The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed Bill and Hillary Clinton, former attorneys general, and ex-FBI directors as part of a sweeping investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking network and the federal government’s handling of the case [Image by RadarOnline]
(The Post News)- The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, six past attorneys general of the United States, and two past directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday, demanding testimony and documents regarding the investigation and prosecution of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The move, spearheaded by Republican Chairman James Comer, comes after bipartisan calls for accountability over Epstein’s decades-long sex trafficking operation and growing frustration with the Justice Department’s declining to make more information public following Epstein’s death in federal custody in 2019.
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The subpoenas target some of the most high-profile political figures of the last two decades, including: Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton, former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, and Alberto Gonzales, and Former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller.
Comer’s letter to Bill Clinton cited the former president’s past association with Epstein, including four known flights on Epstein’s private jet and his alleged efforts to suppress early reporting of Epstein’s abuse allegations. Clinton was also reported to be “allegedly close” to Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.
In a more speculative connection, Hillary Clinton was subpoenaed due to what Comer described as her “family’s close association” with Maxwell and Epstein, and the 2008 hiring by her presidential campaign of Maxwell’s nephew. Comer wrote that Hillary Clinton could have information on “federal efforts to prosecute international sex trafficking operations” like Epstein’s.
The subpoenas were approved after bipartisan subcommittee votes last month. Democratic Rep. Summer Lee was successful in a motion to subpoena Justice Department records pertaining to Epstein, and Republican Rep. Scott Perry was the lead in subpoenaing political and law enforcement figures connected to the case to testify.
The panel also subpoenaed Maxwell herself, though her deposition is stayed while she pursues a U.S. Supreme Court review of her appeal to overturn her 2021 sex trafficking conviction.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress have joined in increasing numbers to demand a public accounting of what the government has discovered about Epstein’s behavior. Republican Reps. Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna are now circulating a discharge petition to force a House floor vote on a bill that would mandate the release of Epstein documents.
While the subpoenas do appear to aim at the Clintons and former Justice Department officials, the scandal is also a political minefield for President Donald Trump. Although Trump has attempted publicly to distance himself from Epstein in recent years, their social and personal friendship in the early 2000s including reports of a lewd birthday letter Trump supposedly wrote to Epstein in 2003 have resurfaced as there are calls for full transparency.
The Justice Department last month confirmed it possessed the letter, which Trump has said he did not write. He has since sued The Wall Street Journal for reporting on the letter’s existence.
To divert criticism from his own base, Trump directed the DOJ to request unsealing of grand jury transcripts relating to Epstein and Maxwell. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche questioned Maxwell in person in Florida last week, which was labeled an effort to obtain new information by the White House. The DOJ is reportedly now considering releasing a transcript of the interview.
The DOJ responded to the House subpoena with a memo reiterating that it has no client list or blackmail material in its Epstein files. The department stated that it will not release tens of thousands of video and image files pertaining to Epstein’s abuse due to victim privacy laws and statutes protecting child exploitation material.
Proliferating unsubstantiated theories about Epstein does not serve justice or victims,” the memo read, repeating that Epstein committed suicide and warning against indulging in conspiracy theories.
Despite the DOJ’s objection, Comer and others are determined to forge ahead. Pam Bondi, the current attorney general, has been given an August 19 deadline to deliver relevant documents. Closed depositions behind closed doors for subpoenaed officials are scheduled from mid-August to mid-October, with Bill Clinton set for October 14 and Hillary Clinton for October 9.
Legal experts note enforcement of congressional subpoenas has long been slow and trouble-ridden. Courts have provided few tools for compelling compliance by the executive branch, often dragging controversies out for years.
Still, Comer says the Oversight Committee “will use every authority available to uncover the truth about Epstein’s crimes, his network, and the government’s handling of the case.”
Now that Congress is on its August recess, the pressure on legislators, and particularly House Republicans, continues to intensify, with transparency regarding the Epstein papers turning into an acid test of political courage and public accountability in Washington.
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