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A congressional committee has officially advanced resolutions to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas related to its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: Last year, the House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas for former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to appear for in-person depositions as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s network and connections. The committee specifically sought to question the Clintons due to their past personal associations with Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. In response, the Clintons’ lawyers argued that the subpoenas were legally invalid, lacked a legitimate legislative purpose, and constituted an overreach of congressional authority. They also said that both Clintons had already provided all the limited information they possessed, including written, sworn statements, and had proactively denied any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct. Additionally, a spokesman for the Clintons argued that the probe was being “politicized,” noting that people like President Trump, who also had ties to Epstein, were not called in for questioning.

What’s going on now: In a notable development, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted to advance two separate contempt of Congress resolutions, one for Bill Clinton and another for Hillary Clinton, due to their failure to comply with the issued subpoenas. The resolution against the former president passed with a 34–8 vote, while the one targeting the former secretary of state passed by a 28–15 margin. Notably, nine Democrats crossed party lines to support holding Bill Clinton in contempt, and three did the same for Hillary Clinton.

The committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), said, “No witness — not a former president nor a private citizen — may willfully defy a duly-issued congressional subpoena without consequence.” Comer added, “to the Clintons and their lawyers, this bill will pass and I believe it will pass the Democrat vote, even though I’ve heard Democrat leadership is whipping to try to get you all to vote ‘no’ on this.”

If the full House votes in favor of the contempt resolutions, the matter would then be referred to the Department of Justice, which would determine whether to pursue prosecution. A contempt of Congress conviction can carry a maximum penalty of a $100,000 fine and up to one year in jail.

Despite bipartisan support, some Democratic lawmakers criticized the move as politically motivated. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the committee’s ranking member, argued that the committee was ignoring the Department of Justice’s delay in releasing Epstein-related files and focusing disproportionately on the Clintons. He stated, “If it was actually about getting justice and about getting the truth, we would have DOJ here. We would be holding Pam Bondi in contempt and we would be hearing from the survivors themselves.”

Others echoed concerns that the committee’s actions resembled a partisan witch hunt. Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.) said, “I’m very troubled by this criminal contempt motion… it looks like a political witch hunt against Trump’s critics.” Nonetheless, Min acknowledged that “no one should be above the law,” and ultimately called the Clintons’ absence “shameful.”

This all comes as President Clinton’s lawyers made a last-minute effort to avoid contempt proceedings. In a letter to Comer, Clinton’s attorneys offered to make the former president available for a limited interview in New York with Comer, Ranking Member Robert Garcia, and a small number of staff, arguing that this would allow lawmakers to obtain answers while avoiding what they described as an unnecessary escalation.