BILL CLINTON, Former President and Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee in its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Clintons had initially refused to testify after being subpoenaed in August, calling the subpoenas invalid and claiming they were an attempt to embarrass political rivals at the direction of President Trump.
However, the Clintons agreed Monday night to comply after the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Republican Congressman James Comer, voted on January 21 to recommend them for contempt charges.
Their deadline to comply with the subpoenas was noon Tuesday.
“But in the end of the day, the power rests with the legislature… subjects of legislative subpoenas are not very successful in resisting them,” said Robert Steinbuch, a University of Arkansas Little Rock Bowen School of Law professor who previously served as a Senate Judiciary Committee attorney.
Trial lawyer Mark Geragos, who represented Clinton associate Susan McDougal during the Whitewater scandal, said the Clintons may not have been able to easily avoid the subpoenas, but questioned the political motivation behind them.
“They had some pretty good arguments that this was more theater and not about any kind of seeking of truth,” Geragos said. “Unfortunately, that’s what modern congressional oversight has devolved into.”
Former President Clinton appears in multiple photos contained in the Epstein files alongside Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and according to the subpoena, at least one of Epstein’s victims.
Despite Clinton’s presence in the files, Geragos said he does not believe the former president has anything to worry about and suggested the committee may be disappointed by the outcome.
“I don’t think it’s, for him, risky at all,” Geragos said. “The former president is very accomplished, incredibly quick on his feet, and will be incredibly well prepared.”
Both Geragos and Steinbuch were asked whether President Trump, who is also featured in Epstein-related files, should be held to the same standard and asked to testify.
“Well, obviously, if fairness or equity would dictate that, but as a practical matter… I don’t think you’re going to see that,” Geragos said.
Steinbuch added that sitting presidents have different legal protections than former presidents, noting that former presidents are largely treated like private citizens, while sitting presidents have certain levels of immunity.
