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A congressional committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein has voted to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress, in a significant escalation that could see the former US president and secretary of state face criminal charges.
Republicans and Democrats on the House oversight committee on Wednesday voted to hold the Clintons in contempt after they refused to testify before the panel, which last year intensified its investigation into the government’s handling of cases involving the late convicted sex offender.
Nine Democrats and all the Republicans on the committee voted to hold the former president in contempt, while three Democrats voted to hold the former secretary of state in contempt.
James Comer, the Republican congressman who chairs the committee, had for months sought depositions from the Clintons over their links to Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
But last week the Clintons made clear they were unwilling to comply with congressional subpoenas in the face of threats from Comer and other senior Republicans, including President Donald Trump.
The committee has subpoenaed nearly a dozen people for depositions in its investigation, including Maxwell and several former US attorneys-general, most of whom submitted written statements instead of participating in closed-door depositions. The Clintons are so far the only individuals to face contempt of Congress charges.
The committee has scheduled a deposition for Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in Epstein’s criminal activities, for February 9.
Lawyers representing Maxwell wrote to Comer on January 20 asking the committee to defer her testimony while a request for a review of her imprisonment is pending.
“If the committee proceeds now, Ms Maxwell will invoke her privilege against self-incrimination and decline to answer questions,” the letter said.
In their four-page letter to Comer last week, the Clintons said there was “no plausible explanation” for his efforts to make them testify, “other than partisan politics”.
Subsequent negotiations between the couple’s lawyers and Comer broke down this week after the Republican congressman rejected an offer to interview the former president in his New York office.
Comer on Tuesday called the offer “untenable” and “ridiculous”, saying there would be no official transcript and other members of Congress would not be allowed to participate.
In a memo published on Wednesday, Angel Ureña, a spokesperson for the former president, said the Clintons had co-operated with the investigation, sending sworn statements to the committee, offering to meet with lawmakers and proposing the in-person interview with him.
Ureña said the Clintons had proposed the interview would be conducted by Comer and Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, and the lawmakers would be accompanied by staffers to take notes.
Lawyers for the Clintons did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The committee vote was the first step in a process that could see the Clintons face criminal prosecution.
The matter will next be sent to the House floor for a vote by the full chamber. If it decides to hold the Clintons in contempt, it will be up to the Department of Justice to decide whether to bring criminal charges against the couple.
Contempt of Congress is a charge that carries a possible prison sentence.
Steve Bannon, Trump’s one-time chief strategist, and Peter Navarro, the president’s longtime trade adviser, were indicted and later convicted for failing to comply with congressional subpoenas during the Biden administration. Both men served four-month prison sentences.
Wednesday’s vote marks the latest twist in a long-running scandal that has raised fresh questions about Epstein’s links to the rich and powerful, including Clinton and Trump.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on federal sex-crime charges.
The Clintons have acknowledged they were once friends with Epstein and Maxwell but denied any involvement in, or knowledge of, their crimes.
Trump has acknowledged he was once friends with Epstein but has vehemently denied any involvement in his criminal activities.
The House oversight committee has in recent months published tranches of documents obtained from Epstein’s estate as part of its investigation.
Separately, the DoJ has made public some of its files relating to Epstein following a congressional order. But critics have accused it of withholding a large number of documents and heavily redacting much of the material in its possession.