Former President Bill Clinton did not appear today for his scheduled deposition before the House Oversight Committee. Hillary Clinton is scheduled to appear tomorrow, though it remains to be seen whether she will comply.
At 10:07 a.m. today, House Oversight Committee counsel initiated the deposition of former President William J. Clinton, noting for the record that he was not present. Exhibit materials included prior communications from Clinton’s attorney, David Kendall, acknowledging receipt of the original subpoena in August and a follow-up letter from Chairman Comer on December 15, 2025, warning that failure to appear could trigger contempt of Congress proceedings. As of 10:10 a.m., Clinton’s seat remained empty.
Chairman James Comer added: “It’s a shame President Clinton failed to appear in accordance with our duly authorized congressional subpoena. The Oversight Committee will now initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against the former president for defying the law.”
The bipartisan subpoenas—issued to both Clintons in August 2025—followed a July 2025 vote by the House Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement to expand the Epstein investigation and direct the issuance of subpoenas. Chairman Comer later clarified that the full Oversight Committee approved the move, stating: “This wasn’t something that I just issued as chairman of the committee. This was voted on by the entire committee in a unanimous vote.”
Bill Clinton had previously offered to submit a written statement, a concession the committee accepted for other former officials such as James Comey and Robert Mueller. However, Comer insisted in-person testimony from the Clintons was necessary. “We just have questions.”
In his public remarks, Chairman Comer emphasized the reasons behind the committee’s interest in questioning Clinton directly. “One reason I think most Americans want President Clinton to answer some questions is because Jeffrey Epstein visited the White House 17 times while Bill Clinton was President,” Comer said. “I’ve been in Congress nine years. I think I’ve been to the White House nine times in nine years. Epstein was in the White House double the amount of time that I was under one president.”
He added that Clinton had flown on Epstein’s plane “somewhere around 27 times after the presidency.” Comer was careful to note, “No one’s accusing Bill Clinton of anything, any wrongdoing.” Still, he pointed to the significance of the subpoena and Clinton’s refusal to appear: “But for whatever reason, President Clinton didn’t show up, and the Democrats on the committee don’t seem to have a problem.”
In response to the growing pressure, Bill and Hillary Clinton posted a joint statement to their personal X accounts, captioned: “This is not about Right or Left, it’s about Right and Wrong.” Comments were disabled on both posts.
The Clintons open their statement with a broad condemnation of recent government actions, writing: “This past year has seen our Government engage in unprecedented acts, including against our own citizens.” Among those actions, they write, “People have been seized by masked federal agents from their homes, their workplaces, and the streets of their communities.”
They remarked that “every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences. For us, now is that time.” While acknowledging their positions afford them protections, they added: “We are not blind. Every day we see the country we have dedicated our lives to improving take step after step after step backwards.”
Criticizing the committee’s focus, the former president and first lady stated: “You have done nothing with your oversight capacity to force the Department of Justice to follow the law and release all its Epstein files, including any material regarding us as we have publicly called for.”
Anticipating the likelihood of contempt charges, the Clintons declared: “This is not the way out of America’s ills, and we will forcefully defend ourselves.” They continued, “Indeed, bringing the Republicans’ cruel agenda to a standstill while you work harder to pass a contempt charge against us than you have done on your investigation this past year would be our contribution to fighting the madness.”
They asserted that other witnesses were treated differently: “You subpoenaed eight people in addition to us. You dismissed seven of those eight without any of them saying a single word to you. You made no attempt to force them to appear.”
They argued that their subpoenas are “legally invalid” and said they have provided “the same or more than seven of the other eight individuals you subpoenaed regarding the handling of the Epstein investigations and prosecutions,” which they suggested may explain why the committee has “not publicly released their written statements.”
“You will say it is not our decision to make,” the Clintons make clear their stance: “But we have made it. Now you have to make yours.”
Congressman Comer responded directly by quote-posting Bill Clinton’s statement with:
You’re right, President Clinton. This is about right and wrong. Epstein’s survivors deserve justice and answers. Refusing to comply with a bipartisan, duly authorized congressional subpoena in our Epstein investigation is unacceptable. No one is above the law.
The post included multiple photos of Bill Clinton previously released in DOJ files, including images of Clinton with Epstein, in a hot tub, and with two female Epstein victims whose identities were redacted.
In a December 14 report, Breitbart News outlined the Clintons’ ongoing resistance, noting they had declined multiple offers to schedule live testimony and instead offered sworn written statements. Hillary Clinton, through her lawyer David Kendall, has stated she had “no personal knowledge of Epstein or Maxwell’s criminal activities,” and “never flew on his aircraft, never visited his island.” Bill Clinton, Kendall said, had not spoken to Epstein in more than twenty years.
With today’s no-show, contempt proceedings are set to begin next week, and attention now turns to whether Hillary Clinton will appear as scheduled tomorrow, Wednesday January 14.
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