WASHINGTON – House lawmakers took a bipartisan step to advance criminal contempt proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton after they failed to appear this month for scheduled depositions as part of congressional investigations into Jeffrey Epstein.
Several Democrats on the GOP-led House Oversight Committee supported the measures on Jan. 21, setting up an even bigger and trickier political showdown for the party in the coming weeks.
Nine Democrats on the committee voted to hold the 42nd president in contempt. Three Democratic lawmakers – Reps. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania – also voted to hold the former secretary of state in contempt.
Once the matter comes to a full House vote, it will force more Democrats to choose if they want to publicly defend two of their party's former standard-bearers, whose past ties to Epstein have come under increased scrutiny. Newly unearthed photos of Bill Clinton with the disgraced wealth manager have undercut the party's criticisms of President Donald Trump and his own previous connections to Epstein, who died in jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Only one chamber of Congress has to vote to recommend contempt charges – which can lead to fines and jail time – to the Justice Department.
