By Anvee Bhutani

WASHINGTON -- A top House Republican said he would move to hold Bill Clinton in contempt of Congress, after the former president declined to appear to give a deposition related to an investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

House Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer (R., Ky.) said his panel would move next week to hold Clinton in contempt, citing his failure to comply with a subpoena after months of scheduling negotiations.

"I think it's very disappointing," Comer told reporters Tuesday.

Comer had previously warned that the committee would move toward contempt proceedings if Clinton failed to appear on Jan. 13, or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton didn't appear for her scheduled deposition on Jan. 14. The dates were set after earlier depositions planned for December were postponed.

Bill Clinton didn't appear Tuesday for the scheduled 10 a.m. deposition before the panel.

In a public letter to Comer, the Clintons accused the committee of politicizing the investigation and unfairly targeting them. "We are confident that any reasonable person in or out of Congress will see, based on everything we release, that what you are doing is trying to punish those who you see as your enemies and to protect those you think are your friends," the Clintons wrote.

The subpoenas were authorized this past summer by a bipartisan vote of the House Oversight Committee's Federal Law Enforcement subcommittee, directing Comer to compel testimony from the Clintons and other former senior officials.

"No one's accusing Bill Clinton of any wrongdoing," Comer said. "We just have questions." He said that Clinton had never answered questions from Congress about Epstein, despite what Comer described as extensive past contact. "Anyone would admit they spent a lot of time together when Bill Clinton was president and postpresidency," he said.

Clinton and Epstein socialized in the 1990s and 2000s. Clinton has said he was unaware of Epstein's crimes and severed contact with him before Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution. More than a decade later, federal prosecutors in New York charged Epstein with sex trafficking. He died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial. The medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.

The Clintons added in their letter that they have offered the same level of cooperation provided by other witnesses and have questioned why the committee is insisting on live testimony from them.

A contempt of Congress finding allows lawmakers to refer a subpoena dispute to prosecutors or the courts, though such cases rarely result in criminal penalties.

The Clintons' attorney, David Kendall, has previously argued in correspondence with the committee that written responses or sworn statements would be sufficient and that the subpoenas, particularly as they apply to Hillary Clinton, lack a clear nexus to the committee's stated legislative purpose.

The investigation is focused on the federal government's handling of probes related to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, an Epstein associate who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping recruit and groom underage girls. Comer has said the committee is examining prosecutorial decisions, nonprosecution agreements and whether overhauls are needed to federal law enforcement's handling of sex-crime investigations.

Write to Anvee Bhutani at anvee.bhutani@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 13, 2026 12:25 ET (17:25 GMT)

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