House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced Tuesday that there will be a vote next week in the Republican-controlled committee to hold former President Bill Clinton in contempt of Congress.
Clinton again refused to appear for a subpoenaed deposition related to the panel’s investigation into disgraced billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
If convicted, Clinton could face serious jail time. President Donald Trump’s allies Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon were both jailed after being charged with contempt of Congress under former President Joe Biden.
“As a result of Bill Clinton not showing up for his lawful subpoena, which again was voted unanimously by the committee in a bipartisan manner, we will move next week in the House Oversight Committee markup to hold former President Clinton in contempt of Congress,” Comer told reporters after Clinton failed to appear for his 10 a.m. deposition.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had also said Monday night that it “would be contempt of Congress” if the Clintons did not attend this week’s depositions.
The subpoena requiring Clinton’s testimony was approved unanimously by both Republicans and Democrats on the Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee in July. Despite the bipartisan support, no Democratic members of the Oversight Committee attended Tuesday’s scheduled deposition.
“Everyone knows by now, 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. “We’ve communicated with President Clinton’s legal team for months now, giving them opportunity after opportunity, to come in, to give us a day, and they continue to delay, delay, delay to the point where we had no idea whether they’re going to show up today or not.”
Clinton’s deposition was initially scheduled for October, then moved to December after Clinton said he needed to attend a funeral.
The committee accommodated the request and said it would work with Clinton to find alternative dates in January, but Clinton’s legal team refused to provide any dates. The committee ultimately issued a new subpoena setting the deposition for January 13, 2026.
His wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is scheduled for a deposition on Wednesday but is also expected to skip out on her subpoena. Comer indicated the committee would also pursue contempt proceedings against her when she fails to appear.
In a letter to Comer posted on social media Tuesday morning, the Clintons called the subpoenas “legally invalid” and “legally unenforceable.”
“Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences,” the Clintons wrote in a letter to Comer. “For us, now is that time.”
“We expect you will direct your committee to seek to hold us in contempt,” they wrote. “You will say it is not our decision to make. But we have made it. Now you have to make yours.”
“Despite everything that needs to be done to help our country, you are on the cusp of bringing Congress to a halt to pursue a rarely used process literally designed to result in our imprisonment,” they wrote. “This is not the way out of America’s ills, and we will forcefully defend ourselves.”
A criminal contempt of Congress charge is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 if convicted.