Clintons Opt Out of Testifying in Epstein Inquiry

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have refused to appear before Congress in a Republican-led investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, announced plans to pursue contempt of Congress proceedings against both Clintons starting the week of January 21, 2026. This decision follows the couple’s defiance of subpoenas that required Bill Clinton to appear for a deposition on January 13 and Hillary Clinton on January 14.

The Clintons’ legal team provided an 8-page document arguing the subpoenas are “invalid and legally unenforceable” and lack a legitimate legislative purpose. In a letter to Comer, the Clintons wrote that “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. For us, now is that time.”

Committee Announces Contempt Proceedings

Comer held a press conference after Bill Clinton’s scheduled January 13 deposition time passed without the former president appearing. He expressed disappointment at the months of delays from Clinton’s legal representatives. “We’ve communicated with President Clinton’s legal team for months now, giving them opportunity after opportunity to come in, to give us a day, and they continue to delay, delay, delay,” Comer told reporters. The chairman emphasized that the subpoenas received unanimous bipartisan approval from the House Oversight Committee in July 2025, describing the decision as collective rather than unilateral.

Hillary Clinton also failed to appear for her January 14 deposition. Following her absence, Comer announced that the House Oversight Committee would vote on holding both Clintons in contempt during a markup session scheduled for Wednesday, January 21, 2026. The contempt resolutions will include accompanying reports recommending that the full House of Representatives find the Clintons in violation of congressional authority. If the committee approves the contempt charges, the matter proceeds to a full House floor vote.

The subpoenas originated from a July 23, 2025, voice vote by Republicans and Democrats on the Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee. Following that bipartisan approval, Comer issued formal subpoenas on August 5, 2025, to 10 individuals, including the Clintons, for testimony related to Epstein’s crimes. The House Oversight Committee initially scheduled the depositions for October 2025 but postponed them to December after the Clintons cited the need to attend a funeral. When their attorneys declined to propose alternative dates in January, Comer unilaterally rescheduled the depositions for mid-January 2026.

Clintons Challenge Subpoena Legitimacy

The Clintons assembled a legal team featuring prominent attorneys to challenge the committee’s authority. David E. Kendall, their longtime attorney, sent 3 letters over several months arguing his clients should only be required to submit sworn written statements. They later brought on Ashley Callen, co-chair of Jenner & Block’s investigations practice, who previously served as general counsel for House Speaker Mike Johnson and deputy staff director on the Oversight Committee under Comer. The Clintons also hired Abbe Lowell, a veteran attorney known for representing high-profile clients in political controversies.

In their legal arguments, the Clintons’ attorneys contended that the subpoenas constitute “an attempt to publicly harass and embarrass President and Secretary Clinton and an unauthorized encroachment on executive and law enforcement authority.” They cited specific case law regarding congressional subpoenas and constitutional principles, asserting the Supreme Court requires a clear “nexus” between the legislative aims of investigations and the witnesses summoned. 

The Clintons maintained they had already provided all the “little information” they had on Epstein voluntarily. “President and Secretary Clinton have proactively and voluntarily shared the limited information they hold with the Committee,” their attorneys stated in correspondence to Comer. They noted that Comer had accepted sworn statements from several other subpoenaed individuals and subsequently excused them from testifying. The Clintons argued this differential treatment demonstrates the chairman’s partisan motivations rather than legitimate investigative needs.

Bill and Hillary Clinton each submitted written declarations under penalty of perjury containing 7 bullet-pointed paragraphs on the 13th January. Both denied any personal knowledge of Epstein’s or Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal activities or ever visiting Epstein’s private estate in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Bill Clinton acknowledged in his declaration that Epstein “may very well have attended” White House events during his presidency and that photographers may have captured images of him with Epstein among “tens of thousands” of people. However, Clinton stated he did “not recall encountering Mr. Epstein, or any specific interaction with him, while in office.”

Clinton’s Documented Epstein Connections

Comer justified the subpoenas by highlighting Bill Clinton’s documented relationship with Epstein. The chairman rebutted that Epstein visited the White House 17 times during Clinton’s presidency between 1993 and 2001. Visitor logs indicate Epstein met with Mark Middleton, a Clinton aide and assistant to the White House chief of staff, on multiple occasions between 1993 and 1995. Middleton, a friend of Clinton’s from Arkansas, facilitated Epstein’s White House access in at least 3 instances.

After leaving office in January 2001, Clinton’s association with Epstein continued through the Clinton Foundation’s humanitarian work. Flight log records show Clinton’s name on at least 17 legs of Epstein’s flights during 2002 and 2003. Comer stated Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane “somewhere around 27 times” after his presidency, though this figure counts individual flight segments rather than complete trips. Comer emphasized during his press conference that “no one’s accusing Bill Clinton of any wrongdoing. We just have questions.” He noted that anyone would acknowledge the 2 men “spent a lot of time together” based on the documented White House visits and flight records. 

Clintons Accuse Committee of Partisan Politics

In their personal letter to Comer, the Clintons accused the chairman of pursuing a politically motivated investigation designed to embarrass them rather than uncover facts about government failures in the Epstein case. “There is no plausible explanation for what you are doing other than partisan politics,” they wrote. They criticized Comer for focusing on prominent Democrats linked to Epstein just to deter attention from President Donald Trump’s involvement with the convicted sex offender.

The Clintons also accused Comer of failing to use his oversight capacity to force the Department of Justice to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. This law, passed by Congress with a 427-1 House vote and unanimous Senate approval on November 18 and 19, 2025, required the attorney general to release all Epstein-related documents by December 19, 2025. However, the DOJ announced in a January 6, 2026, court filing that more than 2 million documents remain under review, with only 12,285 documents totaling approximately 125,575 pages released thus far.

Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña stated in December 2025 that the incomplete release means “someone or something is being protected.” He emphasized “we need no such protection” and called for the immediate release of all files referring to, mentioning, or featuring photographs of Bill Clinton. Ureña argued that withholding information suggests the Justice Department is “using selective releases to imply wrongdoing” about individuals already cleared by the DOJ under multiple administrations.

The Clintons’ letter accused Comer of potentially paralyzing Congress to pursue a rarely used process “literally designed to result in our imprisonment.” They referenced Trump’s immigration policies, his use of the Justice Department against adversaries, and Republicans’ resistance to extending healthcare subsidies as evidence of broader attacks on democratic institutions. “Despite everything that needs to be done to help our country, you are on the cusp of bringing Congress to a halt to pursue” contempt proceedings, the Clintons wrote. “This is not the way out of America’s ills, and we will forcefully defend ourselves.“

Contempt of Congress Process and Precedents

If the House Oversight Committee votes to hold the Clintons in contempt during its January 21 markup, the matter would proceed to a full House vote. Criminal contempt of Congress carries a mandatory minimum of 1 month in prison per count, with a maximum sentence of 1 year and fines reaching $100,000. If the full House votes to hold the Clintons in criminal contempt, the matter would be referred to the Department of Justice. The DOJ would then determine whether to pursue prosecution. This process follows the statutory criminal contempt avenue, where Congress forwards the case to the United States Attorney’s Office with recommendations for criminal charges.

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack convicted Steve Bannon, former Trump adviser and conservative commentator, on 2 counts of contempt of Congress in 2022 for defying a subpoena. He received a 4-month prison sentence and a $6,500 fine. After exhausting appeals through the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, Bannon reported to federal prison on July 1, 2024, and completed his full term, gaining release on October 29, 2024.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced Peter Navarro, another former Trump aide, to 4 months in prison and a $9,500 fine in January 2024 for contempt of Congress after he defied a January 6 committee subpoena. Mehta rejected Navarro’s claims that his prosecution was politically motivated. Navarro began serving his sentence at a federal prison in Miami on March 19, 2024, becoming the first ex-White House official to be incarcerated due to a contempt of Congress conviction. Both the trial court and appeals court rejected his legal team’s arguments that executive privilege protected him from compliance.

President Donald Trump, who was also friendly with Epstein years ago and has denied knowledge of his criminality, commented on the situation in December 2025. When photos of Bill Clinton with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell emerged in the Justice Department’s document releases, Trump expressed sympathy despite his political opposition to Clinton. “I hate to see photos come out of him, but this is what the Democrats, mostly Democrats, and a couple of bad Republicans are asking for,” Trump told reporters on December 22, 2025.

Trump characterized the photo releases as a “terrible thing” that risked ruining the reputations of people who “innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago, many years ago, and they’re highly respected bankers and lawyers and others.” He added, “Bill Clinton’s a big boy, he can handle it.” Trump initially opposed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, calling Democratic focus on the issue a “hoax” aimed at distraction. However, he reversed his position and signed the legislation into law on November 19, 2025, after overwhelming congressional support made a veto politically untenable.

Comer indicated that the House Oversight Committee would not attempt to compel testimony from Trump about Epstein, stating the panel could not force a sitting president to testify. Trump’s lawyers have cited decades of legal precedent shielding former presidents from being ordered to appear before Congress. Trump was also friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, but has stated he cut off that relationship before Epstein was accused of sexual abuse.

Read More: Epstein Photos Appear to Show Several High-Profile Figures

Next Steps in Congressional Proceedings

The House Oversight Committee will convene on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. ET in the Capitol Visitors Center for a full committee markup. The committee will consider two resolutions and accompanying reports recommending that the House find Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for defying lawful subpoenas. Once the resolutions pass the committee, they will advance to the full House floor for a vote. House GOP leadership would need to schedule that floor vote, which requires a simple majority to succeed.

Comer stated in his announcement, “Bipartisan subpoenas issued to the Clintons are not suggestions. They are legally required to appear before the House Oversight Committee, yet they have defiantly delayed and denied their legal obligations.” He emphasized that “the Clintons are not above the law” and criticized Democrats on the committee who did not attend either scheduled deposition. The chairman quoted Ranking Member Robert Garcia’s previous statement that “defying a congressional subpoena is highly illegal” and “no one is above the law.”

The Clintons indicated in their letters that they anticipated Comer would move forward with contempt proceedings regardless of their written declarations. “We are confident that any reasonable person in or out of Congress will see, based on everything we release, that what you are doing is trying to punish those who you see as your enemies and to protect those you think are your friends,” they wrote. They predicted Comer would “release irrelevant, decades-old photos” intended to embarrass them and concluded their letter by stating, “You will say it’s not your decision to make whether or not we testify. But we have made it. Now you have to make yours.”

Neither Bill Clinton nor Hillary Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. Both have consistently maintained they possess no relevant information regarding Epstein’s crimes. Clinton’s relationship with Epstein occurred primarily in the late 1990s and early 2000s, ending around 2002 or 2003, according to Clinton’s statements. The congressional investigation continues as part of broader efforts to examine government agencies’ handling of the Epstein case and whether systemic failures allowed his crimes to continue for years.

Read More: Trump-Era DOJ Fearful After Public Discovers Top-Secret Epstein Files Easily Unredacted