WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton skipped their closed-door depositions before the House Oversight Committee regarding late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, forcing the panel’s GOP leader to begin contempt of Congress proceedings Tuesday.

“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,” the ex-first couple wrote to Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), according to a letter first reported by the New York Times.

“For us, now is that time.”

The letter went on to accuse the Republican chairman of targeting them over seven other potential witnesses — even though the couple claimed to “know the least” about the deceased financier’s crimes — and having “done nothing” to force the Department of Justice in its “oversight capacity … to follow the law and release all its Epstein files,” which a Clinton rep had previously called for.

The Clintons also offered Comer written declarations stating they had “no personal knowledge” of Epstein or his imprisoned accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex crimes, noting that, as private citizens, they “did not direct, oversee or participate in the handling of the investigations or prosecutions” into the two.

Comer had warned he would begin proceedings to hold the Clintons in contempt if they did not appear to answer questions about their personal relationship with the deceased sex trafficker.

The ex-first couple’s written declarations said they could not recall their interactions with Epstein when still in the White House, and Bill Clinton said he had only limited contact with him shortly after by using his private jet for “philanthropic and life-saving humanitarian efforts.”

“Bill Clinton did not show up, and I think it’s important to note that this subpoena was voted on in a bipartisan manner by this committee,” he told reporters Tuesday.

“This wasn’t something that I just issued as chairman of the committee. This was voted on by an entire subcommittee in a unanimous vote to subpoena former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,” Comer said.

“We had Bill Barr, former attorney general, in for a grilling. But for whatever reason, President Clinton didn’t show up, and the Democrats on the committee don’t seem to have a problem,” he added.

If found in contempt, the Clintons could theoretically be arrested by the US Capitol Police and brought before Congress. 

Their eight-page letter accused Comer and Oversight Republicans of “trying to punish those who you see as your enemies and to protect those you think are your friends,” while calling their subpoenas “invalid and legally unenforceable.”

Bill Clinton, 79, had been ordered to appear for the interview with Oversight lawmakers and staff on Tuesday.

The deposition for Hillary Clinton, 78, was set for Wednesday.

The Oversight investigation has been taking place as the Department of Justice continues to release photos, videos, and other investigative files related to Epstein and his imprisoned accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Epstein, 66, was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on federal charges of trafficking minors for sex — some of whom were alleged to have been as young as 14 years old.

A federal judge sentenced Maxwell, 64, to 20 years in prison in 2022 for conspiring in the sex-trafficking of dozens of girls.

The UK-born socialite had remained close with the Clinton family — even after Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to soliciting a minor for sex in 2008.

“I do not recall speaking to Mr. Epstein for more than a decade prior to his 2019 arrest,” Bill Clinton said in his written declaration.

Two years later, Maxwell attended Chelsea Clinton’s wedding, despite being scheduled to appear on the same date for a deposition in a civil suit filed against Epstein by one of his accusers.

Maxwell also pursued a “personal relationship with a mutual friend,” Bill and Hillary Clinton said in their written declarations.

Bill Clinton was friendly with Epstein, attending dinners with him and other wealthy and well-connected celebrities, academics, and politicians — as well as traveling on his plane at least two dozen times before the financier registered as a sex offender.

New photos released last month by the DOJ show the 42nd president half-naked in a jacuzzi lounging with an unidentified woman during one of those trips with Epstein and Maxwell.

In the Friday letter, the ex-first couple claimed Comer would continue to “release irrelevant, decades-old photos that you hope will embarrass us.”

Reps for the Clintons have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing on the part of the ex-president — and claimed that he never visited Epstein’s notorious private island in the Caribbean.

Steve Scully, a former IT contractor on Little St. James, however, alleged in the 2020 Netflix documentary “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” that he once saw Bill Clinton on what was known as “Pedo Island.”

In his Tuesday written declaration, the former president said: “I have never visited Little St. James Island, and I do not recall speaking to Mr. Epstein for more than a decade prior to his 2019 arrest.”

Comer noted in one letter to the couple’s lawyers while seeking depositions: “It is precisely the fact President Clinton and Secretary Clinton each maintained relationships with Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell in their personal capacities as private citizens that is of interest to the Committee.”

Democrats on the panel have also selectively released other disclosures from the Epstein estate to imply wrongdoing on the part of President Trump, who was an acquaintance of Epstein’s in the 1990s and early 2000s.

A spokesman for the Clintons did not immediately respond to a request for comment.