A congressional committee vote on Wednesday advanced a plan to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for refusing to respond to duly issued subpoenas.
It was the House Oversight Committee that recommended holding the longtime Democrat party leaders in contempt for refusing to cooperate with the panel’s investigation of the Justice Department’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
“The committee does not take this action lightly,” Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the committee’s chairman, said ahead of the vote. “But subpoenas are not mere suggestions. They carry the force of law, and require compliance. Former President Clinton and Secretary Clinton were legally required to appear for depositions before this committee. They refused.”
BREAKING: Chairman Comer slams Democrats during our markup to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt.@RepJamesComer: “Today, the Clintons must be held accountable for their actions. And Democrats must support these measures, or they will be exposed as hypocrites.” pic.twitter.com/ufTXIRDkyG
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) January 21, 2026
Multiple Democrats voted with Republicans on the issue, an issue that now advances to the full House for a vote on whether to find them in contempt. If that is done, the pair would be referred to the Justice Department for prosecution.
A report at CBS News explained that action could be within just weeks.
“Make no mistake … this bill will pass, and I believe it will pass with Democrat votes,” Comer said.
Republicans just a day earlier said the Clinton’s lawyers “made an untenable offer” for the GOP chairman to go to New York and speak off the record with Bill Clinton. The offer was not accepted.
At the time, Comer said, “The Clintons’ latest demands make clear they believe their last name entitles them to special treatment.”
The Clintons are among a long list of officials subpoenaed for the investigation. Some already have testified and others have provided written statements.
The Clintons, through their lawyers, claimed they essentially were exempt from the subpoenas.
There’s a long record of Bill Clinton accepting flights on the “Lolita Express,” the private jet owned by Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
They claimed no knowledge of criminal activities by Epstein.
Bill Clinton refuses to testify to Congress in Epstein inquiry, could face contempt citation
