Former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton refused to appear before the House Oversight Committee as part of the congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, a decision that opened a new front of confrontation with Republicans and could lead to a contempt of Congress declaration.

The committee chairman, Republican James Comer announced that the panel will vote next week on whether to hold Bill Clinton in contempt, with a similar measure planned for Hillary Clinton. If successful, the case would go to the full House to decide whether to refer it to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution. The Clintons were subpoenaed in August. The committee requested that Bill Clinton testify on Tuesday and Hillary Clinton on Wednesday in closed-door interviews. In separate letters to Comer, their lawyers stated that they would not appear and questioned the validity of the subpoenas. The defense maintained that both had already voluntarily turned over the “limited” information they possessed about Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and argued that the subpoenas lacked a legitimate legislative purpose, sought irrelevant information, and violated the separation of powers. In another communication signed by the Clintons themselves, they pointed out that other former officials subpoenaed in the same investigation were not compelled to testify. Among them are former attorneys general from various administrations and former FBI directors, including James Comey and Robert Mueller.

The controversial Epstein case

The Clintons accused the committee of acting with political motivations. Their lawyers called the investigation an attempt to embarrass adversaries of President Donald Trump, who recently called for the release of Epstein-related material that mentions Democrats. Documents related to the case also include references to Trump, who, like Bill Clinton, has not been charged with any crime.

Comer responded that the committee is not making accusations.“No one is accusing Bill Clinton of anything. We just have questions,” she told reporters after the former president's absence. Negotiations between the committee and the Clintons' legal team dragged on for months. The hearings, initially scheduled for October, were postponed to December and then rejected due to scheduling conflicts. Historically, former presidents have not been compelled to testify before Congress, although some have done so voluntarily. The Clintons' lawyers urged the committee to de-escalate the conflict. From the Democratic benches, a spokesperson for the panel reiterated that cooperation with Congress is key and that the committee should continue dialogue to obtain any relevant information about the Epstein investigation.