Coomer warns Clinton not to comply with subpoenas for House investigation into Epstein or they will ‘face a challenge’
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House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., warned former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not to comply with subpoenas requiring them to appear in person for the committee’s investigation into the sex trafficking case of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In August, Comer first ordered the Clinton family to appear before the committee to testify in person. However, the Clinton family’s attorney, David Kendall, said on November 3 that his clients could instead provide written answers because it is “the most efficient and fair way to proceed.”
But Comer said such an arrangement was unacceptable.
“Given their history with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, any attempt by the Clintons to avoid sitting for testimony would be a challenge to the statutory subpoenas and grounds for initiating contempt of Congress proceedings,” Coomer said in a statement on Friday, which was attached to a letter to Kendall. “The committee looks forward to their visibility and remains committed to providing transparency and accountability to the survivors of Epstein’s heinous crimes and to the American people,” he added.
Former President Bill Clinton speaks on stage during the New York Times Dealbook 2024 Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 04, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Eugene Gologorsky/Getty Images for The New York Times)
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In Kendall’s earlier letter, he told Comer that the Clintons had little to offer the committee, so personal testimony was unnecessary.
“The public’s demand for transparency from their government about their crimes is understandable and justified,” Kendall said in a November 3 letter. “Former President Clinton and former Secretary Clinton welcome legitimate oversight of this matter that is grounded in reality. In this regard, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary Hillary Clinton have little to contribute to this legitimate goal, all of which could easily be provided on paper.”
However, Comer backed away from that assertion and said on Friday that future delays would amount to a challenge to a legal subpoena. As a result, Coomer said, Bill Clinton is scheduled to testify on December 17, while Hillary Clinton is scheduled to testify on December 18.
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Split photo of former President Bill Clinton and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. (Al Drago/American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. via Getty Images and Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images)
Although Bill Clinton admitted that he traveled on a plane with Epstein, he said he never visited Epstein’s island and wrote in his 2024 memoir Citizen that he wished he had never met Epstein in the first place. The former president also does not face any accusations of wrongdoing in connection with his relationship with Epstein.
The Clinton Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Coomer’s letter comes after President Donald Trump signed legislation ordering the Justice Department to release files related to Epstein.
Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Justice Department must release all unclassified records and investigative materials related to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Additionally, it must share files related to individuals named in Epstein’s previous legal cases, details surrounding the trafficking allegations, internal Department of Justice communications as they relate to Epstein and any details surrounding the investigation into his death.
Photo of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and real estate developer Donald Trump as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida on February 22, 1997. (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
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The push to sign the legislation came after Democrats released three emails on November 12 provided to them by Epstein’s heirs that mentioned Trump. In contrast, Republicans released their own cache of more than 20,000 pages of Epstein documents on the same day.
While the documents themselves are authentic, Epstein’s statements in the emails remain unverified and unverified. The documents do not allege any wrongdoing by Trump, and only depict Epstein mentioning the president.
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Bill Clinton is also mentioned in some of the new discovered documents. For example, Epstein said in a 2015 email that Bill Clinton “never” visited Epstein’s so-called island.
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.