WASHINGTON – The Republican leader of the House Oversight Committee has issued a stern warning to former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, threatening to initiate contempt of Congress actions if they fail to comply with requests to provide testimony. The committee’s investigation is focused on the activities of Jeffrey Epstein.

Representative James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, expressed frustration in a statement on Friday, accusing the Clintons of delaying and obstructing the committee’s efforts to secure their testimony. Comer warned that if the former president and first lady do not appear next week or arrange a date for January, the committee will proceed with measures to compel their testimony.

The announcement followed the release of a series of photographs by committee Democrats, which they obtained from Epstein’s estate. These images include both Bill Clinton and former President Donald Trump.

Invoking contempt of Congress is a rarely used, politically charged tool within the U.S. legislative process. The manner in which Congress is seeking disclosure in the Epstein investigation has gained heightened attention, particularly as the Trump administration nears a deadline to disclose the Department of Justice’s case files on Epstein.

Bill Clinton’s name appears among several influential figures linked to Epstein prior to the revelation of the financier’s criminal investigation in Florida, which became public nearly two decades ago. Notably, Clinton has not faced allegations of misconduct from any of the women accusing Epstein of abuse.

Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s accusers, once claimed in a media interview that she had flown in a helicopter with Clinton and had interactions with Trump. However, she later clarified in a deposition that these claims were inaccurately reported by the journalist. A spokesperson for Clinton has reiterated that while the former president flew on Epstein’s private jet, he never visited Epstein’s residences and was unaware of any criminal activities.

Multiple former presidents have voluntarily testified before Congress, but none has been compelled to do so. That history was invoked by Trump in 2022, between his first and second terms, when he faced a subpoena by the House committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot by a mob of his supporters at the U.S. Capitol.