House Oversight to Pursue Contempt Charges After Clintons Skip Epstein Depositions

House Oversight will pursue contempt charges after Bill and Hillary Clinton defied subpoenas and missed closed-door Epstein depositions, prompting contempt votes and potential DOJ referral.

Overview

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1.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer announced contempt proceedings after both Bill and Hillary Clinton failed to appear for scheduled closed-door depositions in the Epstein investigation.

2.

Republican-led committee will meet next week to consider contempt charges; if approved by committee, the measure would go to the full House for a floor vote.

3.

The Clintons’ attorneys argue the subpoenas are "invalid and legally unenforceable," offering letters and outside legal analyses and proposing public testimony instead of closed depositions.

4.

Comer said staff negotiated with the Clintons’ counsel for five months and accused them of delaying; Bill Clinton missed a deposition Tuesday and Hillary Clinton did not appear Wednesday.

5.

If the House votes to hold them in criminal contempt, the referral would go to the Department of Justice, which would decide whether to pursue prosecution.

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Analysis

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Center-leaning sources frame the story as a partisan legal showdown, leading with the GOP’s contempt threat and foregrounding provocative lines from the Clintons’ letters. Editorial choices — loaded verbs, headline emphasis on confrontation, and selective placement of facts (Clintons aren’t accused) — steer readers toward conflict and legitimacy debates.

Sources (41)

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FAQ

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Subpoenas issued in August 2025, initially scheduled for October 2025, postponed to December 2025 due to funerals, then rescheduled to January 13, 2026 for Bill Clinton and January 14, 2026 for Hillary Clinton, both of whom failed to appear.

The Clintons' attorneys argue the subpoenas are invalid and unenforceable, claiming they have no relevant information on Epstein's crimes, have already provided what they know, and prefer written submissions or public testimony over closed-door depositions.

The House Oversight Committee will vote on contempt charges next Wednesday, and if approved, it goes to the full House for a floor vote, potentially referring criminal contempt to the Department of Justice for prosecution.

The investigation examines the federal government's handling of investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, focusing on the Clintons' past associations, including Bill Clinton's flights on Epstein's plane.

History

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