Former US President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have said they will refuse to comply with a congressional subpoena seeking their testimony in an investigation linked to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In a letter released on social media on Tuesday (January 13), the Clintons described the subpoena issued by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee as “legally invalid” and accused lawmakers of pursuing a process “literally designed to result in our imprisonment.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said the panel will begin contempt of Congress proceedings against Bill Clinton next week after the former president failed to appear for a scheduled deposition on Tuesday.
“We’re not accusing President Clinton of wrongdoing,” Comer said. “But Congress has questions, and no one is above the law.”
Comer added that the committee would move forward with contempt action unless Clinton agrees to testify before lawmakers.
The Clintons argue that the committee failed to follow the legal procedures required to compel testimony, rendering the subpoena unenforceable.
Some of the released materials include photographs of Bill Clinton. His representatives have repeatedly denied that he had any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
Clinton spokesman Angel Urena accused the White House of attempting to deflect attention, saying the controversy “isn’t about Bill Clinton.”
“The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton,” Urena said. “This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever.”
“So they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton,” he added. “Never has, never will be.”
Like Clinton, President Donald Trump, who signed the Epstein-related legislation amid pressure from congressional Republicans, appears in some of the released documents but has repeatedly denied any involvement or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
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