The chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform warned former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday that they could face contempt of Congress charges if they do not comply with subpoenas requiring their testimony next week or in early January regarding their associations with Jeffrey Epstein.
The subpoenas seek testimony connected to the federal investigations into crimes committed by Epstein and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, Newsmax reported on Friday.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) issued the subpoenas in August to require testimony from 10 individuals, including the Clintons.
The Clintons had originally been scheduled for depositions in October, but Comer said in November that, following discussions with their attorney, David Kendall, the dates were rescheduled to Dec. 17 for former President Clinton and Dec. 18 for former Secretary Clinton, the report said.
“It has been more than four months since Bill and Hillary Clinton were subpoenaed to sit for depositions related to our investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s horrific crimes,” Comer said in a statement. “Throughout that time, the former President and former Secretary of State have delayed, obstructed, and largely ignored the Committee staff’s efforts to schedule their testimony.
“If the Clintons fail to appear for their depositions next week or schedule a date for early January, the Oversight Committee will begin contempt of Congress proceedings to hold them accountable,” he added.
Comer’s comments came just hours after Democrats on the committee released a set of photographs taken from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, including images of President Donald Trump, former President Clinton, and Britain’s Prince Andrew.
The 19 photos made public represent a small fraction of the more than 95,000 images the committee received from Epstein’s estate.
Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 while in federal custody awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
Bill Clinton’s association with Epstein has been public for years, including reports that he traveled on Epstein’s private aircraft after leaving office.
A spokesperson for the former president has previously said that he ended contact with Epstein well before the financier’s 2019 arrest and was unaware of the criminal conduct alleged against him.
Those earlier connections have drawn renewed attention as Congress seeks additional investigative records related to Epstein and pursues testimony from individuals who had prior interactions with him.
Others who received subpoenas include former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Alberto Gonzales, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, and Eric Holder, along with former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller.
Sessions and Barr both served as attorneys general during Trump’s first term, Newsmax noted.
FBI Assistant Director Dan Bongino could soon leave his position following internal clashes with the Trump administration over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to reporting by journalist Rachel Bade.
Bade wrote on her Substack, “The Inner Circle,” that Bongino has run afoul of senior officials over his response to the Epstein materials, though it remains unclear whether he would be fired or leave voluntarily.
According to Bade, Bongino’s conduct left “senior staff complaining that he put his personal reputation with MAGA World ahead of the team’s best interests.”
Bongino reportedly had a “fiery confrontation” with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the release of a Department of Justice and FBI memo stating there was no Epstein client list and no evidence that Epstein was blackmailing prominent individuals.
ABC News reported at the time that the memo contradicted long running speculation surrounding Epstein’s activities and death.
Axios reported this summer that Bongino was so upset by the dispute with Bondi that he failed to report to work, prompting speculation among colleagues that he may have quit.
