House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is urging Democrats to join Republicans on a move that could put former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on a path toward possible criminal referral.
Comer is expected to call for bipartisan support as the committee meets Wednesday at 10 a.m. to advance contempt of Congress reports tied to the Clintons’ refusal to comply with subpoenas issued in the panel’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
“The Committee does not take this action lightly. But subpoenas are not mere suggestions; they carry the force of law and require compliance,” Comer is expected to say, according to an excerpt obtained by Fox News Digital. “Former President Clinton and Secretary Clinton were legally required to appear for depositions before this Committee. They refused.”
Comer will also argue the committee “acted in good faith” while attempting to schedule the depositions, warning that “actions have consequences.”
He is also expected to accuse Democrats of inconsistency if they oppose the measures.
“We’ve offered flexibility on scheduling. The response we received was not cooperation, but defiance, marked by repeated delays, excuses, and obstruction,” Comer is expected to say. “Today, the Clintons must be held accountable for their actions. And Democrats must support these measures, or they will be exposed as hypocrites.”
The committee is scheduled to mark up two reports on holding the Clintons in contempt. If they advance — an outcome Republicans anticipate, likely along party lines — the next step would be a full House vote on whether to refer the matter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for possible prosecution.
“We must do what is necessary to uphold Congress’s investigative authority, which is imperative to the legislative process,” Comer is expected to say. “And we are doing so to demonstrate to the American people that justice is applied equally to everyone, regardless of position, pedigree, or prestige.”
A contempt of Congress conviction is a misdemeanor that can carry a maximum fine of $100,000 and up to one year in jail.
Trump associates Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were each found guilty of contempt of Congress after refusing to comply with subpoenas issued by the now-defunct House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
The Clintons were two of 10 people Comer subpoenaed over the summer as part of the Oversight Committee’s Epstein probe. But what began with bipartisan momentum has since become a partisan fight, with each side accusing the other of using the investigation for political gain instead of focusing on Epstein’s victims.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the committee’s top Democrat, accused Comer of hypocrisy — arguing Republicans are aggressively pursuing contempt against the Clintons while not taking the same approach with the Justice Department over Epstein-related records.
“I think it’s incredibly hypocritical for James Comer to go out and try to hold in contempt his political enemies while [Attorney General Pam Bondi] is actively breaking the law, and he refuses to hold her in contempt,” Garcia told MS NOW last week.
On Tuesday, Comer also said he rejected a proposal from Bill Clinton’s lawyer for Comer and Garcia to meet with the former president in New York for an interview that would not include an “official transcript.”
“The House Oversight Committee rejects the Clintons’ unreasonable demands and will move forward with contempt resolutions on Wednesday due to their continued defiance of lawful subpoenas,” Comer said.
