Hillary Clinton refused to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, joining her husband and setting up a looming contempt showdown with congressional Republicans.
Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) said the panel will move next week to hold both Clintons in criminal contempt of Congress after the former secretary of state and former president skipped their scheduled closed-door depositions. A contempt vote would then advance to the full House, which could refer the matter to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.
In an eight-page letter to Comer, the Clintons’ attorneys said they would not appear for questioning. "President and Secretary Clinton have already provided the limited information they possess about Jeffrey Esptein and Ghislaine Maxwell to the Committee," the letter from Jan. 12 read, according to CBS News.
"They did so proactively and voluntarily, and despite the fact that the Subpoenas are invalid and legally unenforceable," the letter continued.
The standoff caps months of negotiations between the committee and the Clintons’ legal team, with prior deposition dates repeatedly delayed. Comer has said investigators still have unanswered questions about the Clintons’ past interactions with Epstein, warning that the committee will move forward with contempt proceedings absent cooperation.
"We’ve communicated with President Clinton’s legal team for months now, giving them opportunity after opportunity to come in to give us a day, and they continue to delay, delay, delay. Delaying to the point where we had no idea whether they would show up today," Comer said Tuesday after Bill Clinton failed to show up.
In a separate letter addressed to Comer, the Clintons accused Comer of carrying out a political agenda. "There is no plausible explanation for what you are doing other than partisan politics," they said.
"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."
