Rep. Jamie Raskin warned Sunday that Congress is barreling toward a contempt showdown over the Jeffrey Epstein files, tying any punishment of the Clintons to the same move against Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Raskin made clear he will only support contempt resolutions against former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton if the House simultaneously targets Bondi for failing to turn over millions of Epstein-related documents.
“I will vote yes on contempt against them and anybody else, as long as Pam Bondi is part of it,” Raskin told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union,” casting the dispute as a test of whether Congress is serious about full disclosure.
The Maryland Democrat argued that Bondi is sitting on material Congress is legally entitled to receive, framing the standoff as a credibility crisis for the Epstein investigation.
“Remember, she’s got millions of documents that she is legally compelled to turn over under a months-old subpoena and under federal law, and she’s not doing it,” Raskin added, insisting selective enforcement undermines public trust.
Raskin drew a hard line, vowing to oppose any floor action that singles out political figures without also holding the Justice Department accountable.
“I will definitely vote no on any partisan measure, one side or the other,” he said. “I want all of the information from everybody, and I want everybody to come forward and comply.”
The comments landed as House Republican leaders prepare to force full chamber votes Wednesday on holding both Clintons in contempt of Congress, according to Politico.
Those votes stem from last month’s action by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which advanced contempt resolutions after the Clintons declined to appear for depositions linked to the panel’s Epstein probe.
The Bill Clinton resolution cleared committee 34-8, with nine Democrats breaking ranks to vote yes, including Reps. Maxwell Frost, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Summer Lee, Stephen Lynch, Ayanna Pressley, Emily Randall, Lateefah Simon, Melanie Stansbury, and Rashida Tlaib.
The Hillary Clinton measure passed 28-15, drawing support from Lee, Stansbury, and Tlaib, signaling unusual bipartisan frustration surrounding compliance with the investigation.
Lee attempted to broaden the scope by offering an amendment to hold Bondi in contempt “for failing to comply” with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, but the effort failed in committee.
That law requires the Justice Department to release all records tied to the disgraced financier, a mandate that has become the centerpiece of mounting political tension.
Democrats and some Republicans have accused Bondi and the DOJ of dragging their feet, noting that only a portion of the material in government custody has been released so far.
The Justice Department told a federal judge Tuesday that it has reviewed “several million” pages of Epstein files in response to the statute.
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In a four-page filing, Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said the review and redaction process should conclude “in the near term,” while declining to offer a firm deadline.
“The Department is not able to provide a specific date at this time,” the filing stated, citing quality control checks and the need to protect victim-identifying information.
Lawmakers immediately seized on the disclosure, questioning why large volumes of material remain withheld.
“The DOJ said it identified over 6 million potentially responsive pages but is releasing only about 3.5 million after review and redactions,” Rep. Ro Khanna said. “This raises questions as to why the rest are being withheld.”
Blanche attempted to cool the backlash during a Sunday interview on ABC News’ “This Week,” declaring the department’s review complete.
“There are a small number of documents…that are waiting for a judge to say we can release because of a protective order,” Blanche said. “But this review is over.”
He said DOJ personnel examined “over 6 million pieces of paper, thousands of videos, tens of thousands of images,” arguing the department met its legal obligations.
Blanche also pushed back on claims that the latest disclosures should trigger prosecutions, particularly after the release of graphic images.
“There’s a lot of horrible photographs that appear to be taken by Mr. Epstein or people around him, but that doesn’t allow us necessarily to prosecute somebody,” he told CNN.
Survivors and lawmakers criticized the Friday release as insufficient and riddled with redaction errors, while Blanche said DOJ moved quickly to correct mistakes.
He told ABC that any errors affected only “about .001%” of the material and invited lawmakers to review unredacted files at Justice Department facilities.
Frustration continued to spill across party lines, with Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie requesting access to the unredacted records.
“If we don’t get the remaining files…then Thomas Massie and I are prepared to move on impeachment or contempt,” Khanna warned Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” referring to Bondi.
Khanna described the partial disclosure as both shocking and incomplete.
“Even those shocked the conscience of this country,” he said, arguing the documents implicate wealthy and powerful figures across multiple sectors.
“It’s frankly one of the largest scandals, in my view, in our country’s history,” Khanna added. “There’s a demand for elite accountability.”
Blanche dismissed complaints from lawmakers, singling out Massie as “quick to complain.”
He argued there is “no way” critics have reviewed the volume of material already released and reiterated that unredacted access remains available.
“We have nothing to hide. We never did and our doors are open,” Blanche said.
She has turned over documents already Fool
Raskin is a lying piece of shit(aka a democrat). Why are the Clintons above the law? Navarro and Bannon weren’t.