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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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Former President Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton could face a criminal contempt of Congress referral after the House Oversight Committee approved resolutions citing them for defying subpoenas in its Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
The Republican-led committee approved the contempt resolution against Bill Clinton 34-8, and the vote on Hillary Clinton 28-15 Wednesday, after both did not appear for subpoenaed depositions.
Any criminal contempt case would still require a vote by the full House and a decision by the Justice Department on whether to prosecute.
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In a letter released last week, the Clintons criticized Comer for seeking their testimony while the Justice Department has missed a congressionally mandated deadline to release its full cache of Epstein-related files and said the demands were politically motivated. But the committee said it was necessary for them to testify.
Newsweek reached out to the Clinton Foundation by email to comment on this story outside of normal business hours.
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Why It Matters
There have been bipartisan calls for more transparency over Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting sex trafficking charges. U.S. lawmakers have released troves of documents pertaining to Epstein and have furthered investigations into the handling of the case.
The Clintons refused to comply with subpoenas seeking testimony related to Epstein sparking the contempt votes. If the resolution goes forward and a former president and former presidential candidate end up in jail, it will be of remarkable historical significance and show the far-reaching consequences of the Epstein case and its ability to permeate in unexpected areas of U.S. politics.
What To Know
Having been passed by a committee, the contempt resolutions now head to the House of Representatives. If the House approves it with a simple majority, the citations will be referred to the Department of Justice who can pursue criminal prosecution. Convictions for contempt of Congress can carry penalties including a maximum fine of $100,000 and imprisonment of up to one year.
The Clintons have never been accused of wrongdoing in connection to Epstein and have consistently denied knowledge of Epstein's wrongdoing. Bill Clinton has appeared in photographs with Epstein but Clinton's spokesperson has said the two stopped associating before Epstein's crimes came to light.
Former Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were convicted of contempt after defying subpoenas from the House January 6 committee. Bannon began a four-month sentence in July 1, 2024, and was released that October. Navarro was released in July 2024 after serving a four-month sentence.
Speaking to Newsweek, Mark Shanahan who teaches American politics at the University of Surrey in the U.K. said the committee was "acting now to embarrass the Clintons and deflect from both the DoJ's failure to release the Epstein files in full."
He added: "There is no guarantee that the resolution will win a majority in a full House vote. Some members will feel the weight of Trump upon them as they plan for the midterms elections."
Legal analyst and attorney Jonathan Turley said that if the Clintons go to trial, the case would likely be short. "What is most striking about the Clinton matter is the absence of any intelligible defense," he told Newsweek. "I cannot imagine what the defense would actually argue at trial. 'I did not feel like it' is not a viable defense. Given that, this could be the shortest trial in history. Moreover, there is not much to do before trial. The record in this case would largely consist of a subpoena, a few letters, and a failure to appear."
He added that President Donald Trump had the powers to pardon "if he were so inclined."
What People Are Saying
Kentucky Republican James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said: "Subpoenas are not mere suggestions. They carry the force of law and require compliance."
Representative Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, on X on Tuesday: "Bill Clinton just refused to show up for his deposition in the Epstein investigation for the second time. We fully support @GOPOversight holding Bill Clinton in contempt. No one is above the law. Not even a former president. Survivors deserve answers. Silence protects predators."
Democratic Party strategist Donna Brazile, replying to the Clintons' letter on X on Tuesday: "This is how you do it. Thank you Mr President and Madam Former First Lady, US Senator and Secretary of State. You fight back and we will stand with you."
What Happens Next
The resolutions head to the House of Representatives for a full vote.
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