House Democrats vote with Republicans to hold Clintons in contempt in Epstein probe - National & International News - WED 21Jan2024 -

House Republicans and Democrats vote to hold Clintons in contempt in Epstein probe

The House Oversight Committee voted today to hold former President Bill Clinton and his wife former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress. The vote came after the Clintons refused to testify in the committee’s ongoing probe of Jeffrey Epstein. Next, the measure will go to the full House floor for a vote.

The committee subpoenaed the Clintons (along with several other former Democrat and Republican officials) in August 2025. Both Bill and Hillary Clinton were due to appear before the committee last week. Instead, they sent a letter to committee chair James Comer (R-KY) dismissing the probe as a “partisan exercise” and declaring the subpoenas “invalid and legally unenforceable”. The letter also dared Comer to hold them in contempt for refusing to testify, writing “You will say it is not our decision to make. But we have made it. Now you have to make yours”.

Despite the defiant tone of the letter, Bill Clinton did offer to have two members of the committee interview him in New York, but without an official transcript. Comer rejected this offer, saying any interview must have an official transcript.

Several of the committee’s Democrats joined the Republicans in supporting contempt charges for the Clintons. This was despite House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calling on his fellow Democrats to vote against the measure. Reportedly, the Clintons’ lawyers also called and emailed the members to push them to reject the contempt measure.

Bill Clinton is known to have a friendship with Epstein that spanned the 1990s and early 2000s. Epstein visited the White House 17 times during Clinton’s presidency and Clinton traveled with Epstein on several occasions after he left office.