Washington — Bill and Hillary Clinton refused to appear before the House Oversight Committee to testify as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, setting up a legal confrontation as the Republican-led panel threatens to hold them in contempt of Congress. 

Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the committee's chairman, said the panel will move next week on holding former President Bill Clinton in contempt. Similar action is expected for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

If the committee votes to hold them in contempt, it would advance to the full House for a vote on whether to recommend the matter to the Justice Department for prosecution.  

The panel subpoenaed the former president and former secretary of state in August as part of the investigation. The committee had requested that Bill Clinton appear on Tuesday and Hillary Clinton on Wednesday. 

In a separate eight-page letter to Comer, the Clintons' attorneys made it clear they would not appear for the closed-door questioning. 

"President and Secretary Clinton have already provided the limited information they possess about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to the Committee," the Clintons' attorneys said in the letter dated Jan. 12, which was obtained by CBS News. 

"They did so proactively and voluntarily, and despite the fact that the Subpoenas are invalid and legally unenforceable, untethered to a valid legislative purpose, unwarranted because they do not seek pertinent information, and an unprecedented infringement on the separation of powers," the letter said. 

In a separate letter to Comer on Tuesday that was signed by the Clintons, they noted that several other former officials were subpoenaed as part of the investigation and not forced to testify. In August, the committee also subpoenaed former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Alberto Gonzales, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder, and former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller. 

"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 Clintons wrote. 

"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," they said. "For us, now is that time." 

The Clintons' attorneys called the effort "nothing more than a ploy to attempt to embarrass" President Trump's political rivals. Last month, Mr. Trump called on the Justice Department to release any Epstein-related materials that name Democrats to "embarrass them."  

Bill Clinton has appeared in photos with Epstein and took a handful of trips with him decades ago, but has not been accused of any wrongdoing. The materials also contain references to Mr. Trump, who also has not been accused of any misconduct. 

"No one's accusing Bill Clinton of any wrongdoing. We just have questions," Comer told reporters Tuesday after the former president failed to show up. 

The Clintons' legal team and the committee have been going back and forth for months over the requested depositions. The committee initially requested they appear in October, but then delayed the date until December. Both Clintons declined the December dates, citing the need to attend a funeral. 

Former presidents have not successfully been compelled to testify before Congress, but several have voluntarily answered questions from committees. 

The Clintons' lawyers called on Comer to "engage in good faith to de-escalate this dispute." 

"Oversight Democrats have always said that the Committee is willing to talk to any person who has information about Jeffrey Epstein," Sara Guerrero, a spokesperson for Democrats on the committee, said in a statement. "Cooperating with Congress is important and the Committee should continue working with President Clinton's team to obtain any information that might be relevant to our investigation."