Dem
47
GOP
53
We've been trying to get to this story for several days, but there's just so much stuff right now. Anyhow, let's start with this foundation: House Oversight Committee James Comer (R-KY) wants to drag Bill and Hillary Clinton in front of his committee for some political theater, grilling them about Jeffrey Epstein. This is undoubtedly to shift attention away from Donald Trump (and maybe Elon Musk, as it turns out), and to make the case that the Clintons are the actual bad guys here.
There are two things, in particular, that make clear this is political theater. The first is that Hillary Clinton is being targeted. She had nothing to do with Epstein, and there is nothing in the documents to suggest otherwise. Indeed, the whole GOP narrative surrounding Bill Clinton—that he was using his ties to Epstein to indulge in extramarital dalliances—makes no sense if Hillary was also in the room. The second is that other folks who have "testified" have been allowed to submit written and/or video depositions. But Comer has demanded that the Clintons present themselves in person, so he can get them under the bright, white lights. Their initial response: "Uh, no."
We very seriously doubt that the Clintons are trying to cover anything up. The evidence seems to suggest that Epstein was a high-profile political donor, and that Bill Clinton was casually friendly with him, as Clinton was with hundreds and hundreds of political donors. It's certainly within the realm of possibility that something more serious took place. But if so, there's no proof of it in the Epstein files. There's not even a suggestion of it. If there was anything close to a smoking gun, then that evidence would have been among the first documents to be released. Indeed, that evidence surely would have made its way from the Department of Justice to the House Oversight Committee long before any of the other document dumps.
The much more plausible answer for the Clintons' refusal to testify is that they know Comer is trying to set a trap for them. Even if they are perfect, the rumors will continue to swirl, particularly among folks who desperately want to excuse Trump from wrongdoing. And there's a non-zero chance they won't be perfect. The Clintons are smart people who are used to this kind of thing. But they're also in their seventies, and may not quite have their fastballs anymore. Plus, they have no idea what rabbit—real, or invented—Comer might pull out of his hat. When Jack Smith was grilled, there was a limited data set to work with, and it was a data set where Smith himself had supervised the preparation. With the Epstein files, there are millions and millions of documents (and that's before we consider the possibility of a little assistance from AI).
Once the Clintons refused to testify, the right-wing politicians and media blew a gasket, complaining about an alleged cover-up, and also decreeing that, once again, the Clintons think they are above the law. We would agree that there are some presidents who feel that way, though we don't know if Bill Clinton is one of them. Anyhow, Comer teed up a contempt vote. Many Democrats want to be ideologically pure on the Epstein files, and to say that they supported full transparency, regardless of a person's political affiliation. So, a bunch of Democrats on the Oversight Committee voted to approve the contempt resolution, and a bunch of Democrats were ready to vote for the resolution when it was put before the entire House of Representatives, which was supposed to happen today.
Now, however, it would appear that is on hold, because the Clintons have backed down and agreed to testify. They (or, more accurately their lawyers) say they have agreed to Comer's terms. Comer, for his part, has not confirmed that, nor has he said he is ready to schedule their appearance. The "they are avoiding my Committee" scenario is actually probably more useful to the GOP than the "we got them under the bright, white lights" scenario, since while a slip-up is a possibility, it's not a likelihood. Given his motivations, Comer might still find something ticky-tack to object to, and might say he has no choice but to move ahead with the contempt resolution. Presumably, all will be revealed today.
When it comes to the Clintons, we are sure of two things. The first is that they are very shrewd political operators, with more savvy in their pinky fingers than Comer has in his whole body. The second is that they are loyal Democrats, and are willing to do what is best for the Party. What we don't entirely understand is what the Clintons' game was here. They knew that Comer was certain to go for contempt if they told him to screw off. So, what was the purpose of dragging their feet?
We have thought about it a fair bit, and we have three theories. The first is that they thought the other Democrats would accept that this is just political theater, and would have their backs. Clinton friend (and equally veteran political operative) Nancy Pelosi, seems to have felt that way, and she dressed down several Democrats for playing ball with Comer.
The second possibility is that the longer that this drags out, the more that EpsteinPot Dome is in the headlines. And it's possible that the Clintons have concluded, very possibly correctly, that the more coverage that Epstein gets, the worse it is for Donald Trump and the GOP. After all, outside of James Comer's fantasy world, Trump is vastly more heavily implicated than Bill Clinton or just about anyone else. Further, the Clintons are out of office and have been for years, while Trump is the sitting president and the leader of his political party.
The third possibility, which is both the most boring and the most likely, is that the Clintons were just buying time to negotiate the terms of their testimony. Since details are in flux, it is unclear what concessions they may have gotten, if any. Again, all will likely be revealed today. And the time will likely soon come that the Clinton angle will be played out, and will cease to be of interest to anyone but the rabid anti-Clinton, pro-MAGA faction. For everyone else, this will go back to being primarily a Trump story. (Z)