A Republican lawmaker is vowing to begin contempt-of-Congress proceedings against former President Bill Clinton after he failed to show up on Tuesday to testify before a committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer told reporters he would start proceedings against Clinton next week, and could do the same against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton if she fails to answer questions on Wednesday.
The committee had issued subpoenas for both Clintons to testify about the late convicted sex offender.
Lawyers for the Clintons called the subpoenas unenforceable, and said they had already provided the limited information they had about Epstein.
Bill Clinton has never been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein's abuse, and has denied knowledge of his sex offending.
In a statement on Tuesday, Comer said the subpoenas to the Clintons were voted on in a bipartisan manner.
We 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, to the point where we had no idea whether they're going to show up today or not, he said.
The Clintons contended the subpoenas - legal orders to provide testimony - are nothing more than a ploy to attempt to embarrass political rivals, as President Trump has directed.
In a letter to Comer, lawyers for the Clintons said they had communicated proactively and voluntarily with the committee and that the subpoenas were untethered to a valid legislative purpose, unwarranted because they do not seek pertinent information, and an unprecedented infringement on the separation of powers.
Bill Clinton appears with Epstein and at the late financier's estate in photographs released by the US Department of Justice as part of investigations concerning Epstein.
One picture shows the former president swimming in a pool, and another shows him in a hot tub.
Clinton was photographed with Epstein several times over the 1990s and early 2000s, prior to Epstein's arrest for sex trafficking.
Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña stated the photos are decades old and noted that Clinton stopped associating with Epstein before his criminal activities were public knowledge.
Clinton has acknowledged taking four trips on Epstein's private plane in 2002 and 2003, and meeting Epstein in New York during that time.
Records previously indicated that Clinton flew on Epstein's jet more than twenty times, often without his Secret Service detail.
Congress can detain individuals until they comply with a subpoena, send a certification of contempt to the Justice Department for prosecution, or seek a court order for compliance.
Criminal contempt of Congress can result in fines up to $100,000 and imprisonment for up to one year.
As both parties continue to investigate Epstein's associations with influential figures, legislation mandates the government to release files concerning federal investigations into Epstein by mid-December.
After only partial releases, lawmakers sought court intervention to ensure compliance by the government.
