House Republicans target Hillary Clinton in contempt over Epstein testimony refusal

WASHINGTON, DC: The House Oversight Committee announced plans to hold former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress after she failed to appear for a scheduled deposition in the panel’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, Chairman James Comer announced on Wednesday, January 14.

The decision followed a similar move against former President Bill Clinton, whom Comer said the committee would also seek to hold in contempt after he did not appear for his deposition on Tuesday.

Clintons reject subpoenas and question their legal validity

The committee subpoenaed both Clintons last year, initially scheduling their depositions for October.

Those dates were later postponed to December due to their attendance at a funeral. Comer said that the Clintons’ legal team did not offer alternative dates, prompting the committee to reschedule the depositions for mid-January.

In a letter sent to Comer on Tuesday, the Clintons said that the subpoenas were “legally invalid” and confirmed that they would not appear. The letter cited legal analyses prepared by two law firms that were shared with the committee earlier this week.

“Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences,” the Clintons wrote. “For us, now is that time.”

They added that they expected the committee to vote to hold them in contempt, stating, “Now you have to make yours.”

Legal arguments and political reactions

In a separate letter, attorneys Ashley Callen and David E Kendall argued that the subpoenas were “invalid and legally unenforceable,” calling them an unprecedented violation of the separation of powers and unrelated to a legitimate legislative purpose.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Monday that failing to appear would constitute contempt of Congress.

Hillary Clinton spokesperson Nick Merrill questioned the investigation’s relevance, saying the committee had not explained what Clinton “has to do with this.”

Hillary Clinton not accused of wrongdoing 

Hillary Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and her name has reportedly not appeared in the thousands of documents released under the 'Epstein Files Transparency Act'.

While photos of Bill Clinton appeared in the initial document release, he denied wrongdoing and said that he had cut ties with Epstein before the financier’s 2006 arrest. 

The Justice Department said that more than two million Epstein-related files remained unreleased, despite a statutory deadline that was passed in December.

While Republicans argued that in-person testimony from high-profile figures like the Clintons was necessary to fully understand Epstein’s network, critics contended that the subpoenas were politically motivated and distracted from efforts to release the remaining millions of documents requested by Congress.