House committee votes to hold Clinton in contempt of Congress in Epstein investigation

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House panel on Wednesday advanced resolutions to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, opening the possibility of the House using one of its strongest sanctions against a former president for the first time.

In a bipartisan vote, the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee approved the contempt of Congress charges, setting up a potential vote in the House. Democrats were divided over the measures, with a number of progressive lawmakers calling for full transparency in the investigation into Epstein even if it meant threatening a former Democratic president if he refused to testify.

The decisions represent an initial step toward a criminal prosecution by the Justice Department, which, if successful, could send the Clintons to prison over a dispute over being forced to testify before the House Oversight Committee.

Representative James Comer, the committee’s chairman, said at the beginning of the committee hearing that Clinton’s response was “not cooperation but defiance.”

“Subpoenas are not just suggestions, they carry the force of law and require compliance,” said Coomer, Republican of Kentucky.

The Clinton family says the subpoenas are invalid. Bill Clinton, President Donald Trump, and several others associated with Epstein have not been accused of wrongdoing.

However, lawmakers are grappling over who gets the most scrutiny.

However, there were signs of a potential thaw as the Clintons appeared to be looking for a way out to testify. In addition, passage of contempt charges in the full House was far from guaranteed, requiring a majority vote — something Republicans are increasingly struggling to achieve.

The repercussions of the contempt charges were looming, given the possibility of a hefty fine and even imprisonment.

Read more: Clinton refuses to testify in the House investigation into Epstein

While charges have historically been used only as a last resort, lawmakers in recent years have been more willing to access that option. Coomer initiated contempt proceedings after the Clintons refused for months to honor the committee’s subpoena to testify in the Epstein investigation.

The clash was the latest twist in the Epstein saga as Congress investigates how he was able to sexually abuse dozens of teenage girls for years. Epstein committed suicide in 2019 in a New York prison cell while awaiting trial. The public release of the case files detailed the relationships between Epstein and both Bill Clinton and Trump, among many other powerful men.

On Tuesday, Comer rejected an offer from the Clinton family’s attorney that Comer and the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, interview Bill Clinton in New York, along with staff.

How did the Clinton family respond?

The Clintons issued a letter last week criticizing Comer for requesting their testimony at a time when the Justice Department is a month behind a deadline set by Congress to release its full case files on Epstein.

But behind the scenes, Clinton’s longtime lawyer, David Kendall, tried to negotiate a deal. Kendall raised the possibility of the Clintons testifying at Christmas and Christmas Eve, according to the committee’s account of the negotiations.

The Clintons, who maintain that the subpoenas are invalid because they serve no legislative purpose, say they were not aware of Epstein’s abuse. They provided the committee with written statements about their interactions with Epstein.

“We have attempted to provide you with the little information we have. We have done so because Mr. Epstein’s crimes were horrific,” the Clintons wrote to Comer last week.

How contempt procedures have been used

Contempt of Congress proceedings are rarely used when lawmakers try to force testimony in high-profile investigations, such as the notorious 1940s investigation into alleged communist sympathizers in Hollywood or the impeachment proceedings against President Richard Nixon.

Most recently, Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon were found guilty of contempt for defying subpoenas from a House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by a mob of the Republican president’s supporters at the Capitol. Navarro and Bannon each spent months in prison.

Read more: The Supreme Court rejects the appeal of Peter Navarro, a former Trump aide who is scheduled to return to the White House after completing his prison term

The January 6 Commission also requested that Trump be subpoenaed in its investigation. Trump’s lawyers resisted the subpoena, citing decades of legal precedent that they said protected former presidents from appearing before Congress. The committee eventually withdrew its subpoena.

No previous president has succeeded in forcing him to appear before Congress, although some have appeared voluntarily.

Democrats responded

Democrats are largely focused on moving forward with the Epstein investigation rather than mounting a full-scale defense of the Clintons, who led their party for decades. They said Bill Clinton should inform the committee if he has any relevant information about Epstein’s abuse.

Epstein was a wealthy financier who donated to Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign and to Hillary Clinton’s joint fundraising committee before her 2000 Senate campaign in New York.

“No president or former president is above the law,” Garcia said during the committee session.

Democrats spent the hearing criticizing Coomer for focusing on the Clintons when the Justice Department delayed releasing the Epstein files. Comer also allowed several former prosecutors to provide the committee with written statements demonstrating their limited knowledge of the case.

Read more: The Justice Department is reviewing more than 5.2 million Jeffrey Epstein files

The committee also summoned Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime confidant of Epstein who is serving a long prison sentence for her conviction on sex trafficking charges.

“It’s interesting that this subpoena is the only one that Republicans and the president have been obsessed with putting all their energy behind,” Garcia said.

Comer said the committee will interview Maxwell next month. Attorney General Pam Bondi will also appear before the House Judiciary Committee in February.

Democrats embraced the call for full transparency about Epstein after Trump returned to the White House, especially after Bondi stumbled on her promise to release all of Epstein’s unredacted files to the public. The backlash has blurred traditional ideological lines, pushing Republicans to side with Democrats who are demanding more investigation.

The pressure eventually led to a bipartisan subpoena from the committee that ordered the Justice Department and Epstein’s estate to release files related to Epstein. Republicans quickly moved to include the Clinton family in the subpoena.

Coomer indicated that he would insist that the subpoena be carried out with nothing less than a written statement by Bill Clinton.

“You should have a copy of the investigation,” he said. “So no script, no deal.”