House Republicans Put Contempt Resolutions for Clintons Aside After Former First Couple Agrees To Sit for Depositions in Epstein Probe

House Republicans are for now putting aside their resolutions to hold President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress. The decision to table the resolutions came just hours after the former first couple agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee about their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The Oversight Committee opened the investigation into the government’s handling of the Epstein matter last summer. Part of that effort included issuing subpoenas for several high-profile former government officials, including FBI directors, U.S. attorneys general, and the prosecutor who handled the first Epstein case nearly 20 years ago. The Clintons were also subpoenaed at that time. Mr. Clinton and Epstein traveled together on multiple occasions after the former president left the White House in 2001. After spending months pushing back on the subpoenas, trying to set conditions for meetings with the committee, and ultimately refusing to show up for their scheduled depositions, Mr. and Mrs. Clinton’s attorneys said Monday that their clients were ready to show up. A spokesman for the Clintons, Angel Ureña, wrote on X on Monday that the chairman of the committee, Congressman James Comer, said the former first couple will answer questions even though, he says, the committee has been acting in bad faith. “They negotiated in good faith. You did not. They told you under oath what they know, but you don’t care,” Mr. Ureña wrote. “But the former President and former Secretary of State will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone.”The committee has been seeking questions from Mr. Clinton about his personal relationships with Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. The former president traveled with Epstein on multiple occasions and, like President Trump, wrote a friendly note to Epstein for his 50th birthday. Mr. Comer says Mrs. Clinton likely has insight into potential human trafficking issues given her leadership of the State Department at a time when domestic trafficking surveillance became a critical issue for her. There is no evidence that Mrs. Clinton ever traveled with Epstein or spent any time alone with him or Ms. Maxwell, unlike her husband. Their decision to sit for depositions came at a perilous moment for them. It was clear that had the contempt resolutions reached the House floor, they would have easily passed. A sizable number of Democrats were expected to vote for the resolutions before they were shelved on Monday. During the original committee vote to advance the contempt resolutions, a plurality of Democrats on the panel voted to hold Mr. Clinton in contempt. Mrs. Clinton’s deposition was also advanced in a bipartisan vote, though by a smaller margin. At the same time the committee was considering the contempt measures, Mr. Clinton’s attorneys made an offer to Mr. Comer — he and the committee’s top Democratic member could each bring two staff members to New York, where an off-the-record meeting would be held with the former president, who would answer questions for them. Mr. Comer immediately rejected it. “Former President Clinton has a documented history of parsing language to evade questions, responded falsely under oath, and was impeached and suspended from the practice of law as a result,” Mr. Comer said in a statement at the time. “The absence of an official transcript is an indefensible demand that is insulting to the American people who demand answers about Epstein’s crimes.” The Clintons’ offer to sit for depositions came at the same moment that the House Rules Committee was preparing to vote on advancing the contempt resolutions to the floor of the House. Had the committee voted to include the measures in this week’s debate schedule, the resolutions likely would have come up for a vote on Tuesday or Wednesday. Once Mr. Comer heard that the offer to be deposed had been made, Republicans pulled the contempt resolutions from the Rules Committee’s schedule. Mr. Comer can bring them back for approval at any time, however, if the former first couple’s offer to testify does not satisfy the House GOP. If they are held in contempt of Congress, they would almost certainly face prosecution by the Department of Justice. During President Biden’s term, two former aides to Mr. Trump — Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro — were prosecuted on contempt of Congress charges for defying subpoenas related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Both men spent several months in prison for not complying with those subpoenas.

House Republicans Put Contempt Resolutions for Clintons Aside After Former First Couple Agrees To Sit for Depositions in Epstein Probe

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