- Bill, Hillary Clinton decline House testimony request
- Refusal tied to ongoing Epstein investigation
- House committee sought details on Epstein contacts
The former president and first lady were subpoenaed by the Republican-led House oversight committee in August after James Comer, the committee's chair, declared the committee would examine how the government handled Epstein, a convicted sex offender who committed suicide while awaiting trial in 2019.
The Clintons' lawyers described the subpoenas as "invalid and legally unenforceable, untethered to a valid legislative purpose, unwarranted because they do not seek pertinent information, and an unprecedented infringement on the separation of powers" in a letter to Comer dated Monday.
They wrote that the request for testimony "runs afoul of the clearly defined Congress' investigative power propounded by the Supreme Court of the United States" and that "it is clear subpoenas themselves – and subsequent attempt to enforce them."
Hillary Clinton was subpoenaed to testify by Wednesday, and Bill Clinton was required to appear by Tuesday. Comer informed Capitol reporters that he would file a motion to hold the former president in contempt the following week after he failed to appear.
“I think it’s important to note that this subpoena was voted on in a bipartisan manner by this committee. This wasn’t something that I just issued as chairman of the committee,”
Comer said.
“No one’s accusing Bill Clinton of anything, any wrongdoing. We just have questions, and that’s why the Democrats voted along with Republicans to subpoena Bill Clinton.”
Prior to the financier's 2008 guilty plea to state charges of soliciting prostitution and soliciting prostitution with a minor in Florida, Clinton was known to be friendly with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Survivors of Epstein's abuse have not accused Trump of any wrongdoing, and the former president has denied knowing about his crimes.
Sara Guerrero, a spokesperson for Democrats on the oversight committee said,
“Cooperating with Congress is important and the committee should continue working with President Clinton’s team to obtain any information that might be relevant to our investigation.”
The Clintons attacked Comer's handling of the investigation in a different statement, claiming that it had "prevented progress in discovering the facts about the government's role." They pointed out that despite having subpoenas for seven former high-ranking government officials, the committee has only conducted interviews with two individuals as part of its investigation: former labor secretary Alexander Acosta and former attorney general William Barr.
The president's pardoning of January 6 insurrectionists, the recent shooting of a US citizen in Minnesota by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, and Republicans' compliance with the president's program were all criticized.
“Bringing the Republicans’ cruel agenda to a standstill while you work harder to pass a contempt charge against us than you have done on your investigation this past year would be our contribution to fighting the madness,”
the Clintons wrote.
In the months that followed, a bipartisan group of House legislators forced a vote on legislation to reveal all government data pertaining to Epstein, which was passed in November over Trump's and Congress's Republican leaders' resistance.
Clinton appears in a number of photos, including one of the former president swimming in a pool and in a hot tub, that were made public when the justice department started releasing batches of papers in December, despite the fact that some documents were blacked.
Despite the law's requirement that the Justice Department provide all of the Epstein papers by December 19th, the department is still releasing them. A federal judge was urged by lawmakers last week to designate a special master to order the production of information pertaining to the deceased financier.
How does a contempt citation get enforced by the Justice Department?
A House disdain citation against numbers like the Clintons triggers a statutory process where enforcement relies on the Justice Department( DOJ) executing under 2 U.S.C.§ 192.
Post-vote( simple maturity in Oversight Committee, also full House), the Speaker certifies the citation and forwards it to the U.S. Attorney for D.C., calling grand jury donation for charge on misdemeanor charges maximum one time jail and$ 100,000 forfeiture. The DOJ retains prosecutorial discretion, historically declining high- profile cases( e.g., no action on previous superintendent declinations).
DOJ pursued 11 disdain referrals since 1980( e.g., Eric Holder's 2012 citation dropped via impunity), with only four trials success rate under 40. Bannon's 2022 conviction( 4 months served) exemplifies enforcement when process defiance lacks honor claims, unlike Clintons' superintendent separation argument.