Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) showed support for holding former President Clinton in contempt of Congress and moving such a resolution on the House floor over his refusal to appear for a deposition.
“I think by definition, if you defy a subpoena of Congress, it is contempt,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday, referring to the subpoena in a committee’s investigation of matters relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
Johnson cautioned he hadn’t seen the exact language and that “we’ll have to process it.”
But if a contempt resolution moves through the committee process, as House Oversight and Government Reform Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) pledged earlier on Tuesday, Johnson signaled he would put the matter on the House floor.
“I would support that,” Johnson said. “I think, clearly, he’s defied a subpoena of Congress. I’m not sure what the other remedy would be … It’s a contempt. It shows contempt for Congress, and he’s not spoken to that issue to any extent. And I think the people are owed answers.”
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee had subpoenaed the former president, a known former friend of Epstein, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last year as a part of its investigation into the Epstein matter.
After back-and-forth negotiation with the Clintons’ attorneys about complying with the subpoena, the committee scheduled a deposition date with Bill Clinton for Tuesday and with Hillary Clinton for Wednesday.
The Clintons declined to appear, pointing out in a letter to Comer on Monday that the committee had dismissed subpoenas for several other former government officials, such as former Attorneys General and FBI directors, after they told the committee in sworn statements that they had no relevant information to the panel’s investigation.
“President and Secretary Clinton have already provided the limited information they possess about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to the Committee,” the lawyers wrote. “They did so proactively and voluntarily, and despite the fact that the Subpoenas are invalid and legally unenforceable, untethered to a valid legislative purpose, unwarranted because they do not seek pertinent information, and an unprecedented infringement on the separation of powers.”
Comer said he plans to move contempt through his panel next week for both of the Clintons, assuming Hillary Clinton does not appear on Wednesday.
“No one’s accusing Bill Clinton of any wrongdoing,” Comer told reporters outside the committee room Tuesday morning. “We just have questions, and that’s why Democrats voted along with Republicans to subpoena Bill Clinton.”