Chair of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, has issued a warning of potential contempt actions after two individuals failed to attend a deposition as planned.
“Justice and transparency for Epstein’s victims are imperative,” Comer expressed on X, the social media platform.
He emphasized, “Neglecting a bipartisan, legally sanctioned congressional subpoena in our investigation into Epstein is intolerable.”
Comer added, “The law applies to everyone equally.”
His message on X was accompanied by several images of Mr. Clinton, which were made public in the initial release of the Epstein files last December.
Being found in contempt of Congress is classified as a misdemeanor and can lead to imprisonment.
Trump White House advisors Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were both jailed for four months in 2024 after defying a subpoena.
But the Clintons argued the subpoenas were “invalid and legally unenforceable” and “untethered to a valid legislative purpose”.
In a letter sent from their lawyers, the couple described Comer’s actions as “an unprecedented infringement on the separation of powers”.
Another letter penned by the Clintons themselves criticised Comer’s priorities in investigating the Epstein case.
“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 couple wrote.
They pointed out that of the other eight people also subpoenaed, seven were dismissed without any testimony.
“We have tried to give you the little information we have,” the Clintons said.
“We’ve done so because Mr Epstein’s crimes were horrific.”
The Clintons were both friends with financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
Neither of the Clintons have been accused of any wrongdoing in connection to the Epstein case.
“Continue to mislead Americans about what is truly at stake, and you will learn that Americans are better at finding the truth than you are at burying it,” the couple wrote.
“Continue to abet the dismantling of America, and you will learn that it takes more than a wrecking ball to demolish what Americans have built over 250 years.”
Comer is regarded as an attack dog of the right in his powerful role chairing the House Oversight Committee.
But he noted every member of the committee, Republican and Democratic, voted for the Clinton subpoenas.
“This wasn’t something that I just issued as chairman of the committee. This was voted on by the entire committee in a unanimous vote of the House Oversight Committee to subpoena former President Clinton and former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton,” he said.
Mr Clinton was supposed to show up to testify today. Mrs Clinton is scheduled tomorrow.
