Clintons' contempt of Congress resolutions advance out of House committee with Democrats' support

WASHINGTON -- The House Oversight Committee's Republicans voted on Wednesday to advance resolutions holding former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with their subpoenas relating to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The resolutions now head to the House for a full vote. Oversight Chair James Comer said the vote will be in two weeks.

Notably, some Democrats on the committee voted in favor of the resolutions.

Republicans and Democrats on the committee engaged in fiery debate during the markup of two resolutions finding the Clintons in contempt of Congress. Democrats said they wanted to hear from the former president but that Attorney General Pam Bondi should be held in contempt too for not complying with the committee's subpoena to produce the complete Epstein files.

"The committee does not take this action lightly, but subpoenas are not mere suggestions," Comer, a Republican, said during the hearing. "They carry the force of law and require compliance. Former President Clinton and Secretary Clinton were legally required to appear for depositions before this committee. They refused."

Comer stated multiple times throughout the hearing that the Clintons are not above the law. 

"No witness, not a former president or a private citizen, may willfully defy a duly issued congressional subpoena without consequence. But that is what the Clintons did, and that is why we are here today," Comer said.

The Clintons have insisted that the subpoena is without legal merit, fighting the subpoena for months.

A spokesperson for the Clintons said they've made ample attempts to comply with the committee, sending sworn statements from each Clinton -- as other subpoenaed witnesses have -- and offering a closed-door interview between Bill Clinton, Comer and Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the panel.

"To state the obvious, both Clintons have been out of office for over a decade. Neither had anything to do with [Epstein] for more than 20 years," Angel Urena, deputy chief of staff for Bill Clinton, said in a social media post. 

During the committee's debate on Wednesday, Democrats on the panel criticized Republicans for what they said was a double standard for the Clintons compared to others who have also allegedly failed to comply with committee subpoenas. The committee issued its own subpoena to the Justice Department for all its Epstein files in August.

"Where is the pressure to get Pam Bondi to release the files? Instead your focus and the committee's focus on whoever you perceive to be ... your enemies and the enemies of Donald Trump. Because let's be clear, we want to talk to President Bill Clinton. We want him to answer our questions," Garcia said. "We also want Ghislaine Maxwell to answer our questions. We also want to understand why Pam Bondi refuses to release all the files."

Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari argued that Bondi "should be held in contempt if we are going to hold President Clinton in contempt."

Comer responded by saying Bondi is complying and turning documents over. 

"She has -- they have been turning over documents. Now, I've said it 100 times, it's not as quick as we would like, but they're turning over documents," Comer said.

The Oversight Committee's subpoena to the DOJ for documents is distinct from the requirements of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by both congressional chambers and signed by President Donald Trump in November. That law established a Dec. 19 deadline for the public disclosure of all remaining investigative files on Epstein and his convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

The Justice Department has released more than 12,000 documents so far under that act -- a small percentage of the millions of records the department says are under review for potential disclosure.

The DOJ has said hundreds of attorneys are working to review the files and that delays in the documents' release are because of the vetting process required to protect Epstein's victims.

Ahead of the committee's vote Wednesday afternoon, Democratic Rep. Summer Lee moved for an amendment to the resolutions to hold Bondi in civil contempt for ignoring a subpoena. The motion failed by a voice vote.

With the contempt resolutions advancing out of the committee, a full vote on the House floor is expected in the next few days.

If Democrats oppose the floor vote, Speaker Mike Johnson can afford to lose just two Republican votes before a third GOP defector could upset passage. 

The resolution, if passed, would direct the speaker of the House to refer the case to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia -- under the Department of Justice -- for possible criminal prosecution. A simple majority is needed to clear a contempt resolution, though it does not require passage in the Senate.

Besides defying the subpoena, neither Bill Clinton nor Hillary Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing and both deny having any knowledge of Epstein's crimes. No Epstein survivor or associate has ever made a public allegation of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior by the former president or his wife in connection with his prior relationship with Epstein.