(Washington) A US Congressional committee voted Wednesday to launch proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton, accused of obstructing Congress for refusing to appear at a hearing as part of a parliamentary investigation into the Epstein affair.
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“No witness, whether a former president or an ordinary citizen, can deliberately disregard a subpoena properly issued by Congress without consequence,” declared Republican representative James Comer, head of this powerful House committee.
“The Clintons must be held accountable for their actions,” he added ahead of the vote which garnered both Republican and Democratic votes.
A vote must now take place in the House of Representatives as a whole to approve or not recommendations for legal proceedings against the Clinton couple.
A procedure to formally indict them will then have to be initiated by the Ministry of Justice, headed by Pam Bondi, a Donald Trump loyalist. Bill and Hillary Clinton would then face up to 12 months in prison.
The former Democratic president (1993-2001) and his wife, the former head of diplomacy of the United States and 2016 presidential candidate, were summoned last week for separate hearings on their links with sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
“Distrust”
But in a letter with a sharp tone, the couple announced their refusal to appear at the hearings, accusing James Comer of attacking political opponents rather than wanting to seek the truth.
“We have tried to give you what little information we have. We did it because Mr. Epstein’s crimes were horrific,” they say.
PHOTO SAUL LOEB, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
James Comer
For James Comer, on the other hand, the couple did not show “cooperation but distrust, marked by repeated delays, excuses, and obstacles”.
During the commission meeting, the Republican official also announced that Ghislaine Maxwell, accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, would be heard on February 9 by the commission.
The former socialite, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sexual exploitation, will however use her right to remain silent, added James Comer, citing Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers.
A figure of the New York jet set, Jeffrey Epstein is accused of having sexually exploited more than a thousand young women, including minors.
He was found hanged in his New York cell in 2019 before his trial for sex crimes. His death has fueled countless conspiracy theories that he was murdered to protect high-profile figures.
“1%”
During his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump said he agreed to make the file public. But since his return to power, the Republican has been reluctant to publish it and has been accused even by his supporters of a lack of transparency.
In August, at a time when accusations of lack of transparency were being made against the Trump government, the Clinton couple was subpoenaed to appear before Congress.
Bill Clinton, who traveled several times aboard the financier’s private jet and was photographed numerous times in his company, claimed in 2019 to have not spoken to Jeffrey Epstein for more than a decade. The ex-president has also always denied having any knowledge of his crimes.
Donald Trump, once also close to the financier, has also always denied having any knowledge of his criminal behavior and claims to have broken up with him well before his legal problems.
At the end of December, after months of delay, his government began publishing thousands of photos, videos and texts on the rich financier.
But the entire file has not yet been made public as required by a law promulgated in November, and many published files have been largely redacted.
“It is shameful, illegal, and unconstitutional that the Department of Justice has only published 1% of all documents,” denounced Democratic representative Robert Garcia on Wednesday during the House committee meeting.
