will refuse to comply with Congress’ subpoena to testify in the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

The Clintons are criticizing the Republican-controlled committee’s attempts as “legally invalid” as GOP lawmakers prepare contempt of Congress proceedings against them. In a letter posted on social media on Tuesday, the Clinton family told the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Republican Rep. James Comer, that he was on the cusp of an operation “literally designed to put us in prison.”

Read more: See photos and documents from the latest version of the Epstein profile

Comer says he will begin contempt of Congress proceedings next week. It would likely begin a complicated and politically messy process that Congress rarely gets through.

“No one is accusing Clinton of any wrongdoing. We just have questions,” Coomer told reporters after Bill Clinton did not show up for the scheduled testimony in the House offices on Tuesday.

“Anyone will admit that they spent a lot of time together,” he added.

Clinton was never accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, but she had a well-documented friendship with Epstein, a wealthy financier, throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Republicans have focused on this relationship as they try to control demands for a full accounting of Epstein’s wrongdoing.

He watches: What we know about the photos of Epstein released by Democrats

Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. He committed suicide in a New York prison cell while awaiting trial.

Many former presidents have testified voluntarily before Congress, but none were forced to do so.

Coomer also noted that the committee would not try to force President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican, to testify, saying it cannot force a sitting president to testify.