Clinton Dodges Subpoena, House GOP Moves to Hold Him in Contempt

House Oversight Chairman James Comer ripped into former President Bill Clinton after Clinton failed to appear for a scheduled deposition on January 13, 2026, as part of the committee’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Comer announced the committee will move to hold Clinton in contempt of Congress, a necessary step when powerful people treat subpoenas like polite invitations. Americans who work hard and play by the rules should not have to watch political elites dodge accountability.

This subpoena was not a spur-of-the-moment stunt; it flowed from a bipartisan Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee vote and was formally issued in August 2025, a fact that undercuts the Clintons’ claims the effort is purely partisan. The Clintons’ legal team responded by calling the subpoenas “invalid” and offering written statements instead of live testimony, a tactic that reeks of delay and legal theater. Plenty of witnesses have given live depositions; insisting on paper answers for two of the most prominent names in modern politics looks like protection, not cooperation.

Comer was right to call out the Democrats on the committee for their absence and their selective outrage, demanding answers only when it suits their narrative. Hypocrisy is not a new playbook for the left, but it remains infuriating when it shields former leaders from even the appearance of scrutiny. If Democrats believe in victims’ rights and transparency, they should stand with the committee and insist that no one — not even a former president or first lady — gets special treatment.

The larger scandal is the Justice Department’s slow-walking of the Epstein documents mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law on November 19, 2025. Despite a statutory deadline, the DOJ has disclosed only a tiny sliver of the more than two million pages it says are releasable, claiming victim privacy and review burdens while watchdogs and lawmakers cry foul. That defense rings hollow when the public sees heavy redactions and a lack of the required reporting to Congress about those redactions.

House Republicans and even some Democrats have asked a federal judge to appoint an independent monitor to force compliance, and rightly so — the American people deserve to know whether bureaucrats are protecting the guilty or merely protecting themselves. The DOJ exists to enforce the law, not to shield the connected. If the department is dragging its feet to spare political allies or to limit embarrassment for a certain class of people, then oversight must be relentless and public.

This moment is a test of whether our institutions still mean anything or whether Washington elites will keep carving out exemptions for themselves. Republicans should push the contempt vote, demand swift referral for enforcement, and keep pressure on the DOJ until the Epstein files are fully, unredactedly released to the public. Hardworking Americans deserve truth and justice, not cover-ups and courthouse gamesmanship.

If Republicans show backbone now, they can turn this into a referendum on accountability that resonates across the country; if they falter, the message will be loud and chilling — some names are above the law. We should be fighting for the victims, for transparency, and for a legal system that treats everyone the same. That is the conservative cause worth defending, and it is the fight Chairman Comer has rightly chosen to lead.