Republican members of the House Oversight Committee speak to reporters after former President Bill Clinton failed to appear for a congressional subpoena. From left are Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Michael Cloud (Texas), Chairman James Comer (Ky.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), and Scott Perry (Pa.).

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have officially refused to testify at a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing regarding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Clintons were scheduled to appear before Congress for closed-door testimony on Tuesday and Wednesday, but their legal team notified House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer in a letter that their clients would not attend.

According to Politico, the lawyers' letter claimed that the Clintons had already provided all information related to the now-deceased Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell (who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in the sex trafficking ring).

The legal team dismissed the matter as a "ploy to get political rivals in trouble at the direction of President Trump."

They also argued that the subpoenas issued to the Clintons were "invalid and legally unenforceable" because they were "not related to a valid legislative purpose," and therefore, refusal to testify should not lead to contempt of Congress charges.

Speaking to reporters outside the hearing room on Tuesday morning, Chairman Comer stated that a vote to hold Bill Clinton in contempt of Congress would be brought before the committee next week.

Comer pointed out that the issuance of the subpoenas was unanimous among the members of the House Oversight Committee.

He stated, "Jeffrey Epstein visited the White House 17 times. I've been in Congress for nine years and visited the White House nine times. Epstein visited the White House twice as many times as I have under one administration. And to our knowledge, Bill Clinton flew on Epstein's plane to his locations 27 times after his presidency."

Comer added, "We have been communicating with President Clinton's legal team for months, giving them multiple opportunities to appear, but they have continued to delay and delay, and we have reached a point where we don't even know if they will appear today. It's very disappointing."

Politico reported that if Hillary Clinton also fails to appear on Wednesday, a similar vote could be held for her.

Former President Bill Clinton released a separate letter to Chairman Comer on the 13th via X (formerly Twitter).

In the letter, the Clintons criticized the committee chairman for engaging in "partisan political theater" rather than focusing on preventing future crimes like those committed by Epstein.

They wrote, "While there is a mountain of work to do to help our country, you are seeking to paralyze Congress to pursue an almost unused procedure designed to imprison us. This is not a way to escape America's problems, and we will vigorously defend ourselves."

Cases where refusal to appear before Congress has led to criminal convictions are extremely rare. Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, prominent allies of former President Donald Trump, were sentenced to prison in 2021 for defying subpoenas from a Democratic-led select committee investigating the January 6th Capitol attack.

By Hong Sung-goo, Chief Reporter of NNP USA / Special Contribution to this newspaper NNP info@newsandpost.com