House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) is turning up the heat on Bill and Hillary Clinton, ordering the former first couple to sit for depositions next month as part of the panel’s deep dive into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — or risk being held in contempt of Congress.
Comer first subpoenaed the Clintons on Aug. 5 to grill them about their ties to Epstein. But in a Nov. 3 letter, the couple’s attorney floated a softer alternative, offering only “a written proffer of what little information” they claim to have.
Comer fired back, saying the admission alone shows the pair holds information worth hearing in person. “Given the admission that your clients possess some relevant information, your position amounts to a demand that the Committee forgo in-person testimony, potentially relevant to its legislative oversight,” he wrote.
He dismissed the Clintons’ argument that their testimony wouldn’t be relevant because the events happened outside their official duties. “Additionally, your suggestion that your clients’ testimony would not be relevant to the stated purposes of the Committee’s investigation because the events in question took place outside of the Clintons’ respective official duties misses the Committee’s point,” Comer said. “It is precisely the fact President Clinton and Secretary Clinton each maintained relationships with Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell in their personal capacities as private citizens that is of interest to the Committee.”
Bill Clinton has been ordered to appear at 10 a.m. on Dec. 17. Hillary Clinton is slated for 10 a.m. on Dec. 18.
If they blow it off, Comer warned he’ll move immediately to hold them in contempt of Congress — a process that requires a committee vote, a full House vote, and then a criminal referral to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Under the Biden administration, former Trump allies Steven Bannon and Peter Navarro were prosecuted and sent to prison for contempt convictions after refusing subpoenas from the Jan. 6 committee.
Some legal experts say the Clintons might try invoking executive privilege, though it’s unclear whether that shield would apply to what Comer calls “their personal capacities.”
Epstein’s longtime companion Ghislaine Maxwell — now serving 20 years for trafficking minors with the disgraced financier — even attended Chelsea Clinton’s wedding in 2010.
Bill Clinton flew more than a dozen times on Epstein’s private jet, later notorious as the “Lolita Express,” after leaving the White House. Hillary Clinton accepted campaign donations from Epstein during her Senate run before his legal troubles escalated in the mid-2000s.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution and registered as a sex offender, yet kept courting powerful elites across politics, business, and royalty. He was charged with federal sex trafficking offenses in July 2019, and on Aug. 10, 2019, he was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell, a death ruled a suicide while he awaited trial.