A group of House Democrats joined Republicans on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to advance resolutions holding former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for failing to appear before the panel last week regarding the investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) pushed the penalties, citing the Clintons’ lack of response to a congressional subpoena.
Nine Democrats—Reps. Maxwell Frost (Fla.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.), Summer Lee (Pa.), Stephen Lynch (Mass.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Emily Randall (Wash.), Lateefah Simon (Calif.), Melanie Stansbury (N.M.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.)—voted to advance the resolution against Bill Clinton, while only Lee, Stansbury, and Tlaib supported the measure targeting Hillary Clinton.
During the debate, several Democrats explained their votes by pointing to the evidence—or lack thereof—in the Epstein files. Rep. Stephen Lynch, who voted against holding Hillary Clinton in contempt but supported the resolution for the former president, stated, “There was nothing in there — not a shred of evidence against Hillary. It was more dragging her in because of the animosity between her and the president, I believe.” He added that his vote on Bill Clinton was due to the “substantial nexus between Epstein and him,” emphasizing, “This is serious business. I know he’s indignant about it, but the possibility is there [that] he might be able to help the investigation.” Rep. Summer Lee, who backed both resolutions, criticized the Department of Justice for not releasing the full Epstein documents, saying, “We cannot investigate this fully if we do not have the full files. We cannot see all there is to see if the DOJ is not complying.”
Other Democrats expressed frustration over what they called a partisan process. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, who voted for both contempt measures, said she was “deeply troubled” the Clintons did not appear but argued the hearing was not truly about justice, stating, “No one is above the law, but I do know based on the correspondence that [the Clintons] have been corresponding with you regularly to try to resolve this issue.” Rep. Maxwell Frost demanded a broader investigation, declaring, “I don’t care if you’re a Democrat; I don’t care if you’re a Republican; I’m tired of rich people trying to evade justice and accountability, period.” Chair Comer insisted the effort was not political, telling reporters after the vote, “We’re serious about getting the documents. This isn’t political,” and left open the possibility of calling Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify if the Judiciary Committee’s upcoming hearing is unsatisfactory.