epstein clinton plane
© US justice departmentFormer President Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein in an undated photo. Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane four times between 2002 and 2003
Couple insist Trump administration is 'trying to punish' them for political reasons

Bill and Hillary Clinton are facing the possibility of arrest after refusing to testify before Congress about Jeffrey Epstein.

The couple were ordered to give depositions to the Republican-led house oversight committee regarding the former president's relationship with the paedophile on Aug 5.

However, the couple made it clear they had no plans to appear on Capitol Hill in a letter sent to James Comer, the Republican chairman of the committee on Tuesday.

"We are confident that any reasonable person in or out of Congress will see, based on everything we release, that what you are doing is trying to punish those who you see as your enemies and to protect those you think are your friends," the letter reads.

Mr and Mrs Clinton said they had instead provided Mr Comer with sworn statements, similar to those he had accepted from other individuals who had been subpoenaed.

These individuals had been excused from testifying after providing the statements.

However, a spokesman for Mr Comer previously said that he would initiate contempt of Congress proceedings if the Clintons failed to appear.

"They are obligated under the law to appear and we expect them to do so," the spokesman said in a statement to Politico.

"If the Clintons do not appear for their depositions, the House oversight committee will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings."

It means Mr and Mrs Clinton could face a criminal investigation and potential jail time.

The committee "will move next week" to hold Mr Clinton in contempt of court, a source told Fox on Tuesday. It is not clear if the same is planned for Mrs Clinton.

Congress rarely holds people in contempt but it can lead to serious consequences: Trump adviser Steve Bannon was jailed for four months in 2022 for defying a Congressional subpoena during the Democrat-led investigation into the Jan 6 riots.

Peter Navarro, a former White House adviser, was jailed in 2024 for four months for refusing to appear before Congress and provide documents about Jan 6.

The inquiry is part of the oversight committee's investigation into Epstein that began before the Epstein Files Transparency Act was signed into law in November.

The act gave Donald Trump's justice department 30 days to release all documents it had related to Epstein. So far, 100,000 have been made public with thousands more outstanding.

Among the documents that were released were photos of Mr Clinton relaxing in a hot tub with an unidentified woman.

Another picture showed him in a swimming pool with Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who is serving 20 years in prison for trafficking children to Epstein.

The subpoenas noted that Mr Clinton flew on Epstein's plane four times between 2002 and 2003, after he left office.

During one trip, Mr Clinton was photographed being given a massage by Chauntae Davies, one of Epstein's victims.

The former president has never been accused of any wrongdoing.

In response to the newly emerged photographs, Mr Clinton demanded the full release of all the documents held on Epstein and accused Mr Trump's government of presiding over a limited release of records in order to protect "someone or something".