Democrat support for jailing Steve Bannon, Peter Navarro could blow back on Clintons

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) issued deposition subpoenas in August to failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton requiring their testimony "related to horrific crimes perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein."

Comer made clear on Tuesday that the Clintons risk criminal exposure should they continue not to comply with the subpoenas — and that he is willing to make use of the precedent set in recent years by Democrats.

'They're the one group in this investigation that's never had to answer questions ... from attorneys or members of Congress.'

The chairman noted in his Aug. 5 letter to Bill Clinton that owing to the former president's past relationships with Epstein and child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, the committee believed him to have information regarding their activities relevant to the investigation.

"By your own admission, you flew on Jeffrey Epstein's private plane four separate times in 2002 and 2003. During one of these trips, you were even pictured receiving a 'massage' from one of Mr. Epstein's victims," wrote Comer.

"It has also been claimed that you pressured Vanity Fair not to publish sex-trafficking allegations against your 'good friend' Mr. Epstein, and there are conflicting reports about whether you ever visited Mr. Epstein's island," continued the chairman. "You were also allegedly close to Ms. Ghislane Maxwell, an Epstein co-conspirator, and attended an intimate dinner with her in 2014, three years after public reports about her involvement in Mr. Epstein’s abuse of minors."

RELATED: Epstein emails SHAME Obama/Clinton ally: Larry Summers quits public life amid calls for Harvard to cut ties

Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Comer noted in his letter to Hillary Clinton that her testimony was of interest to the panel not only because of her husband's relationship with the dead sex offender but because of her links to Maxwell, whose nephew worked for Hillary Clinton's first failed presidential campaign, then later for the State Department while Clinton was secretary of state.

The Oversight Committee compelled Hillary Clinton to testify on Oct. 9, but she didn't show up.

When Bill Clinton's Oct. 14 deposition date came around, a committee spokesperson announced that it would be delayed as the panel was "having conversations with the Clintons' attorney to accommodate their schedules."

Republicans on the committee are apparently still trying to settle on a date with the Clintons' attorneys, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News.

"We expect to hear from Bill and Hillary Clinton," Comer told "Just the News, No Noise" on Tuesday. "Donald Trump answered questions for years about Jeffrey Epstein. Every day he gets asked questions about Epstein, and he answers them in front of the American people. We've subpoenaed Republicans and Democrats."

"Other Democrats have sent letters saying they knew nothing about Epstein, which would hold in court if something ever comes out that they did know something, then they've committed perjury there," continued the chairman.

"But the Clintons have never responded. They're the one group in this investigation that's never had to answer questions in front of a credible reporter, and they've never certainly answered questions from attorneys or members of Congress," added Comer.

Comer, evidently tired of the Clintons' avoidance, added, "So we expect the Clintons to come in, or I expect the Clintons to be met with the same fate that Bannon and [Peter] Navarro were met with when the Democrats were in control."

Democrats would likely condemn the Clintons' visitation by legal consequence over their refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas — but such criticism would amount to rocks thrown from a glass house.

Eric Holder, Obama's attorney general, was held in contempt of Congress in a decisive 255-67 vote in 2012 for refusing to turn over documents related to the Fast and Furious scandal.

The Obama Justice Department rewarded Holder for keeping the Democratic president's documents from the American people's elected representatives by refusing to prosecute.

House Republicans voted last year to hold former Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas for audio recordings of former President Joe Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

The Biden Department of Justice revealed on June 14, 2024, that it would not bother prosecuting Garland.

Although keen to shield their own from consequence, Democrats held Republicans to a different standard.

The Democrat-controlled House voted 229-202 in 2021 to hold former Trump adviser and "War Room" host Stephen Bannon in contempt for defying a subpoena issued by the Jan. 6 committee.

Whereas the Biden DOJ would later let Garland off the hook for the same charge, the same outfit energetically prosecuted Bannon, securing a conviction and recommending that he serve at least six months in prison and pay a $200,000 fine. Bannon ended up languishing in prison for four months.

The president's trade adviser, Peter Navarro, received similar treatment for not complying with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee. Navarro, who figured he was bound by executive privilege when he defied the subpoena, served a four-month prison sentence.

Navarro noted in a speech last year at the Republican National Convention, "I got a very simple message for you: If they can come for me, if they can come for Donald Trump, be careful. They will come for you."

Comer's apparent threat came a week after President Donald Trump directed the Justice Department and the FBI on Friday to "investigate Jeffrey Epstein's involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton" and others, and "determine what was going on with them, and him."

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