The bombshell announcement that former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, were subpoenaed to speak about Jeffrey Epstein has sent shockwaves through the political world.
Clinton would be only the fifth former US commander-in-chief to testify before a congressional committee if he is deposed on October 14.
The former president rode on Epstein’s private jet to go overseas at least 26 times.
Bill and the former First Lady are among nearly a dozen top officials who were issued subpoenas by House Republicans on Tuesday.
How exactly did the Clintons know notorious paedophile Epstein?
The Clintons’ subpoenas explained
President Clinton and his wife, who served as Secretary of State during the Obama administration, have been called to speak before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in October.
‘The facts and circumstances surrounding both Mr. Epstein and Ms. (Ghislaine) Maxwell’s cases have received immense public interest and scrutiny,’ wrote committee chairman James Comer in the subpoena letters.
‘While the Department undertakes efforts to uncover and publicly disclose additional information related to Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell’s cases, it is imperative that Congress conduct oversight of the federal government’s enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell.’
What does it mean to be subpoenaed?
Being subpoenaed means being summoned by a court to appear as a witness, provide testimony or produce documents which could help aid an ongoing legal case.
If a person fails to appear in court after being issued a subpoena, they could be fined or sentenced to prison.
President Donald Trump, on July 25, amid backlash on his administration’s handling of the Epstein case, told the press ‘You should focus on Clinton.’
Trump’s Justice Department and FBI in early July said there was no incriminating Epstein client list, contradicting an earlier promise to release the documents.
Hillary Clinton was summoned to appear on October 9.
Were Bill and Hillary Clinton involved with Jeffrey Epstein?
Clinton and Epstein have a long history, but it’s vital to note that it doesn’t necessarily mean Clinton was involved in any crimes.
For a long time, Epstein was a major donor to Democrats. Hillary received $20,000 from Epstein when she was fundraising in 1999 for the Democrats.
After his presidency was over, flight logs for Epstein’s private jet noted Bill Clinton as a passenger on trips to the Virgin Islands, Portugal, Siberia, Japan and China. The reasons for these trips haven’t been released.
Epstein, who was found dead in his prison cell in 2019, reportedly had in his Manhattan residence an oil painting of Bill Clinton wearing a blue dress and red heels and sitting in the Oval Office.
The ex-president had ‘one brief visit’ to Epstein’s apartment in 2022, his spokesperson Angel Ureña said in 2019.
Ureña at the time added that ‘President Clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago or those with which he has been recently charged in New York.’
Trump and his children were also noted as passengers on Epstein’s jet in the 1990s, on a trip to Washington, DC. He’s also denied any involvement with the paedophile’s crimes.
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