Former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will not comply with House subpoenas to testify about Jeffrey Epstein, they wrote in a letter to the House Oversight Committee. In this letter, they invited Republicans to try to hold them in contempt and set up a major legal battle over whether the couple can be punished.
Key data
Bill and Hillary Clinton were subpoenaed to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, as part of the committee’s investigation into Epstein.
Neither Clinton was charged with any crime in connection with Epstein, although the former president is known to have traveled on Epstein’s private plane and appeared in numerous photos released as part of the government’s files on Epstein.
Their lawyer sent a letter to the committee indicating that the Clintons will not comply with the subpoena, the Times reports, having previously argued that they have no knowledge of Epstein’s abuses relevant to the committee and that they should be allowed to submit written statements rather than appear in person, as several former attorneys general have been subpoenaed.
The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Republican James Comer, previously stated that he will hold the Clintons in contempt if they defy the subpoena, which the former president and former secretary of state said would be a politically motivated process “literally designed to result in our imprisonment.”
The Clintons argued that the subpoenas against them are “invalid and legally unenforceable” because they serve no valid legislative purpose and “do not seek relevant information,” which could spark a legal battle over whether the couple can be punished for failing to comply.
The House Oversight Committee confirmed the letter and previously informed Forbes on Monday: “If the Clintons do not appear to testify, the House Oversight Committee will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings.”
Don’t you lose: Only 1% of Epstein’s files were published; the rest could take weeks to do
Crucial ideals
“We are confident that any reasonable person, in or out of Congress, will understand, based on everything we publish, that what you are doing is attempting to punish those you consider your enemies and protect those you consider your friends,” the Clintons wrote in their letter to Comer, where they announced they would not comply with the subpoenas and suggested they were prepared for the consequences. “We have already done it,” they wrote of their decision not to testify. “Now they have to take theirs.”
What to take into account
The Clintons appear to be preparing for a lengthy legal battle over their compliance with the subpoenas, reported The New York Times, which bolstered its legal team ahead of Tuesday’s letter and said the committee’s insistence on their appearance “leads us to a protracted and unnecessary legal confrontation.”
House Republicans may try to hold the Clintons in contempt by filing a civil lawsuit or facing criminal charges. Possible penalties for contempt of Congress include a fine of up to $100,000 and a prison sentence of no more than 12 months.
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Key context
Former President Bill Clinton is one of the most prominent figures known for his ties to Epstein, a financier who died in prison in 2019 after being accused of sexually assaulting more than 100 women, many of them minors.
The former president long denied knowledge of the financier’s alleged assault or of any irregularity. Spokesman Ángel Ureña recently stated that Republicans published images of Clinton and Epstein to harm Clinton, and that the former president “knew nothing and cut off contact with Epstein before his crimes came to light.”
The House Oversight Committee opened its investigation into Epstein after the Justice Department announced over the summer that it would not voluntarily release any more files on Epstein, sparking widespread public outcry.
The committee subpoenaed the Justice Department to turn over full documentation on Epstein, which is still in the process of being turned over, and subpoenaed numerous public officials who served while Epstein’s crimes were being investigated, including Attorney General William Barr and former federal prosecutor Alex Acosta.
Bill Clinton is one of the few close friends of Epstein who were subpoenaed as part of the investigation, along with billionaire Les Wexner.
This article was originally published in Forbes US
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