WASHINGTON—House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said that his committee will move to hold President Bill Clinton in contempt of Congress after he did not show up on Jan. 13 to testify in an inquiry into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Comer said the committee will do so next week during markup. He noted the 2025 subpoena received bipartisan support months ago, one of multiple subpoenas for other individuals involved.

The former president’s wife was also subpoenaed by the committee.

“Hillary Clinton’s supposed to show up tomorrow. We’ll see what happens there,” he said. “No one’s accusing Bill Clinton of any wrongdoing. We just have questions.”

Clinton posted a letter to Comer on X on Jan. 13. The letter, co-signed by his wife, Hillary Clinton, described the subpoenas of the pair as “legally invalid.”

“You are on the cusp of bringing Congress to a halt to pursue a rarely used process literally designed to result in our imprisonment,” the Clintons wrote. “This is not the way out of America’s ills, and we will forcefully defend ourselves.”

Comer said that no Democrats appeared at the Jan. 13 hearing at which Clinton was compelled to testify.

In July 2025, members of Comer’s committee voted to direct it to subpoena the Clintons and other prominent figures, including former Attorneys General Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr, Alberto Gonzales, Loretta Lynch, and Eric Holder.

Tension over the Clinton subpoenas escalated over the following months.

The pair were scheduled to appear before the committee in December 2025. Their depositions were delayed until January.

In a Dec. 15 letter to the Clintons’ lawyer, the chairman wrote that the committee had selected new dates in January 2026 after the pair would not name alternatives.

“If your clients do not comply with these new dates, the Committee will move immediately to contempt proceedings,” the chairman wrote.

The dispute has hinged in part on whether the former president and former secretary of state are being treated differently from the other individuals subpoenaed by the committee.

In their Jan. 13 letter to Comer, the Clintons wrote that they had offered “the same or more than seven of the other eight individuals you subpoenaed regarding the handling of the Epstein investigations and prosecutions.”

“We are prepared to make our case to your 45 committee members, and if need be, more,” the letter added, stating that Americans would see the chairman was “trying to punish those who you see as your enemies and to protect those you think are your friends.”

In a Nov. 21 letter to the Clintons’ lawyer, Comer wrote that their emphasis on what other subpoenaed individuals provided the committee overlooks the fact that they affirmed “they lacked any information relevant to the Committee’s investigation or otherwise had serious health issues that prevented their testimony.”

“The fact that other witnesses may have been afforded certain accommodations is not a defense to a congressional subpoena,” Comer said.

On Jan. 13, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) voiced skepticism that moves to hold the Clintons in contempt would gain traction.

“I’ve been really disappointed in our Justice Department, so I would hope that maybe they’re making some changes,” he told reporters.