Republican U.S. Rep. James Comer of Kentucky announced Tuesday that the House Oversight Committee will start contempt of Congress proceedings against former Democratic President Bill Clinton next week.
Clinton and his wife, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who had been subpoenaed by the committee, did not show up to testify Tuesday as part of the committee’s investigation into convicted sex offender and financer Jeffery Epstein.
The Clintons issued a public letter to Comer accusing him of playing “partisan politics” and saying his handling of the Epstein case was impeding the investigation.
Comer, chair of the Oversight Committee, said Tuesday Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the committee had supported subpoenaing the Clintons.
“Bill Clinton did not show up, and I think it’s important to note that this subpoena was voted on in a bipartisan manner by this Committee,” Comer said. “This wasn’t something that I just issued as chairman of the Committee. This was voted on by an entire subcommittee in a unanimous vote to subpoena former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.”
In their letter, the Clintons wrote that Comer has “immense power to target anyone and subject them to closed door interrogation and more.”
“The decisions you have made, and the priorities you have set as chairman regarding the Epstein investigation, have prevented progress in discovering the facts about the government’s role,” the Clintons said.
They continued: “The facts speak for themselves: You subpoenaed eight people in addition to us. You dismissed seven of those eight without any of them saying a single word to you. You made no attempt to force them to appear. In fact, since you started your investigation last year, you have interviewed a total of two people. Two.”
Another Kentucky Republican, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, has pushed for making more information about Epstein public. Massie led a successful discharge petition that directed the U.S. Department of Justice to release its investigation files related to Epstein, but not all of the files had been released by the legislation’s initial deadline.
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Written by McKenna Horsley. Cross-posted from the Kentucky Lantern.
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