Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) left a congressional hearing room Tuesday with one burning question about former President Bill Clinton (D-AR) after he had missed his scheduled testimony: "What is he hiding?"
Clinton had been scheduled to sit for a deposition with the House Oversight Committee regarding his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"He chose not to come today," Biggs stated.
The congressman emphasized that the subpoena had full bipartisan backing. "Every Democrat and every Republican on that committee voted to have him come in and testify for us in a deposition," he explained.
The committee demands answers about Clinton's relationship with Epstein, specifically regarding "the frequency that Jeffrey Epstein visited the White House when Clinton was the president and also his flights," according to Biggs.
The council didn't rush to issue a subpoena for the former president. Biggs noted they spent significant time attempting cooperation before taking formal action, issuing the subpoena only "after the months and months of trying to accommodate them."
Now, with Clinton's refusal to appear, the consequences are rising. "We hope that they'll respond to the contempt citation, which will be voted on next week," Biggs said.
More Than The Absence
However, the Clintons didn't stay silent. They sent Congress a four-page letter criticizing what they described as political theater, publicly calling out committee leadership for threatening contempt proceedings.
According to Cactus Politics, the Clintons' letter declared their intention to "forcefully defend ourselves." Their letter then claimed the investigation's approach has "prevented progress in discovering the facts.”
They then continued with a call to action: "Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences. For us, now is that time."
Currently, reports show Clinton hasn't been accused of crimes related to Epstein and denies knowing about Epstein's illegal activities. No victims have publicly accused him of wrongdoing.
However, that does not satisfy Biggs, who believes Clinton's absence conveys a message.
The Oversight Committee is expected to vote on a contempt resolution next week.
