'Their choice.' Dems say Clinton contempt push will come back at Trump [View all]

Source: USA Today

Feb. 7, 2026, 5:04 a.m. ET


WASHINGTON – After a successful pressure campaign to compel former President Bill Clinton to testify about accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, House Democrats are threatening to subpoena President Donald Trump for investigations of their own whenever they regain power.

A bipartisan effort in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to potentially hold Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in contempt for defying subpoenas was notable for many reasons. For one thing, it illustrated a lack of unquestioned loyalty for the pair in a party they once ran more than two decades ago, forcing an internal reckoning for Democrats.

But it also gave a political gift to the party that currently has no control over the levers in Washington: A new precedent set by the Clinton depositions means the threat of a criminal contempt investigation will hang over Trump after he leaves the White House, and when Democrats regain control of the House after a future election.

Current and former presidents have testified before Congress, although the events are rare. Democrats now contend they have permission to subpoena former presidents under threat of criminal contempt, a vote Trump didn't face when he was out of office during the investigation of the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/02/07/democrats-clinton-contempt-precedent-trump/88509918007/