House Oversight Committee weighing Bill Clinton contempt charge

by · UPI

Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Former President Bill Clinton did not appear to testify for a House committee deposition on Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday, prompting the committee to pursue contempt proceedings next week.

Neither Bill Clinton nor any Democratic Party members of the committee arrived for the deposition hearing, including Ranking Member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a news release.

Comer afterward criticized Bill Clinton and the committee Democrats for not appearing and said the committee will undertake contempt of Congress proceedings next week.

"Bill Clinton did not show up, and I think it's important to note that this subpoena was voted on in a bipartisan manner by this committee," Comer said.

Related

"This wasn't something that I just issued as chairman of the committee," he added. "This was voted on by an entire subcommittee in a unanimous vote to subpoena former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton."

Comer said the committee communicated with the former president's legal representatives for several months and gave them "opportunity after opportunity" to testify before the committee.

Instead of testifying, Bill Clinton and his legal team "continue to delay, delay, delay, to the point where we had no idea whether they're going to show up today or not," Comer said.

"We will move next week in the House Oversight Committee's markup to hold former President Clinton in contempt of Congress."

The bipartisan Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee on July 23 voted to issue subpoenas to 10 individuals, including Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, to obtain their testimonies regarding the crimes of Epstein and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

Comer issued the subpoenas on Aug. 25, and the former president was scheduled for deposition on Oct. 14, which was moved to Dec. 17.

Comer said Bill Clinton cited a funeral as why he could not attend the December deposition, and Comer offered to move the date to January and scheduled the deposition for Tuesday.

Both Clintons then wrote Comer to say they won't appear at any deposition hearings and said the subpoenas seeking their respective testimonies are "legally invalid," according to NBC News.

"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 told Comer. "For us, now is that time."

The Clintons said they expect Comer to hold them in contempt of Congress and accused him of being "on the cusp of bringing Congress to a halt to pursue a rarely used process literally designed to result in our imprisonment."

"This is not the way out of America's ills," the Clintons wrote. "We will forcefully defend ourselves."

Comer said Bill Clinton is not accused of any wrongdoing, and the committee only seeks his testimony regarding his relationship with Epstein.

The recent release of the Epstein files, which continues in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, includes photos of the former president with Epstein and others.