ks-EPSTEIN-CLINTON (can make the lx version the also) // House committee recommends contempt of Congress for Clintons

Ryan Tarinelli, CQ-Roll Call on Jan 21, 2026

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WASHINGTON — A House committee recommended holding Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress on Wednesday, a key step on a path that could lead to criminal charges against the high-profile Democrats.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted to advance separate reports on contempt, citing the duo’s failure to appear for separate depositions tied to the panel’s investigation of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The panel voted 34-8, with two voting present, on a report on the former Democratic president and 28-15, with one voting present, on a report on the former secretary of State. The reports recommend House resolutions on contempt.

The contempt measures would tee up Speaker Mike Johnson to take “all appropriate action to enforce the subpoena.” Both reports conclude the Clintons’ “willful refusal to comply” with committee subpoenas “warrants referral to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for prosecution as prescribed by law.”

Chairman James R. Comer, R-Ky., said the panel offered the Clintons flexibility on scheduling depositions, but were met by defiance with delays and excuses. And he said proposals from the Clintons’ attorneys were not acceptable.

“The committee does not take this action lightly, but subpoenas are not mere suggestions. They carry the force of law and require compliance,” Comer said during a meeting of the panel on Wednesday. “Former President Clinton and Secretary Clinton were legally required to appear for depositions before this committee. They refused.”

The committee has said the Clintons declined deposition dates in mid-December, citing the need to attend a funeral, and then declined to propose a date for January.

A spokesperson for Bill Clinton said on social media Wednesday morning that the Clintons have both been out of office for more than a decade, and neither “had anything to do with him for more than 20 years.”

Angel Ureña said they had sent sworn statements from each Clinton and spent the last four days trying to find a resolution. “But the Republicans REFUSE to say YES,” Ureña posted.

If the full House approves contempt measures, the Justice Department would decide whether to pursue criminal charges. The Trump administration has shown a willingness to bring criminal charges and open inquiries against Democratic public officials.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight panel, said Democrats want former President Clinton to answer questions but urged the panel to continue negotiating for a recorded interview.

Other high-profile figures who were subpoenaed in the probe were given special accommodations, Garcia, D-Calif., said.

During the meeting, Democrats sought to turn attention to the Justice Department’s noncompliance with a law passed last year that ordered the release of investigative files on the dead financier.

They zeroed in on a department disclosure from earlier this month that said less than 1% of the documents that could potentially be covered by the statute have been released. They argued Attorney General Pamela Bondi is openly violating the law with the delay.

Garcia questioned why there was not more pressure on Bondi to release the files. “This White House cover-up continues every single day that the files are not released. And yet, where are those calls, Mr. Comer? You’re saying they’re complying. That is both a lie and shameful,” he said.

Garcia also said former President Clinton has called for a full release of the Epstein files, has begun answering some questions in a signed declaration and has offered to answer questions in different formats.

Attorneys for the Clintons, in a letter to Comer, have dismissed the contempt push as a political ploy aimed at trying to embarrass political rivals, a tactic cheered on by President Donald Trump.

The Clintons proactively provided the limited information they had on Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, the attorneys argued, and the subpoenas are unwarranted because they “do not seek pertinent information.”

On Tuesday, Comer wrote on social media that lawyers for the Clintons proposed that he travel to New York to talk with the former president. Under that proposal, there would have been no official transcript, Comer said, calling it a “ridiculous offer.”

“There’s no real investigation without a transcript. So what few counterproposals the Clintons’ massive legal team has made aren’t acceptable,” Comer said on Wednesday at the hearing.

Garcia pushed back and said there had been public reporting that the Clintons had not ruled out a recorded transcript. The Bill Clinton spokesperson, on social media, said they never said no to a transcript.

Comer, at the hearing, expressed frustration with the pace of negotiations.

“We have been negotiating for five months. This is clearly a stall tactic, hoping that the time clock runs out and the House flips,” Comer said.

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