A House committee probing the federal government's response to the Jeffrey Epstein case has served several high-profile individuals with subpoenas, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Republican Representative James Comer started the subpoenas as part of an overarching investigation into alleged shortcomings in the enforcement of sex trafficking laws.
In formal letters to the people, Comer wrote that the committee is looking to review how federal officials prosecuted Epstein and his longtime friend Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for aiding the sexual exploitation of under-age girls.
The panel also called six former attorneys general—Merrick Garland, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Alberto Gonzales, Jeff Sessions, and William Barr—and two former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller. The panel also asked the Justice Department for internal documents regarding Epstein and Maxwell, such as documents on trafficking, abuse, and Epstein's contentious 2007 non-prosecution agreement in Florida.
Subpoenas are official commands with the power of law that force people to testify or present evidence before a court or a governmental committee.
Even though the probe of Epstein started after the presidency of Bill Clinton, his earlier relationship with Epstein has drawn attention for a long time. Clinton's recorded flights on Epstein's private aircraft and meetings in New York were cited as the reason behind the subpoena in Comer's letter. Clinton himself had earlier acknowledged flying on Epstein's plane on four different occasions and visiting his Manhattan house.
The subpoenas came after increased demands for transparency of Epstein's relationships, particularly since the Justice Department declined to release some of the documents pertaining to the case. Epstein took his own life in 2019 while in federal detention, facing trial on charges of sex trafficking.
Clinton has been tentatively called to testify on October 14, according to a BBC report.
The representative of the ex-president had earlier said, "President Clinton knows nothing about the horrific crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has recently been charged in New York."
Ghislaine Maxwell was originally scheduled to testify before the committee on August 11 under legal immunity, but her deposition has now been delayed indefinitely.
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