Clintons may face contempt for refusing Epstein probe
Bill and Hillary Clinton refused to testify in the Republican-led congressional investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying it was a partisan exercise.
“Everyone must decide if they are ready to fight for this country, its principles, and its people, regardless of the consequences, or when enough is enough and they are ready to fight for this country,” the Clintons wrote in a letter to Republican Rep. James Comer, who chairs the House Oversight Committee.
“Now is the time for us.”
Comer said the committee will meet next week to convene former Democratic President Bill Clinton. This could potentially lead to criminal charges.
A committee spokesman said the panel would also file a defamation lawsuit against 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton if she does not appear before the panel Wednesday.
The Clintons on Tuesday said they were trying to provide the “little information” they had to help the investigation and accused Comer of shifting the focus away from the Trump administration’s actions.
Epstein died in prison in 2019, during President Donald Trump’s first term, while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
“If for whatever reason the government did not do all it could to investigate and prosecute these crimes, that should be the focus of your work… There is no evidence that you did so,” the Clintons wrote.
“There is no reasonable explanation for what you did other than partisan politics,” they said.
Comer said “most Americans” want Bill Clinton to answer questions about his ties to Epstein. The Kentucky Republican said Epstein visited the White House 17 times while Clinton was in office and that the former president flew on Epstein’s plane about 27 times.
Clinton expressed regret over the affair and said she knew nothing about Epstein’s criminal activities. No evidence has emerged that Clinton was involved in sex trafficking.
“No one is accusing Bill Clinton of any wrongdoing,” Comer said.
“We just have questions.”
The US Department of Justice is releasing files related to criminal investigations into Epstein, who was once friends with Trump and the Clintons, in accordance with transparency legislation passed by Congress.
A separate letter sent to the committee by the Clintons’ lawyers on Monday said the subpoenas for their depositions were invalid, unenforceable and “nothing more than a ploy to embarrass political rivals at the direction of President Trump.”
