WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee threatened Friday to begin contempt of Congress proceedings against former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton if they refuse to appear for depositions as part of the committee’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said in a statement late Friday that the Clintons had “delayed, obstructed, and largely ignored the Committee staff’s efforts to schedule their testimony” for several months and said the committee would begin proceedings to try to force them to testify if they don’t appear next week or schedule an appearance in January.
Comer’s statement came just hours after Democrats on the committee had released dozens of photos they had received from Epstein’s estate, including images of Clinton and President Donald Trump.
Contempt is one of U.S. lawmakers’ politically messiest and, until recent years, least-used powers. But the way Congress has handled demands for disclosure in the investigation into Epstein has taken on new political significance as the Trump administration faces a deadline next week to release the Department of Justice’s case files on the late financier.
Bill Clinton was among a number of high-powered people connected to Epstein, a wealthy financier, before the criminal investigation against him in Florida became public two decades ago. Clinton has never been accused of wrongdoing by any of the women who say Epstein abused them.
The undated photo released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee shows former President Bill Clinton, Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein, with Clinton’s signature at the top of the photo. (House Oversight Committee via AP)
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