Watch live: The House Oversight Committee meets to review resolutions holding Clinton in contempt

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans began a campaign Wednesday 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.

Watch the House oversight meeting in the video player above.

The contempt proceedings represent an initial step toward criminal prosecution by the Justice Department, which, if successful, could land the Clintons in prison.

However, before the House Oversight Committee met on Wednesday to prepare the charges, there were signs of a thaw. The Clintons, both Democrats, appeared to be searching for a way to testify, and passage of contempt charges through the full House of Representatives was far from guaranteed, which would require 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. While charges have historically been used only as a last resort, lawmakers in recent years have been more willing to access that option. The Chairman of the Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, initiated contempt proceedings after the Clintons refused for months to honor the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena to testify in the committee’s investigation into Epstein.

The clash was the latest twist in the unpredictable 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 Donald Trump, among many other powerful men.

Clinton, Trump, and several others associated with Epstein have not been accused of wrongdoing. However, lawmakers are grappling over who gets the most scrutiny.

“They are not above the law. We issued subpoenas in good faith,” Coomer told The Associated Press on the eve of the contempt proceedings. “We worked with them for five months. And the clock ran out.”

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

How did the Clinton family respond?

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

But behind the scenes, David Kendall, the Clinton family’s longtime attorney, is trying to negotiate a deal. Kendall raised the possibility of the Clintons testifying last Christmas and Christmas Eve, according to the committee’s account of the negotiations.

The Clintons have also argued that the subpoenas are invalid because they serve no legislative purpose, and say they were unaware 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 Clinton family wrote in a letter 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. The two men spent months in prison.

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

Democrats embraced the call for full transparency about Epstein after Trump returned to the White House, especially after Attorney General Pam Bondi stumbled on her promise to release the entirety 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 on Tuesday that he would insist that the subpoena be implemented through written testimony from Bill Clinton.

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