House Republicans begin push to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress over the Epstein probe

WASHINGTON — House Republicans are starting a push Wednesday to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, opening the prospect of the House using one of its most powerful punishments against a former president for the first time.

The contempt proceedings are an initial step toward a criminal prosecution by the Department of Justice that, if successful, could send the Clintons to prison.

Still, ahead of a meeting Wednesday by the House Oversight Committee to prepare the charges, there were signs of a thaw. The Clintons, both Democrats, appeared to be searching for an off-ramp to testify, and passage of contempt charges through the full House was far from guaranteed, requiring a majority vote — something Republicans increasingly struggle to achieve.

The repercussions of contempt charges loomed large, given the possibility of a substantial fine and even incarceration. While the charges have historically been used only as a last resort, lawmakers in recent years have been more willing to reach for the option. The Oversight Committee chair, Rep, James Comer of Kentucky, initiated the contempt proceedings after the Clintons refused for months to fulfill a House Oversight Committee subpoena for their testimony in the panel's Epstein probe.

The clash was the latest turn in the unpredictable Epstein saga, as Congress investigates how he was able to sexually abuse dozens of teenage girls for years. Epstein killed himself in 2019 in a New York jail cell while awaiting trial. The public release of case files has shown details of the connections between Epstein and both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, among many other high-powered men.

Clinton, Trump and many others connected to Epstein have not been accused of wrongdoing. Yet lawmakers are wrestling over who receives the most scrutiny.

''They're not above the law. We've issued subpoenas in good faith,'' Comer told The Associated Press on the eve of the contempt proceedings. ''For five months we've worked with them. And time's up.''

How the Clintons have responded

The Clintons released a scathing letter last week criticizing Comer for seeking their testimony at a time when the Department of Justice is running a month behind a congressionally mandated deadline to release its complete case files on Epstein.

Behind the scenes, however, a longtime attorney for the Clintons, David Kendall, has tried to negotiate an agreement. Kendall raised the prospect of having the Clintons testify last Christmas and Christmas Eve, according to the committee's account of the negotiations.

The Clintons have also argued that the subpoenas are invalid because they don't serve any legislative purpose and say that they did not know about Epstein's abuse. They have offered the committee written declarations about their interactions with Epstein.

"We have tried to give you the little information we have. We've done so because Mr. Epstein's crimes were horrific,'' the Clintons wrote in a letter to Comer last week.

Contempt of Congress proceedings are rare, used when lawmakers are trying to force testimony for high-profile investigations, such as the infamous inquiry during the 1940s into alleged Communist sympathizers in Hollywood or the impeachment proceedings of President Richard Nixon.

Most recently, Trump's advisers Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon were convicted of contempt charges for defying subpoenas from a House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by a mob of the Republican president's supporters at the Capitol. Both men spent months in prison.

The Jan. 6 committee also subpoenaed Trump in its inquiry, but Trump's lawyers resisted the subpoena, citing decades of legal precedent they said shielded ex-presidents from being ordered to appear before Congress. The committee ultimately withdrew its subpoena.

No former president has ever been successfully forced to appear before Congress, although some have voluntarily appeared.

The Democrats' response

A wealthy financier, Epstein donated to Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and Hillary Clinton's joint fundraising committee ahead of her 2000 Senate campaign in New York.

Democrats embraced the call for full transparency on Epstein after Trump's return to the White House, particularly after Attorney General Pam Bondi stumbled on her promise to release the entirety of the unredacted Epstein files to the public. The backlash scrambled traditional ideological lines, leading Republicans to side with Democrats demanding further investigation.

The pressure eventually resulted in a bipartisan subpoena from the committee that ordered the Justice Department and Epstein estate to release files related to Epstein. Republicans quickly moved to include the Clintons in the subpoena.

Comer indicated Tuesday that he would insist that the subpoena be fulfilled by a transcribed deposition of Bill Clinton.