The House Oversight Committee voted on Wednesday to recommend charging Bill and Hillary Clinton with criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to testify in its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, marking an extraordinary step toward referring both to the Justice Department for prosecution, The New York Times reported.
Nine Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the contempt citation for Bill Clinton, while three Democrats backed the measure against Hillary Clinton. The full House is expected to vote within weeks.
If approved, the referrals would go to the Justice Department, where contempt charges can carry fines of up to $100,000 and imprisonment of up to one year.
Representative James Comer of Kentucky, the Republican chairman of the committee, said the measures “will pass, and I believe it will pass with Democratic votes."
The votes followed a heated, daylong meeting in which many Democrats made clear they were not defending the Clintons. They acknowledged the subpoenas were lawful, despite the Clintons’ repeated claims to the contrary. Several Democrats argued that Bill Clinton, who had socialized with Epstein, needed to answer the committee’s questions, with some calling his refusal to testify “shameful." Epstein, a convicted offender, died by suicide in federal custody in 2019.
However, many Democrats argued that the Clintons had made efforts to cooperate, including Bill Clinton’s offer to be interviewed under oath and the couple’s submission of sworn statements detailing what they would say in testimony. They said criminal contempt was inappropriate, especially for a former president.
Democrats also accused Republicans of applying a double standard by targeting the Clintons while not enforcing subpoenas against President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi over the release of Epstein files.
Rep. Summer Lee proposed an amendment to hold Bondi in contempt for releasing only a small portion of the Epstein files required under a law passed last year. “You always intended to use this as a one-sided political hit job," she said. “When we think about this kangaroo court, it dishonors the integrity of our committee and the survivors who have put themselves at risk for justice." Republicans rejected the amendment, noting Bondi was scheduled to testify before the Judiciary Committee.
Comer also announced that the committee will depose Ghislaine Maxwell on February 9. Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime confidante, is serving a 20-year sentence and has indicated she will invoke the Fifth Amendment.
Comer insisted the Clintons “must be held accountable for their actions," warning Democrats that opposing the measures would “expose" them as hypocrites. Democrats countered that Republicans were more interested in trying to send Bill Clinton to jail than in obtaining his testimony. They also questioned why Hillary Clinton - who has said she does not recall ever speaking to Epstein - was included at all.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the committee’s ranking Democrat, accused Republicans of ignoring Trump’s role in what he called a “White House coverup" of Epstein files. He called it “shameful, illegal and unconstitutional" that the Justice Department had not released most of the documents.
Garcia also disputed Comer’s claim that the Clintons refused to be transcribed, reading from an email from their attorneys stating “They have not ruled that out."
The committee issued its subpoenas over the summer as part of a broader package that included demands for Epstein-related documents from multiple officials. While others were allowed to delay or cancel depositions - including Maxwell - Comer insisted the Clintons appear in Washington.