Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have declined to testify as part of a House Republican investigation into the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his political connections, according to correspondence released Tuesday.
The decision comes ahead of deadlines set by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, who had warned that failure to appear could result in contempt of Congress proceedings. The committee had required Bill Clinton to appear by Tuesday and Hillary Clinton by Wednesday.
In an eight-page legal letter sent to Comer, the Clintons argued that the subpoenas issued by the committee were “invalid and legally unenforceable” and said they possessed no information relevant to the investigation. The letter stated that the couple had already provided sworn written statements to the committee, which they said were consistent with statements accepted from other subpoenaed witnesses who were later excused from appearing for live testimony.
“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.”
Chairman Comer is seeking closed-door, live depositions from the former president and former secretary of state. In their letter, the Clintons accused Comer of conducting a politically motivated investigation and attempting to use the committee’s authority in a punitive manner. They characterized the process as “literally designed to result in our imprisonment” and predicted that Comer would seek to hold them in contempt and release “irrelevant, decades-old photos” to embarrass them.
“We are confident that any reasonable person in or out of Congress will see, based on everything we release, that what you are doing is trying to punish those who you see as your enemies and to protect those you think are your friends,” the letter stated.
The House Oversight Committee confirmed Tuesday morning that the Clintons had not confirmed their appearances for the subpoenaed depositions. A committee spokesperson said that “If the Clintons do not appear for their depositions, the House Oversight Committee will begin contempt of Congress proceedings.”
Bill Clinton previously acknowledged a friendship with Epstein and with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate who is currently serving a federal prison sentence for sex trafficking. White House visitor logs show Epstein visited the Clinton White House at least 17 times over a two-year period, and flight records indicate Clinton flew on Epstein’s private jet multiple times before their relationship ended in 2003. Photographs of Clinton with Epstein were also released as part of a statutorily required Department of Justice document release.
While Clinton’s name has appeared in litigation related to Epstein, no credible allegations of misconduct have been made against the former president in connection with Epstein’s crimes.
The investigation unfolds amid renewed political scrutiny of Epstein’s ties to prominent figures in both major parties. In November, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Justice to investigate Democratic politicians and donors linked to Epstein, including Clinton, while Trump himself has faced questions about his own past association with the financier. Trump and Epstein were social acquaintances from the 1990s through the mid-2000s.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
The House Oversight Committee launched its investigation after the Trump administration initially declined to release the full set of federal Epstein files, instead issuing an assessment stating that authorities “did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.” Congress later voted to compel the Justice Department to release the files, an effort that received support from Trump.
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