A Republican lawmaker has vowed to initiate contempt-of-Congress proceedings against former US President Bill Clinton after he failed to appear before a House committee investigating the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said on Tuesday that proceedings would begin next week, adding that similar action could be taken against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton if she fails to testify as scheduled on Wednesday. Both Clintons were subpoenaed by the committee as part of a broader congressional probe into Epstein’s network and associations with powerful figures.
Comer said the subpoenas were approved on a bipartisan basis and accused Bill Clinton’s legal team of deliberately stalling. According to him, the committee had engaged with Clinton’s lawyers for months, offering multiple opportunities for the former president to testify voluntarily. “We communicated with President Clinton’s legal team for months now, giving them opportunity after opportunity to come in, to give us a day, and they continue to delay, delay, delay, to the point where we had no idea whether they’re going to show up today or not,” Comer told reporters.
Lawyers representing the Clintons dismissed the subpoenas as “unenforceable” and politically motivated. In a letter to the committee, they argued that the demands were designed to embarrass political rivals and lacked a valid legislative purpose. They also said the Clintons had already provided all the limited information they possessed about Epstein through voluntary communication with investigators.
Bill Clinton has never been accused of wrongdoing by Epstein’s victims and has consistently denied any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities. His spokesperson, Angel Ureña, has said Clinton cut ties with Epstein well before the financier’s crimes became public.
The renewed scrutiny follows the recent release of photographs by the US Department of Justice showing Clinton with Epstein at various locations, including Epstein’s estate. The images, released under a law requiring disclosure of materials related to federal investigations into Epstein, date back several decades. Clinton’s team has stressed that the photos are old and do not imply wrongdoing.
A spokesperson has previously acknowledged that Bill Clinton took four trips with staff on Epstein’s private plane in 2002 and 2003, and met with Epstein in New York in 2002. Clinton also visited Epstein’s New York apartment around that time. Citing flight logs, US media have previously reported Clinton flew on Epstein’s jet more than two dozen times, occasionally without his Secret Service detail.
Under US law, Congress has several options to enforce compliance with subpoenas, including referring cases for criminal prosecution, seeking court enforcement, or initiating contempt proceedings.
“If the court finds that the party is legally obligated to comply, continued non-compliance may result in the party being held in contempt of court,” according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
“Where the target of the subpoena is an executive branch official, civil enforcement may be the only practical means by which Congress can effectively ensure compliance with its own subpoena.”
Criminal contempt of Congress is a misdemeanour offence punishable by a fine up to $100,000 (£74,500) and imprisonment up to a year.
The standoff comes amid growing bipartisan pressure on the Justice Department to fully release all files related to Epstein’s federal investigations. Lawmakers from both parties have criticised the partial disclosure of documents so far. Last week, the authors of the disclosure law, Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna, asked a federal judge to appoint a special master to ensure full compliance, underscoring the political and legal intensity surrounding efforts to uncover the full extent of Epstein’s connections.
Melissa Enoch
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